Ward Walker is an Indiana welder with an eye for the unusual and discarded. Walker turns scrap metal into works of art that he calls “scart.” Walker welds pieces of art in his spare time using industrial scrap metal or metal from junk yards. He welds his materials together and then either paints them or lets them rust.
Walker’s yard is full of such pieces, but he has also created commissioned works for the local high school and fire station. Although he sometimes donates his work to local charities, some businesses have purchased his pieces for their downtown locations and used them as conversation starters.
Here’s the latest news from the welding industry:
Welding Industry
Jim Wolf Leads Growing Columbus Welding Business: “Wolf’s business has long since outgrown the garage. It now operates from a 70,000-square-foot factory on the West Side, producing laser-cut steel that is used by the defense, pharmaceutical and food industries. Nearly all of its sales are to customers in Ohio, and most are in central Ohio.”
Welding Industry Continues to Grow Down South: “Positions in manufacturing are consistent as the market grows, but employer demands seem to be outpacing employee skills. ‘Georgia is a great place to be a manufacturing company,’ said Ira Bennett, director of marketing for Harris Products Group, which provides parts used in brazing, soldering, welding, cutting and gas distribution industries.”
Welding Jobs
Georgia Trade School Students Promised Work Upon Graduation: “Close to 20 young men sat in a classroom at Georgia Trade School Thursday and were promised stable, high-paying jobs with full benefits. All they had to do was complete their coursework and pass a battery of tests. Representatives from Ingalls Shipbuilding, a company that builds ships for the U.S. Navy, visited the year-old school in Kennesaw to seek out new welders for its base in Pascagoula, Miss.”
Ladders Up Helps Lower Income Workers Find Careers: “[Eddie] Miller is executive director of Ladders Up, a nonprofit that offers training and skills development for students seeking careers in such fields as carpentry, construction, mechanical and automotive work and welding. ‘Our goal is to find young people who have character and ambition and are looking to go from minimum wage jobs to having a career,’ Millers said.”
Roanoke Area Ministries (RAM) Helps Welders Find Jobs: According to “Jo-Anne Woody, RAM’s administrative assistant and director of the program. Instead, the aim is to smooth the way toward employment by helping with identification, applications, bus passes, gas vouchers and tools and clothing. Some of the funding for these services comes from RAM’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program, which is supported by The Roanoke Times’ Good Neighbors Fund.”
Welding Education
Community College Offers Welding Courses in the Evening: “Pueblo Community College Fremont Campus is enrolling students now for the spring semester, which begins Jan. 13. The campus offers a variety of classes and subjects to high school students as concurrent enrollment and also to community members who want to learn something new or advance their education.”
Single Indiana Mom Finds Welding Her Most Promising Career Option Through Ivy Tech: “Amanda Cramer wanted to learn something new. But more importantly, the 27-year-old wanted to provide for herself and her 3-year-old daughter. So Cramer registered this fall for welding classes at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast.”
Welding Events
Pipelines Conference, March 4-5, Houston, TX: “Welding has always been an integral part of pipeline construction. It all goes back to the days when hand-held oxyacetylene torches were used to connect pipes together in the field. Current and future pipeline welding trends will be discussed during this AWS-sponsored conference on pipeline welding.”
Stainless Steel Conference, March 25–26, Philadelphia, PA: “This conference will bring together some of industry’s most outstanding experts to discuss the welding of austenitic, duplex, and other grades of stainless steel. Topics will include dissimilar metal welds between stainless and steel, repair welding, cladding, cleaning, and the pitfalls involved in stress corrosion cracking.”
Welding Gone Wrong
5 Wyoming Gas Field Welders Injured in Explosion: “Five gas field workers were injured Friday at an Encana drilling site in Pinedale, Wyo., when welding they were working on set off an explosion, authorities said.”
Stolen Welding Machine Recovered: “Police have arrested two men in connection with a business burglary in the Bayview on Monday. Police patrolling the area around Illinois and Amador streets about 2:10 p.m. noticed a suspicious vehicle that had a large machine hanging out of the trunk with several loose wires being dragged behind it, police said.”
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