I’m not so naive to think that big companies go green for purely altruistic reasons…. but I’m sure happy when I see changes. At Arc-Zone we do what we can to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (check out the video about it over at JoeWelder.com)

And now, Lincoln’s new packaging is green:

Cleveland – The Lincoln Electric Company has introduced newly redesigned, eco-friendly packaging for its consumable products, resulting in added benefits to the customer and the environment.

Beginning in late 2008, all cardboard packaging will be made out of non-bleached bio-degradable cardboard. The new packaging drastically reduces the amount of harmful chemicals used in the production process, while providing a package that is 100-percent recyclable.

In addition, the labeling used on packages has been revamped. New labels are designed to be easier to identify at first glance and from greater distances. Brand, type and diameter information is now more readable and accessible.

“We wanted to make the product easier for everyone to read, from the welder, to distributors and forklift operators,” said Lisa Byall, consumable portfolio manager, Lincoln Electric. “The increased overall productivity combined with the reduced environmental impact of the new packaging offers our customers an added value to what are already the best performing consumables available.”

The Lincoln Electric Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. For more information, visit www.lincolnelectric.com.

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At Arc-Zone.com we get a lot of requests for tungsten electrodes made in the U.S.A. And until recently, we weren’t able to offer that.

Sylvania (yes, the lightbulb people) are at present the only US source for tungsten electrodes. Nearly every tungsten electrode comes from China (75%) or Austria, Bolivia, Portugal, and Russia.

If you’re interested in learning more about tungsten production, there’s a great new website that offers some of the most comprehensive information about tungsten and tungsten electrodes for welding that I’ve seen in a while. (Yes, I may be a little biased, but there really is some good information about tungsten there.)

Now, Arc-Zone.com offers Sylvania Tungsten Electrodes, made in the US, and ready for immediate delivery:

• PURETUNG® / Pure Tungsten (Color Code Green)
• 1% Thoriated (Yellow) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Thoriated (Red) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 1.5% Lanthanated (Gray) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Ceriated (Orange) Tungsten Electrodes and
• ZIRTUNG® / Zirconiated (Brown) Tungsten Electrodes
  

Arc-Zone will be stocking the standard 7″ length in diameters, 0.040″ to 1/8″ though other diameters are available. Contact sales –at– arc-zone.com for details.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)recently announced the latest recipients of the SME Scholarships.

Kyle Riegel who is entering his first year at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, plans to major in electrical and mechanical engineering. With the support of the SME Education Foundation Family Scholarship, Kyle will begin his path to becoming an engineer.

Children or grandchildren of SME members are eligible for the Family Scholarship. The recipient must be a graduating high school senior or undergraduate student with no more than 30 credit hours, maintain a G.P.A of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have a minimum SAT score of 1,000 or ACT of 21 and be pursuing a degree in manufacturing engineering, technology or a closely related engineering field of study at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.

Other scholarships were awarded through the Directors Scholarship program:

Christopher Bird of Bridgeville, Penn., will graduate in 2009 with a degree in manufacturing engineering from Robert Morris University.

Benjamin Ferron of White Bear Lake, Minn., will graduate in 2011 with a degree in manufacturing engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Directors Scholarship applicants must be full-time undergraduate students currently enrolled in a manufacturing degree program at a U.S. or Canadian college. The recipient must have an overall minimum G.P.A. of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, have complete at least 30 college credit hours and demonstrate leadership skills in a community, academic or profession environment.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation is one of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations dedicated to advancing manufacturing education. Its approach is three-fold: to inspire youth to pursue careers in manufacturing; to support students studying for a career in an engineering-related field and prepare these students through its Manufacturing Education Plan grant program in colleges and technical schools.

Since 1980, the Foundation has provided more than $19 million in grants, scholarships and awards. As we get ready to go to school, or send our kids to school, professional organizations like SME can be invaluable resources, offering a lot of financial help for well-deserving, high-achieving future engineers not to mention great opportunities for networking with future co-workers and learning first hand what the job is all about.

Read more about these fine students online. And drop a note in the comment section here if you have any advice to offer a young person starting out in manufacturing.

We did our first video shoot at Arc-Zone.com last week. We’ve seen the rough cuts, and we’ll be posting them online soon, but in the meantime, check out Joe Welder’s write up on how the day went –>

This one caught my eye…. the Vision Award seems similar to the Image of Welding Award, and Tomboy Tools — what can I say. It’s the new tupperware! Check it out.

NAWIC’s Crystal Vision Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals with vision who help promote, expand and encourage the role of womenin the construction industry.

Janet Rickstrew (left), co-founder and CEO of Tomboy Tools, and Nancy A. Eaton (right), CCA, CDS, CIT, CFO of Par 3 Landscape and Maintenance Inc., help pave the way for women in the construction industry.

Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) May 16, 2008 — The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is pleased to announce the winners of its 14th annual Crystal Vision Awards. The mission of the Crystal Vision Awards is to recognize individuals who promote, expand and encourage the role of women in the construction industry. Janet Rickstrew is the recipient of the Crystal Vision Award, which is awarded to a nonmember of NAWIC, and Nancy A. Eaton, CCA, CDS, CIT, is the recipient of the Crystal Achievement Award, which is awarded to a NAWIC member.

Janet Rickstrew is the co-founder and CEO of Tomboy Tools. Rickstrew, with the help of a friend, founded the company in 2000 in an effort to provide hands-on training and high-quality tools for women around the world. The mission of Tomboy Tools is to build confidence and empower women through education, quality tools and an independent business opportunity. In order to fulfill her mission to teach women the needed skills to make simple home repairs, she designed Tomboy Tools as a “party-plan” company. This structure encourages women to join the company as consultants who then reach out to their communities and teach other women the hands-on approach. Rickstrew has initiated educational processes of teaching women and promoting the idea that women can and should consider a career in the construction industry. (more…)

Just in time to celebrate the fact that Arc-Zone.com has added a few Stick / SMAW Welding Electrode Holders to the webstore…..

Hobart Brothers Offers the Cure to Common Stick Welding Troubles (for free!)

TROY, Ohio. May 6, 2008—Hobart Brothers has created the fourth in an ongoing series of free educational welding posters, addressing the 10 most common welding problems and their likely causes and solutions. Using diagrams and concisely written explanations, the poster is a handy reference tool for both professional and educational welding environments.

The problems discussed apply to SMAW welding.

(more…)

The American Welding Society (AWS) announced today that The Lincoln Electric Company will donate 300K to the AWS Foundation. This money is earmarked for AWS programs to promote welding careers and will include a welding career video.

Read the AWS press release here–>

As you know here on the CarmenElectrode.com site we’re profiling women welders.  Over on JoeWelder.com we’ll soon begin to profile businesses that utilize welding or metal fabrication.  These projects are designed to showcase the many opportunities for highly skilled welders out there.

One other initiative that I know about is the Dream It Do It Campaign over at the National Association of Manufacturers.  And also at NAM, the Cool Stuff Being Made videos are a lot of fun to watch.

Drop me a line if you know of other programs out there to encourage people to train in the welding and metal fabrication industry…..

In response to the skilled welder shortage reported on recently, the American Welding Society  announces improvements to their online school locator:

Miami, FL, April 3, 2008 – The American Welding Society (AWS), the world’s largest organization dedicated to advancing the science, technology and application of welding, announced today that it has launched a new online welding school locator. This tool is designed to boost recruitment industry-wide and help relieve an intense shortage of welders. With nearly half of the North American welder workforce due to retire soon, the U.S.  faces a potential shortage of more than 200,000 skilled welders by 2010….CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Visit the American Welding Society’s website to find a welding school online. 

Anyone have any recommendations?  Where did you learn to weld?

The spin doctors from Bernard seem to have missed the mark ever so slightly with their latest press release:

Based on overwhelming demand from the growing Latino population throughout the United States and Canada, Bernard has translated all of its English language product spec sheets into Spanish.

The [Spanish language] spec sheets are available as a free, downloadable PDF document from the Bernard Web site.

You can read the official press release from Bernard here.

Consider:

• Metal fabrication market size in Latin America projected at neary 4 BILLION dollars (report by Metalmecanica magazine)
• Weldmex 2008 a large welding exposition held in Mexico City, hosted over 4,500 attendees (exhibitors included representatives from 3M, the AWS, ESAB, Fronius, GE, Hypertherm, Praxair, Olympus… and more!)
• The Fabricator magazine is now published en espanol…
• Many US manufacturers have opened fully owned subsidiary plants south of the border… where they speak Spanish

(more…)

I admit, until I started working here at Arc-Zone.com, I had a lot of preconceived notions about welding. I had no idea how prevalent WELDING is. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I just never thought about it, but you find welding everywhere.

I thought welding was a dirty job (like the photo on the left) and didn’t take much know how. I thought welding involved lots of sparks flying (as in MIG welding). I knew nothing about TIG Welding, or Plasma Arc Welding or orbital welding.

I soon found out welders are smart. They have to know something about metallurgy, electricity, and geometry, for example. In addition, finer processes like TIG welding require the kind of dexterity that comes with dedicated practice. And good welders make good money. (more…)