Lincoln Electric expands welding business

A Lincoln Electric Company, The product story

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team May 22, 2008

The USA manufacturer of welding equipment and systems, Lincoln Electric, is the preferred supplier of welding power sources to FANUC in Asia and has acquired Electro-Arco, Portugal.

Robot manufacturer, FANUC has appointed The Lincoln Electric Company as preferred supplier of welding power sources to its Asian customers.

Lincoln Electric said that it had co-operated with FANUC Robotics America, a subsidiary of FANUC in Japan, since 1990.

The companies had worked jointly in North America marketing robotic welding systems and developing technologies.

The companies will sign an agreement extending the partnership into Asia was in June.

* New factory - in conjunction with the agreement, Lincoln Electric is investing more than US$40 million in a 115,000ft2 facility in Euclid, Ohio.

It will focus on the research and development of robotic welding systems and technology for worldwide distribution.

* Electro-Arco takeover - Lincoln Electric Holdings announced that it had acquired Electro-Arco, a privately owned welding consumables manufacturer near Lisbon, Portugal.

Founded over 70 years ago, Electro-Arco was owned by the Rodrigues family.

The company has a leading position in the Portuguese welding market and is a significant exporter to European markets.

Electro-Arco has sales of approximately US$40 million and 165 employees.

Chairman and chief executive officer at Lincoln Electric Holdings, John M Stropki, said: "This acquisition significantly expands our European consumables manufacturing capacity and widens our commercial presence in western Europe".

* About Lincoln Electric - The Lincoln Electric Company is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma-arc and oxyfuel-gas cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Lincoln has 38 manufacturing locations, including operations, manufacturing alliances and joint ventures in 20 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries.