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News Release from: Mike Page - editor's feature articles
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 June 2003
UK welding market confidence underlined
Showing its confidence in the UK arc welding market Kemppi has invested some EUR 2 million in new 1176m2 UK headquarters on the Priory Business Park in Bedford.
Showing its confidence in the UK arc welding market Kemppi has invested some EUR 2 million in new 1176m2 UK headquarters on the Priory Business Park in Bedford Managing director of Kemppi Oy, Anssi Rantasalo, said that although the future of UK manufacturing is a "general worry", he did not think the situation was that different from the rest of the European Union
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 29 Oct 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"We are all facing the same challenge," said Rantasalo.
"European fabrication industry has to move into more knowledge-based, high-tech and value-added manufacturing." He expressed no doubts that more heavy fabrication work will move east and so Western Europe has to make changes to its education policies, as far as welded fabrications are concerned.
Rantasalo and Mike Vacher, director of the UK's Association of Welded Distributors (www.awd.org.uk) said that they are promoting advanced welding skills, to improve the abilities of welding operatives through better training in more knowledge-based practices and procedures.
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That intention is reflected in the extensive training facilities - as well as demonstration, sales support and equipment servicing facilities available at Bedford.
Investing when markets are low is reflected in the success of Kemppi (www.kemppi.com) in being able to increase its market share in a declining European arc welding market.
Kemppi Oy turned over some EUR 70 million during the 2002 financial year and expects slight growth in 2003.
"The past eight years has been very profitable for us," said Rantasalo.
"Our market share has been growing in a static European market." On the technical front, Rantasalo said that Kemppi remains committed to its core business - arc welding - but is "keeping its eyes open." He cited Kemppi's participation and cooperation in projects - such as laser assisted MIG/MAG welding - but the company is actively going 'back to basics' by studying the arc welding process and equipment and, if you like, seeing how it can be profitably reinvented using modern technology and materials.
Power sources - Kemppi was one of the pioneers in introducing the compact 'suitcase' inverter power source back in 1972.
It introduced the fully digitised power source in 1993.
The company offers power sources with interchangeable 'plug-in' control panels and cards that set the range of characteristics required for a range of fabrication work.
The company continues to fine tune its digitised power sources; though perhaps the technology has reached a development peak.
Wire feed - now it is turning its attention to wire feed units and wire feed conduits.
First result is a digitised push-pull wire feed system for aluminium.
The second is an overhaul of conduit liners.
"We asked ourselves what is the sum of all the friction components in our system?" said Rantasalo.
He said that the company went back to basics, used a new low friction liner material and considerably reduced the amount of power to feed wire.
The result was a wire feed system that could feed steel wire over 8m without using a push-pull system.
"We carried out wider brainstorming on components, for example in weld control quality and productivity," said Rantasalo.
He exampled the linking of 64 welding machines into a digital data transfer system so that one teacher at a Finnish technical college could monitor 64 students.
Kemppi has also done extensive work in comparing fast pulse TIG welding with plasma-arc welding.
Pulse frequencies of up to 500Hz provide a concentrated and highly stable low mean current arc for TIG, to equal, if not better, the more expensive plasma-arc process.
So we finished up on Kemppi's slogan "The Joy of Welding", which, in Finnish style, involves relaxing in the Bedford HQ's well-appointed sauna! - Mike Page.
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