ESAB LEADS IN WELDING AND CUTTING INNOVATION AS IT MOVES `TOWARDS 100'
07 July 2003 - ESAB Group

ESAB leads in welding and cutting innovation as it moves `towards 100'

Founded 100 years ago next year, ESAB is re-inforcing its leadership in the highly competitive world of welding and cutting equipment and consumables, according to Chief Executive, Jon Templeman.

In an upbeat welcome to more than 30 journalists from Europe's leading engineering, marine and automotive publications, Mr Templeman opened ESAB's largest ever new product launch event, with a confident prediction the company's innovation represented the platforms that would lead ESAB into its next 100 years.

The launch event was held at ESAB's Laxå plant in Sweden which is, said Jon Templeman: "Probably the most advanced welding equipment manufacturing unit in the world and an important centre for the development of exciting new products.

"In fact, we borrowed from telecommunications equipment assembly technology to create it. What it means is that we are able to manufacture equipment with such a high level of automation that in some cases the labour content equates to only around 15% of the total manufacturing costs.

"That's a key advantage in world markets and allows us to remain competitive, even in areas of Western Europe where manufacturing costs can be directly affected by higher labour and social costs."

Jon Templeman emphasises ESAB's global view both now and for the future: "'Towards 100' is a significant theme for us and for the more than 6,500 ESAB people worldwide," he said. "ESAB is Europe's largest manufacturer of welding equipment, consumables and cutting equipment, and with annual sales approaching E800m we are one of the two largest in the world.

"Our presence is truly global, with manufacturing plants in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, the Far East, India, and North, South and Central America. Increasingly, however, we invest in manufacturing close to where our customers are, which means that as the big metal fabrication industries move eastwards, to Eastern Europe and Asia, so do we."

ESAB's global presence gives the company the ability to offer a total package from locations across the world to meet the demands of major manufacturing groups. Backing-up its manufacturing spread, the company also has European sales and customer support centres in every major market, as well as over 2,500 distributors and specialised welding centres.

While these have been part of the company's structure for many years, Jon Templeman stresses that ESAB had not stood still in this area of its operations either.

As part of its 'total true value package,' ESAB has invested in a major way in both e-Commerce and e-Business solutions, giving the company the ability to move seamlessly across traditional trading borders.

In addition, although ESAB is structured around four specialisations, standard welding equipment, welding automation equipment, welding consumables and cutting equipment, the company has fostered a culture of cross-fertilisation when it comes to sourcing solutions to customers' production needs and reducing their costs.

In a final look to the future, Jon Templeman makes it clear that this product launch was just part of ESAB's constant exploration of new processes and new equipment. "New challenges and new materials bring new opportunities," he said, "and our development teams continue to meet these challenges."

http://www.esab.co.uk

More News:
  • For July 2003
  • From ESAB Group
  • For Welding equipment and consumables