TPT March 2020

I NDUS T RY

Westermans International adds fur ther welding capability to UK training service

equipment and a comprehensive refur- bishment and refitting service, it is able to supply reliable welding equipment so- lutions at a fraction of the cost of new units and, according to MGTS, this has resulted in an estimated expenditure saving of 66 per cent while meeting all of the operational needs of the customer. “The equipment provided by Westermans represents excellent value for money, particularly as we have been able to purchase top specification welding units, which are effectively as good as new,” said Neil Russell, MGTS Centre lead at Coventry. “The service that it has provided is first class, particularly as Westermans has focused on meeting our specific requirements within predefined budgets.” He pointed out that his organisation is playing an increasingly key role in help- ing to bridge the skills gap and draws attention to the fact that this is under- scored by demographic considerations that see skilled workers leaving the in- dustry with fewer then able to pass on their skills to the next generation. “Our apprenticeship programmes are delivered within the framework of the government’s ‘Standard Engineering’ qualification that isnowreplacingNVQS,” he added. This is a key consideration that is fully endorsed by Mr Westerman and which, he says, is set to become more sig- nificant as new projects are built in the UK. He pointed out that 13 per cent of Britain’s welders come from other coun- tries in the European Economic Area. “For someone who is new to welding, the training can take over three years to reach the high standard necessary to work on a project as challenging, for ex- ample, as a nuclear facility, so the ser- vices provided by MGTS clearly play an important role,” he said. Westermans International’s involve- ment with MGTS enables the welding equipment supplier to play an important role in helping to build engineering skills into the future.

organisation goes back some ten years so we have been delighted to have been contacted again to fulfil equipment needs for both the Coventry and Redditch training centres.” The latest order is centred on a series of Fronius TIG welding units – the Fronius 3000 Magicwave AC/DC welding systems have been supplied complete with water cooling and foot control and bring with them a reputation for robust design and reliability. “The units offer full digital control and provide a virtually soundless, stable arc in operation,” added Mr Westerman. According to MGTS, there have been significant cost advantages by turning to Westermans for its equipment sup- ply. As the company has active contacts worldwide for the procurement of used

SPECIALIST welding equipment sup- pliers Westermans International Ltd has installed a further eight TIG weld- ing units at the Midlands Group Train- ing Services (MGTS) at its premises in Redditch, following on from seven simi- lar units that it recently provided for the company’s facility in Coventry. Westermans International, which is based in Leicester, UK, sources, refurbishes and supplies welding and associated equipment worldwide. “As a National Centre of Excellence for Education, Training, Development and Assessment, MGTS provides an important engineering apprenticeship facility for both young people and adults alike,” said Craig Westerman, sales and operational director at Westermans International. “Our initial work with the Fujian Sangang Minguang Group Co Ltd (Sanming) and Jiangsu Lihuai Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Huaigang Special Steel) have both placed orders from Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG, Germany, for the supply of RSBs ® 370++/4 in 5.0 design. Sanming, a state-owned enterprise, which was founded in 1958, it is regarded as one of the the most important steel producer in Fuijan, China with approximately 11 million annual tons of steel. Huaigang Special Steel (HSS) is a subsidiary of the Shagang Group, which is the sixth largest steel producer in the world and one of the largest privately owned industrial enterprises in China.

Kocks announces significant orders from Far East

For Sanming, the RSB ® 370++/4 is the key component of an extensive modernisation project of the locally manufactured bar mill line, targeting to further improve the finished quality of Sanming’s SBQ products. And with the with the implementa- tion of RSB ® 370++/4 in the existing bar mill line, Huaigang Special Steel intends to further increase the compet- itiveness among Chinese SBQ produc- ers with economically rolled finished SBQ products of exceptionally good quality.

Westermans International www.westermans.com

Midlands Group Training Services www.mgts.co.uk

Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG www.kocks.de

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MARCH 2020