“It Starts With A Spark”

I sell filler metals for welding; yet I have never welded in my life, nor have I actually watched a welder performing the art in person.  The closest I had ever been to welding was watching Jennifer Beals on the big screen circa 1983 in Flashdance.  Therefore, I was beyond excited to finally have an opportunity to experience, first hand, a team of welders running the material that I delivered personally in order for them to qualify our product.  All I can say, is “WOW!!!!”.

Before arriving, I was not certain if the testing would be done on the day I was delivering, or on another day, when they weren’t so busy.  But to my surprise, they were all set up for the process and invited me to stay; I was thrilled.

Once the team finished adjusting the settings to ensure performance capability, each welder was given the chance to work with and run the material.  When the head welder stepped up to do his thing, I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect; however, in my mind I imagined a bead; a simple bead running down the middle of the block, in a straight line, joining the two metal plates.

What a rush when the sparks started flying!  After a couple of minutes, when the welder took a step back to gain a different perspective, everybody else seemed to lean in to get a closer look at the weld (and of course, I leaned in to).  What I saw, and what was created, completely shocked and amazed me.  The result was a shiny perfect metal weave; which in a way reminded me of the braid I make in my daughter’s ponytail each morning.  It was gorgeous; a work of art.  I was in awe.

For so long my mind had focused on the strength of the weld as opposed to the beauty of the weld.  Since my experience, I find myself inspecting visible welds wherever I go, and recently asked my colleagues about their “first times”.

“I started in this industry in 2009 as a Purchasing Agent at a nuclear manufacturing company”, our Account Manager, Jessica Noll explained.  “I remember one day going through all of the purchase requests that the guys in the shop were sending me.  There were thousands of contact tips, grinding wheels, and all of this wire!  I thought to myself, ‘how the heck are they using so many contact tips and what are these things?’  I put on my pink hard hat, went out to the shop, and was determined to find out what they were used for.  As I walked around, I remember feeling so intrigued by all the different welding processes I saw. On my way to morning meetings in the shop, I would watch them MIG, TIG and stick weld, operate the cutting tables, watch the waterjet machine cut parts out with garnet; I simply fell in love with this industry.  I research different welding applications, and keep up-to-date on new technology because I just love learning about it.  I have welded only to become familiar with the different processes (and because I just couldn’t not weld in my lifetime)!  I prefer TIG over MIG and stick. I remember when I was stick welding that I felt like I was getting ‘electrocuted’, and I said I would never do that again!  I’ve often thought to myself that I would love to have a little hobby welding machine so that I can make some different things in my garage. I will forever love this industry and I encourage women to explore it!  The technology and the precision that it requires is just so fascinating, and they actually say that women make EXCELLENT TIG WELDERS.  I guess you can say…it all started with a spark!”

Our VP of Sales, Brent Saul experienced welding first hand at an Esab training seminar, “We welded stainless and steel alloys in TIG, MIG, and stick. I loved the feeling of welding although the amount of gear I had on to protect me was like wearing the heaviest winter ski clothes.  The welding helmet makes everything so dark, and in order to see what I was working on, I had to ‘strike an arc’.  I have watched welding in many facilities for production, job shops, in the field and in a back yard.  Welding is such a cool field, and one to get very excited about.  I love every aspect of it, from artists to production shops; they all vary and each is unique.”

Yes, welding is super COOL, and I am happy to report that the weld team I referred to that tested my hand-delivered E71T-1C/-1M was ecstatic about our wire!  And we here at Weld Wire Company are ecstatic about the future of this critical and awesome Industry!   Thank you for reading.

Wendy