For a full rundown of all of the welding competitions at SkillsUSA, stay tuned for our August issue of Miller’s INSTRUCTOR newsletter. In the meantime, check out these videos from the conference:
American Welding Society President John Mendoza Kicks off Festivities
Last night marked the opening ceremony of the SkillsUSA 2011 National Skills & Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Miller is a proud sponsor of SkillsUSA and the individual welding, team welding fabrication, welding sculpture and World Skills welding championships.
Keep posted here throughout the remainder of the week for updates from the championship competitions and other happenings around this exciting industry event.
For photos from the event, keep clicking here. We’ll add more throughout the week: SkillsUSA Photos
Miller spent time last summer in Bald Knob, Arkansas, where Pipeliners Local Union 798 was working on a new natural gas pipeline. Miller and welding distributor WELSCO held a pipeliners appreciation event that weekend and then spent time out on the right-of-way. Miller also took the opportunity to introduce the pipeline welding community to the brand new Big Blue® 350 PipePro diesel engine-driven welder/AC generator – a machine that Local 798 had substantial input in designing.
“We’ve worked extensively with Miller on the development of this,” says Farron Hollabaugh, director of training, Local 798. “It’s a strong machine that has good arc characteristics. You get the exact same amperage out of it every time you use it as opposed to a DC generator that varies with temperature. They can count on it being the same weld characteristics every time they strike an arc.”
For more information, read the whole story. You’ll also see videos on the event and the pipeline welding history of Bald Knob. You can also visit us at ConExpo (Gold Lot, Booth G-254) to see the machine and talk pipeline welding.
Today wraps up an exciting week of competition here at Fabtech 2010. The final six American SkillsUSA contestants are battling it out for three spots in the Kansas City competition where a champion will be crowned. That champion will move on to represent the U.S. at the World Skills competition. AWS provides the American winner with a $40,000 scholarship provided by Miller
These final six competitors have been narrowed down from 24. Nick Peterson, a former champion, talks about the contest and why it’s important to the industry:
Here’s a description of the contest from the SkillsUSA website:
Competitors receive contest drawings and a set of welding procedure specifications. All drawings, welding symbols, and welding terms conform to the latest edition of the American Welding Society standards. Through a series of stations, contestants are tested on various aspects of welding: measuring weld replicas, using weld measuring gauges; laying out a plate and using oxy-acetylene equipment to cut several holes that are checked for accuracy and quality; Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) on steel making welds in various positions using short circuiting transfers; Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) using a shielding gas, making welds in various positions and, using a combination machine capable of providing the correct welding current for shielded metal arc (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Competitors complete the steel project and weld an aluminum project in various positions using a variety of filler metals.
We also chatted with folks around the show and the competition about the shortage of skilled welders and why today’s youth should consider this skilled trade:
First order of business: welcome to FABTECH 2010. We’re excited to be here again – not that we need the reminder, but as we walk around the convention center and the hotels, we see just how lucky we are to be a part of this industry. FABTECH attendees are some of the most innovative and talented folks you’ll find working today, and we’re honored to be of service to you.
If you find yourself wandering around the hall, please visit us in Hall C, booth # 6811. Tim Temby gives you a brief glimpse into what you’ll see in the Miller booth:
We also have a major industry announcement happening today at 9:00 a.m. EST. The press conference gets out at roughly 10 a.m., expect to see the news then. We’ll report back here later in the day with it as well.
As with last year, you can follow along via your preferred social media outlet, or you can see them all at once by visiting our FABTECH social media dashboard: Click here!
Not following Miller online? You can find us here:
We’ll update you from the show floor again later in the day – but in the meantime, what are you excited to see at FABTECH? What do you think are the biggest challenges facing our industry today?
