Welding market holds steady

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 6/1/2000

Distributors and manufacturers serving the welding industry anticipate that the market will hold steady in 2000, though it will continue to be marked by consolidation and strong competition.

Competition is heavy among distributors looking to serve the welding market. Welding specialist distributors, like Industrial Welding Supply in Belle Chasse, La., compete with product specialist distributors like Clark-McKibben Safety Products in Erie, Pa., as well as large national distribution firms.

Both types of distributors offer strong arguments that they bring value to the table.

Ricky Chiasson, president of Industrial Welding Supply, maintains that IWS offers its customers welding-specific expertise.

"Welding equipment is our nucleus and our specialty. But we've brought in some sharp people in the areas of hand and power tools, safety equipment, and contractor supplies. We consider ourselves a complete industrial supplier," Chiasson says.

Chiasson says end users need a welding expert to answer metallurgical questions, make power source recommendations and provide trouble-shooting services.

"You need to be knowledgeable in these areas in order for your customers to feel comfortable that they're using the proper product for the application," Chiasson says.

Jack McKibben, president of Clark-McKibben Safety Products, says the fabricating shops his company serves benefit from his staff's in-depth knowledge of safety equipment and he believes the welding market has been overlooked by many safety distributors.

McKibben says his salespeople are capable of helping a welding equipment buyer to buy safety equipment appropriate to the application, such as gloves suitable to the dexterity required, eye protection suitable to the type and scope of the welding application, and appropriate body and respiratory protection.

"Selling to the welding market doesn't require us to bring any additional products into our warehouse. It's just a matter of convincing people that we can provide them with the same or better products and maybe better service and analysis," McKibben says.

Looking forward, these distributors say the market will continue to be marked by competition and will likely hold steady or experience slight growth.

"I don't see any dramatic changes or real growth this year. Possibly toward the end of the year we'll see an increase because we're noticing some engineering efforts taking place now, and that's where production begins," Chiasson says. "The market has been somewhat soft for approximately a year and a half, but the bright side is that we do see a little rise in activity and we're hopeful it will steadily continue in that direction."

Frank Langs, president of Pferd Inc., predicts that the welding market will continue to be marked by consolidation throughout the channel, notably among independent distributors and gas companies. Pferd manufacturers surface finishing and metal cutting products like grinding and cutoff wheels, wire brushes, coated products, mounted points and carbide burrs for the welding industry.

Langs also says the market will continue to be influenced by process and material changes.

"The welding process has changed over the years and there's a lot less heavy finishing or heavy weld removal because of technology changes," Langs says. "So the consumption of product and abrasives in certain lines has tended not to grow at the same rate as other products. As the finishing requirements have diminished due to better manufacturing techniques over the years, we've had to expand our product offering to adapt to the changing marketplace and finishing techniques."