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. Mr Templeman opened ESABâs largest ever new product launch event with a confident prediction the companyâs innovation represented the platforms that would lead ESAB into its next 100 years. The launch was held at ESABâs Laxå plant in Sweden which is, said Jon Templeman: âProbably 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.â?
Jon Templeman emphasises ESABâs global view both now and for the future: âESAB is Europeâs 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 â to Eastern Europe and Asia â so do we.â?
