Welding world again enthusiastic of the party

The sparks jumped out at you. That's the least you can say about the Welding Week that took place at the end of November. With 5,576 visitors, the trade fair more than lived up to expectations. And good news, even the next generation seems to be warming up to welding again. With a record number of students present on the first day of the fair, metalworkers can hope that welding vacancies will be filled a little easier in the coming years. Although automation, a trend that is clearly continuing in the industry, may also bring some relief.

The fair aisles were filled from the first moment. That's what an exhibition organizer wants to see. Jeroen Arnouts of Easyfairs can therefore look back on a very successful three-day event. "Welding Week is clearly on the map within the world of welding. Not just in the Benelux anymore. With no fewer than 27 nationalities represented at the fair, we see ourselves confirmed as a must-attend event for everyone who cares about welding." In absolute numbers, this translated into 5,576 visitors. The organizers hoped to round the 5,000 mark. "That we still managed to get so many people to attend in this niche is particularly nice. Many welders came to the fair after a full day's work. Welding Week is the perfect place to meet like-minded professionals and, above all, to track down the latest innovations."

Innovation Awards

In terms of novelties, the noses were in the same direction at the fair. "The trend toward automation of welding processes has only continued in these four years since last Welding Week. Due to the shortage of qualified welders, manufacturers are working hard on solutions to make welding faster and more accurate. Robots and cobots had a prominent place this edition." This also manifested itself in the Innovations Awards. Welding Week awarded two. One by the jury consisting of members of the BIL and one by the public. The winners were MARC by Dejond and the Olympus Omniscan X3, respectively. MARC stands for Magnetic Rotating ARC, an innovative welding system that is increasingly replacing the traditional process of three-point welding. It guarantees the best possible results with significant time and cost savings, according to the manufacturer. In turn, the Olympus Omniscan is a perfect tool for quickly detecting small weld defects.

Atmosphere images from at the past edition of Welding Week.

Virtual welding

Not only could the exhibitors compete, visitors were also challenged to take up the welding torch. A real one to add their name to the Wall of Flame. Or a virtual one in the unofficial Belgian virtual welding championship that ran over the three days of the fair. "Scholars could take up the gauntlet on Tuesday. There, Jari De Hert of the Atheneum Nieuwpoort showed himself the best of the 98 participants. On Wednesday and Thursday it was the turn of the professionals. Colin Gueydon of CVM bvba trumped the 188 other participants. However, he had to beat De Hert's score. Proof that the new gadgets do appeal to young people. Although in practice, welding does involve more external parameters," says Arnouts.

BIL/NIL Congress

For the first time, the BIL/NIL congress was also fully embedded in Welding Week. "An absolute win-win for both parties," sums up Arnouts. "Such a high-quality seminar program is of added value to any event. Conversely, the BIL and NIL also achieved record attendance. Welding engineers could, thanks to the synergy, fully immerse themselves in all the novelties, theoretical and practical, of their profession in one day and one location. That was clearly one of the strengths of Welding Week."