March 2011

It has already been a very eventful year for the SAIW. The Institute's brand new extension to its Johannesburg, premises was officially opened in late February by Lucien Matthews, Columbus Stainless GM and SAIW president Professor Madeleine du Toit. The state-of-the-art building comprises a 100-seater auditorium, which can be divided into several separate classrooms, encompassing comfortable seating, a high-tech sound system, monitors and equipment; offices on the top floor for the SAIW training team; and significantly improved facilities for students and staff alike. "I believe that we have the best of both worlds - a 100-seater auditorium, which can be divided up into several classrooms. I don't know if this building is unique, but there can't be many like it," said Jim Guild, SAIW executive director at the inauguration.

Emphasising the training role of the new building, Professor Madeleine du Toit presented an inaugural lecture at the opening entitled ‘The state of the welding industry in South Africa'. She dealt with the local welding industry, the many opportunities, and the challenges that face this vital sector of our economy.

Celebratory functions have also been held around the country for newly qualified welding inspectors to receive their SAIW Certification diplomas. These courses are SAIW's flagship qualifications. Not only do they receive major recognition throughout the South African welding industry, but are also widely recognised internationally.

This issues paper looks at high-strength steels with respect to welding engineering aspects and the latest developments in the use flux-cored electrodes for welding these steels, while the cover story takes an in-depth look at pipeline welding and Lincoln Electric's associated Pipeliner® range of offerings.

African Fusion visits Thuthuka Welding, a company that has its roots in armature winding, initially as part of the General Electric stable. Mark Ablett and Matthew Dudley talk to us about the company's history and its recent transformation into a welding company. We visit CRH, manufacturers of a wide range of automotive components, and look at its use of welding robots to improve quality and productivity in this highly competitive market and we talk to Colin West of Air Products, who gives advice about how to choose a shielding gas mixture and explains the roles of the different constituents in welding gases.

Infrastructure developments across Africa: power stations, road and rail, petrochemical, pipeline and mine expansion projects, bode well for the future of the welding industry. We hope you are all able to benefit and we look forward to telling your success stories.

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