AFRICAN FUSION—MARCH2014
12
Cover story
M
etrode was founded in 1963,
over 50 years ago, as a pri-
vately owned company and
has since grown into the UK’s leading
manufacturer and supplier of alloyed
welding consumables. It is particu-
larly strong in those industries that
require the highest integrity from their
welding consumables, such as power
generation; chemical and petrochemi-
cal; offshore oil and gas; LNG (liquid
natural gas); andnuclear. InNovember
2006, Metrode was acquired by the
Lincoln Electric Company, expanding
the global giant’s consumable offering
to includespecialtyconsumables for the
modern process and power generation
industries.
Metrode’s product ranges cover the
lowalloysteels, such thecreep resistant
chrome-moly alloys for high tempera-
tureuse, throughnumerousanddiverse
stainless steels, to high-toughness low
temperatureconsumables formatching
theperformanceof nickel-basedalloys.
“All themajor arcweldingprocessesare
catered for, including:manualmetal arc
electrodes, solidandcoredwires for gas
shielded and flux-coredwelding, wires
for TIGwelding andwire/flux combina-
tions for submerged arcwelding,” says
Lamotte, with strip/flux combinations
for electroslag strip cladding being the
latest addition.
On thedevelopment side, particular
emphasis isbeingdevoted todeveloping
and improving consumables for high
temperature materials for the power,
chemical and petrochemical industries
and a diverse range of nickel-based
alloys. “With the acquisitions of Tech
AlloyandWear Tech, LincolnElectric is
now in position to offer a full range of
special alloys for high integritywelding
applicationsaswell as for claddingand
hardfacing,” Lamotte continues.
Metrode has extensive experience
in the creep resistant chrome moly al-
loys. The commodity 0,5%, 1,5% and
2,25% Cr alloys are part of its range,
“but we are strongest in X-factor alloys
that require step-cooling, the modern
creep resistant Cr-Mo alloys where the
deposit has tohaveahigh resistance to
temper embrittlement, a phenomenon
that typically occurs at high operating
temperatures (455 to 565°C),” says
Lamotte. These Cr-Mo alloys require
very tight control of impurities (P, Sb,
Sn and A) and are micro-alloyed with
elements such as Ti and Zr to increase
their creep resistance.
He cites the P91 and P92 9%Cr
creep resistant alloys that are now
routinely specified for new supercritical
coal-fired power stations all over the
world, including South Africa’s new
Medupi andKusilePower stations. “We
arecurrently in theprocessof qualifying
ourMetrodeP91andP92consumables
tomeet the specific TÜV requirements
for these plants, but this qualification
process takes up to five years and is
relatively expensive. We started some
three years ago and, while it is usual
toqualifyMMAelectrodesandTIGcon-
sumable wires, we have also included
our flux-cored wires for TÜV approval.
MetrodeP91andP92 flux-coredwires
arealreadybeingverysuccessfullyused
in other parts of the world,” Lamotte
tells
African Fusion.
While TÜV approval is required in
South Africa for consumables for new
power stations, in the USA, UK and
China, consumables need only meet
the relevant constructioncodes. “Soour
Metrodeconsumablesareverystrong in
the USA, UK, Western Europe, South
Korea and in China, which is currently
building hundreds of power stations,”
he adds.
Locally,Metrode isapproved for use
for repair work at some petrochemical
plants and power stationswhere exter-
nal approvalsarenot required. “In these
cases, a special batch of consumables
ismade in theUK tomeet the specific
requirementsof the site. If theconsum-
able passes all the local qualification
tests, then it can be used as part of
theweld repair procedure at that site,”
Lamotte explains.
Andwhile the rangehasbeenavail-
able in South Africa for many years,
Lamotte believes that the brand can
only benefit from a closer association
with Lincoln Electric. “We have strong
Metrode Products Ltd, since 2006 a Lincoln Electric
company, offers one of the largest ranges of alloyedwelding
consumables available from any single source. As from
January 2014, the range is now stocked and supported
from Lincoln Electric’s sub-Saharan Africa office and
available through the company’s distribution partners.
African Fusion
talks to Benoit Lamotte about the new
position of the brand.
Metrode: Lincoln Electric’s high
integrity consumable
Lincoln Electric sub-Saharan Africa’s
regional manager, Benoit Lamotte.
Metrode welding consumables are suited to industries
that require the highest integrity from their welding
consumables, such as power generation; chemical and
petrochemical; offshore oil and gas; LNG; and nuclear.
