Fabrication Technology News

Navico Group, a division of Brunswick Corporation, announced a multimillion-dollar investment in its Lowell, Mich. facility to create two Centers of Excellence in metal fabrication and electrification. The investment is intended to increase quality, capacity and efficiency, as well as improve product manufacturing capabilities, the company said.“Navico Group is committed to being a leader in metal fabrication and electrification for the industries we serve, and this investment is a testament to that” said Brett Dibkey, Navico Group President.

Private equity firm Irving Place Capital (IPC) and Victor Technologies (Victor) announce they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Victor to Colfax Corporation (Colfax), a global manufacturer of gas and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products. Victor is a leading designer and manufacturer of a comprehensive suite of metal cutting, gas control, and specialty welding products. IPC acquired Victor, which was previously named Thermadyne Holdings Corporation, in a take-private transaction in December 2010.

Mobile, Ala.-based builder continues building next generation of U.S. •    Received Award for Excellence in Safety for 3rd year in a row from the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) for commitment to improving safety and health in the workplace. The industry average Total Recordable Incidence Rate in 2011 was 9.2, four times higher than Austal USA’s rate of 2.3. •    Received Navy construction contracts for 4 Joint High Speed Vessels (worth $634.7 million) and 4 Littoral Combat Ships (worth $x billion).

Cape Town, South Africa - In a move to bolster productivity and offer a broader range of solutions for its customers, Cape Town-based steel fabricator Belmet has recently invested over R 2.5million in new equipment at its Cape Town and Walvis Bay workshops. The company has been operating in the international offshore oil & gas, marine and industrial sectors for over two decades and today has an extensive customer base in Europe, North and South America and Africa. Following another year of growth, Belmet has purchased five new ESAB Origo MIG 502 multi-process welding machines with Miggytrac 1001 motorized tractors, in order to stay at the cutting edge of fabrication technology in the Western Cape.

In October, the Office of Naval Research hosted a Friction Stir Science & Technology Review in York, Pa. to discuss advancements in Friction Stir technologies. Among the attendees was Dr. Jeffrey Schultz Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Blacksburg’s high-tech engineering firm Schultz-Creehan, who reported the progress on his company’s development of Friction Stir Fabrication Technology. This Friction Stir Fabrication technology, invented by Schultz-Creehan, is a low-temperature friction-based coating method used to deposit coatings, including metal matrix composites, onto aluminum substrates at relatively low temperatures.

(), the technical and specialized skill training center of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), has enhanced its capacity to 3,500 training places per annum with its new facilities in . The Center will be a one-stop training facility where employees and subcontractors can register for courses, undergo training, receive certification and apply for relevant trade licences. Keppel O&M’s annual investment in training was S$17 million for 2006 and 2007 each. This is expected to rise to S$23 million in 2008…

NSRP/SNAME Ship Production Panels are co-sponsoring a free workshop and presentations on Shipbuilding Accuracy Control to be held Aug. 21-23 at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. industry to present information related to accuracy control. In addition, plant tours of Boeing and Genie Industries are planned to give participants insight into production practices at Boeing and lean implementations at Genie. Hotel and agenda information are posted on the Shipyard Production Process Technologies Panel and Systems Technologies Panel pages at www.USAshipbuilding.com. The NSRP/SNAME Ship Production Welding Panel is sponsoring workshops on Advanced Fabrication Technology to be held Aug. 21-22 at the Caterpillar Technical Center near Peoria, Ill.

When MR/EN traveled up to the New England coast this past fall as part of a New England shipyard swing, we were expecting to meet the great one himself — Luther H. Blount — who could be informally known as the "father" of New England shipbuilding. Blount began his career so many years ago with the construction of a 77-ft. steel catamaran, was the first of many greater and more technologically innovative vessels that would later earn the designation as Blount crafted. Over the years, Blount oversaw the daily operations of his yard, managing to get his hands dirty on the overall production process. Carefully designing every vessel to a tee with a pencil and sketch pad…

For years, general manufacturing companies have enjoyed the benefit of laser cutting systems for producing complex or simple parts in batch volumes as low as one, and as high as tens of thousands. The laser is an incredibly powerful tool that remains unsurpassed in manufacturing activities across the world. As flexible and reconfigurable production tool that provides welding, cutting and machining capabilities in a single device, lasers are readily automated and have demonstrated that they can easily operate in "lights-out" mode for even greater productivity. With all this said, why aren't there any laser shipyards? Why hasn't one of the worlds largest and most important transportation industries rushed to implement laser cutting and welding technology?