Cutting Equipment News

Forged by Valor, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Rochester, NY, is offering an 800-hour welding education program that is operated by two veterans who understand the struggles firsthand.“Under the hood, you don’t see anything but the glow of the arc,” says Scott Quick, co-founder of Forged by Valor. A sergeant with the 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the U.S. Army’s most elite special operations units, Quick did more “crazy stuff” than he cares to remember. Fortunately, he found welding after active duty service.

Ports across the U.S. are learning a critical lesson: depending solely on government grants or an increasingly unstable electric grid is no longer enough to keep operations running smoothly. There’s a smarter, more cost-effective solution already proving its worth on the ground - propane.The exclusive webinar ‘Power & Performance at the Port: How Propane Moves Maritime Operations Forward’ - to be held October 16, 2025, at 11.00 AM ET - will bring together energy and maritime specialists…

The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that, we need to look elsewhere and to future programs.Setting the SceneMany column inches have been dedicated to the decline U.S. shipbuilding, whether signaled by the relatively small presence of a U.S.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has announced that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded $8.75 million in grants to revitalize U.S. shipyards and advance America’s maritime dominance.The funding is part of the Small Shipyard Grant program, which supports advanced training, workforce development and new technologies that strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and repair capabilities. Duffy said the program will help America counter Chinese competition and maintain freedom…

Cleveland, Ohio based welding and cutting equipment company Lincoln Electric earlier this month announced it has acquired automation system integration and technology firm Inrotech A/S, headquartered in Odense, Denmark. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Privately held Inrotech specializes in automated welding systems that are differentiated by proprietary adaptive intelligence software and computer vision which guides and optimizes the welding process without the need for programming or the use of CAD files.

With much of North America still reeling from the pandemic, HGG Profiling Equipment continues to grow, responding to immediate and anticipated customer demand for profile-cutting machinery. Since opening its new 6,500-square-foot facility in Houston in this spring 2020, HGG has added an area manager to its sales and support team, three new customer service and support specialists, and two new service technicians.HGG recently expanded its North American sales coverage by adding Todd Wellens as Area Manager for eastern and midwestern US and Canada…

Freight rates eased further on Friday, especially for the largest oil tankers, promising some recovery for West African oil prices which had touched multi-year lows. VLCC freight costs eased more rapidly than smaller Suezmaxes, making it less advantageous to ship on the latter. Prices for Suezmaxes were estimated around world scale 190-200, with one European buyer estimating further relief to around 150 by the end of next week.Nigeria's NNPC cut its November official selling price for Bonny Light crude to dated Brent plus 58 cents per barrel and for Qua Iboe to plus 63 cents per barrel…

Tankers that had been scheduled to install emissions-cutting equipment ahead of stricter pollution standards starting in 2020 have deferred their visits to the dry docks to capitalize on an unexpected surge in freight rates, three trade sources said.U.S. sanctions on subsidiaries of vast Chinese shipping fleet Cosco in September sparked a surge in global oil shipping rates as traders scrambled to find non-blacklisted vessels to get their oil to market.The rates for chartering a supertanker from the U.S.

Tankers that had been scheduled to install emissions-cutting equipment ahead of stricter pollution standards starting in 2020 have deferred their visits to the dry docks to capitalise on an unexpected surge in freight rates, three trade sources said.U.S. sanctions on subsidiaries of vast Chinese shipping fleet Cosco in September sparked a surge in global oil shipping rates as traders scrambled to find non-blacklisted vessels to get their oil to market.The rates for chartering a supertanker from the U.S.

HGG’S new UPC 450 Ship Profiler is designed to increase cutting and prefabrication productivity by eliminating the need to cut ship stiffeners and spools by hand. HGG production automation combines ship stiffener cutting, 3D profile cutting with optional tube cutting.The HGG UPC 450 Ship Profiler offers full process cutting integration through the HGG ProCAM Software Suite, integrating thermal cutting HGG ProCAD design, HGG ProGRAM work preparation coordination, and HGG’s internationally recognized 3D plasma cutting intelligence.

In 2009, Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri S.p.A, purchased the assets of the Manitowoc Marine Group; which included Bay Shipbuilding Company. Located in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Bay Shipbuilding was the “feather in the cap” with their long history in U.S. commercial shipbuilding and repair. Can you share with us your background and area of responsibility? I’ve been the Vice President and General Manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding since assuming the role in August of 2012.

Recently a team of Hydrex diver/technicians performed a propeller blade cropping on a 190-meter container bulker berthed in Hamburg. Two parts of the tip of one of the four propeller blades were damaged and needed to be cropped to restore the propeller’s efficiency. Having developed different procedures for different kinds of damage, Hydrex teams are equipped and trained to make the best out of a bent or broken propeller. Ideally, the in-house developed cold straightening technique is used.

In a landmark case, two divers today have been made to pay a total of £63,500 in fines and costs for not declaring valuable items from shipwrecks off the U.K. coast. David Knight and Edward Huzzey, both from Sandgate, had previously pleaded guilty to 19 offences between them, contrary to section 236 and section 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Knight was fined £7,000 and Huzzey £6,500. They were each ordered to pay £25,000 in costs. Items were taken from shipwrecks off the Kent coast, with the first known objects removed in 2001.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that two divers from Kent have pleaded guilty to not declaring valuable items from shipwrecks off the U.K. coast. David Knight and Edward Huzzey, both from Sandgate, admitted to 19 offences between them, contrary to section 236 and section 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Items were taken from shipwrecks off the Kent coast, with the first known objects removed in 2001. The shipwrecks targeted included German submarines from World War I and an unknown 200 year old wreck carrying English East India Company cargo.

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. announced that it has consolidated the Smith Equipment oxy-fuel cutting equipment product line under the Miller brand. The consolidation expands the current Miller metal cutting offering, which includes a variety of portable plasma cutting packages. The oxy-fuel product line will continue to be manufactured in Watertown, S.D., to the same high quality standards. The only difference is that the name on the product will change to Miller, the company said.

Claxton Engineering Services Ltd, an Acteon company, successfully responded to an urgent call to mend a rig diverter’s connection by providing a 30” dual seal overshot, a 30” casing cutter and personnel to oversee operations and requirements within 48 hours. During this time period, Claxton modified and dispatched the necessary equipment for its client. Under normal circumstances, this equipment is ordered a month in advance by the drilling contractor during well planning. The connection to the rig diverter prohibited the rig from operating. Claxton modified the overshot by cutting it to the precise size and welded the connection on top creating a pressure seal. Additionally, Claxton supplied cold-cutting equipment to ensure the space-out was correct for the overshot.

Decom North Sea (DNS), the offshore oil and gas decommissioning forum, will host a lunch and learn to provide attendees with an insight into supply chain companies’ decommissioning capabilities. The lunch and learn event will take place on June 19 at the Palm Court Hotel in Aberdeen from noon-2 p.m., where three companies will give presentations on their expertise and raise awareness of their services. The event is the latest in a regular series of talks to allow both members and non- members of DNS to attend presentations from major operators and contractors, along with an opportunity to collaborate and network. This month's lunch and learn will include presentations from EOT Cutting Services, Norisol Norge AS and SMRU Ltd.

The owners of a Container vessel consulted FN Diving regarding heavy vibrations of the propeller. FN's team attended the vessel for an underwater inspection while offloading in Amsterdam port, and the underwater inspection revealed two damaged and two bent propeller blades due to ice damage on a 5200MM Propeller. In a normal scenario the blades would be cold straightened however the damaged tip on the opposite blade made this impossible. To assure a minimum delay for the vessel, the decision was made to crop the damage in a way maintaining the propellers hydro-dynamic requirements.

ESAB Cutting Systems is exhibiting a wide range of their innovative products at Fabtech 2012 expo in Las Vegas. The range of the company's products exhibited includes software features, plasma beveling system, a new drill station and improved plasma cutting capabilities. The Avenger X large gantry CNC cutting system will be the centerpiece of ESAB Cutting Systems display. The rugged, accurate Avenger X is the flagship machine in ESAB’s wide range of automated cutting machines, and is available with straight cutting tools, bevel cutting tools, and plate marking systems. The Avenger X will be plasma bevel cutting on ESAB’s exclusive Continuous Cleaning Downdraft table. The Avenger X will also be equipped with the Plasma VBA Global , the latest plasma bevel cutting system from ESAB.

Earlier this week rough weather damaged the bow of the container ship stranded in New Zealand waters off Tauranga. High wind and rough seas early this week resulted in approximately 25m of the fore section, weighing around 250 tonnes, being ripped free from the aft portside and falling to the sea bed. This section included the boat landing platform and access ladder, with gas cutting equipment also going overboard. No salvors were onboard at the time and the loss of equipment has not delayed salvage efforts.

New UltraCore HD-C Wire from Lincoln Electric Provides High Deposition Rates in All Positions for Shipbuilding and Many Other Applications. UltraCore® HD-C is a mild-steel gas-shielded flux-cored wire produced by Lincoln Electric. It’s an ideal choice for out-of-position welding requirements with 100 percent CO2 in the shipbuilding industry and other fabrication applications. Designed to provide high deposition rates and a flat bead appearance in all positions, UltraCore HD-C delivers premium arc performance and fast-freezing slag with a low fume-generation rate. UltraCore HD-C has a wide operating range and is able to reach deposition rates of up to 10 lbs/hour, even in out-of-position applications.

ESAB Cutting Systems introduces the Vision T5c Control for retrofit onto cutting gantries. This updated version of ESAB’s Vision T5 CNC is re-packaged for quick and easy installation in place of existing Vision controls on ESAB cutting gantries. Designed for ease of use and improved productivity, the Vision T5c features an ergonomic, wide-screen layout and an advanced touch-screen interface that offers twice the display area of other CNC controls, as well as unique process control features designed to simplify operation and boost productivity.

ESAB Cutting Systems continues its long history of plasma cutting system innovation with the new Smart Voltage Height Control (SVHC) system. SVHC improves plasma cut quality and maximizes plasma consumable life by automatically compensating for electrode wear. By integrating a number of plasma and CNC features that have existed for many years, this new system lets plasma users receive maximum value from their cutting machines, improving performance and driving down the total cost of production.