Welding's power role

Doosan Babcock, part of Doosan Power Systems, is one of the world's leading providers of services and technologies to power utilities.Welding plays a key role in its manufacturing facilities in Scotland and Welding Skill Centre in Tipton,West Midlands, and on power stations and construction sites that it services around the country.

The company has its own electrode manufacturing facilities in Renfrew. Doosan Babcock uses a number of processes in its welding operations including: TIG, MMA, flux cored and solid wire MIG/MAG, as well as oxy-acetylene for brazing applications. Submerged arc welding is also used.

Since 1996, Kemppi has been Doosan Babcock's preferred supplier of MIG, MMA and TIG welding equipment, supplying more than 1000 power sources, 350 MIG welding wire feed units, 20 Synergic MIG welding systems and 650 TIG HF units, including PRO pulsed MIG and PROTIG 410 power sources with wire feed units.

Much of the original equipment supplied is still going strong today.

Martyn Fletcher, chief welding engineer, says: "Kemppi's equipment has helped to keep repair rates at Doosan Babcock consistently below 2%, much lower than the UK average of about 5%.

We train and test roughly 800 welders a year on Babcock welding consumables and Kemppi welding equipment meaning that the quality of welding is consistently high right from the Welding Skill Centre through to all site operations."