Corporate Profile: The Lincoln Electric Company

An overview of the company and its organization, products, services and capabilities.

In 1895, John C. Lincoln founded The Lincoln Electric Company with a capital investment of $200. The product? Electric motors of his own design. Later joined by his brother, James F. Lincoln, the brothers set out to create a company that would become a leader in the welding industry. Today, nearly 120 years later, Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.

The Company has a leading global position in the fume extraction systems, brazing, soldering and alloys markets. Though many things have changed since 1895, the Lincoln Electric vision remains the same. Recognized worldwide as welding experts, the Company strives to provide cutting-edge products and solutions, as well as unparalled service, for its customers.

Although Lincoln Electric is headquartered in Cleveland, it has a global presence. The Company currently owns and operates 42 manufacturing locations around the world, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries, and a global network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. From Colombia to China to Australia to the United Kingdom, Lincoln Electric is there, providing welding solutions and serving its customers.

The dominant joining method for steel buildings and other industrial construction, arc welding has a wide variety of other applications. Lincoln Electric provides products that have applications across many end-user markets and industrial segments. Lincoln Electric products are used in general and heavy equipment fabrication, such as for farming, mining and forestry applications, as well as shipbuilding, automotive and trucking industries, pipe mills and pipelines, power generation and offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction.

Because the quality of welding materials and the efficiency of welding processes are vital factors in the overall performance of customers in these segments, Lincoln Electric provides the highest-quality equipment, consumables, technology and services for these welding markets and applications – playing a vital role in the worldwide fabrication of infrastructure, industrial and commercial equipment, transportation, energy, including alternative energy sources, and more.