2013 State of the Industry: Welding Profile
An outline of the overall technology trends, critical issues and industry insights for the industrial welding sector.
Posted: January 14, 2013
An outline of the overall technology trends, critical issues and industry insights for the industrial welding sector.
MAJOR TRENDS
(1) Skilled labor shortage.
(2) Efficiency through elimination of non-value-added activities.
(3) Increasing automation.
(4) More migration from traditional stick and solid wire applications over to tubular wire applications, such as metal cored, flux cored.
(5) Improvement in worker environment, worker satisfaction.
BETWEEN THE LINES
To examine the details behind these trends, issues and insights, review how this executive views the coming year and the competitive environment in the welding industry:
CRITICAL ISSUES
(1) Skilled labor shortage.
(2) Uncertainty about domestic economic conditions and government policies.
(3) Fiscal cliff impact.
(4) Uncertainty in Europe and Middle East.
INSIGHTS
(1) Welding equipment suppliers must provide compelling value propositions to shops needing a competitive advantage.
(2) Shops should consider partnerships with suppliers and distributors to cut costs, run their operation more efficiently, and position themselves to be extremely competitive and successful as the economy grows.