Lincoln Electric Combines Welding Businesses

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc., announced that it has combined its welding businesses, including those in North America and South America. The company is combining its North America Welding and South America Welding businesses into Americas Welding, according to a Lincoln Electric news release. The Europe Welding and Asia Pacific Welding businesses will be combined into International Welding.

We believe our new welding organizational structure will improve efficiencies by further integrating operational and product development processes across regions to better serve customer needs,” said Christopher L. Mapes, Lincoln Electric’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “This structure also leverages the functional and technical strength of our core teams in developing markets, which will help accelerate profitable growth in advanced applications as part of our 2020 growth strategy.”

The company said no layoffs are expected as a result of combining the welding businesses.

Combining the operations has led to the realignment of the organizational and leadership structure. George D. Blankenship will serve in the newly created position of the executive vice president and president of Americas Welding. He most recently served as the senior vice president and president of Lincoln Electric North America. In his role as the president of Americas Welding, he has oversight of the company’s North and South American operations and implementation of the Company’s growth strategy in those geographies.

Mathias Hallmann will serve as the president of International Welding. He most recently served as the president of Lincoln Electric European Welding. In that role, he had oversight of the European and Asia Pacific regions’ day-to-day operations, as well as implementation of the Company’s growth strategy in those geographies.

Lincoln Electric will continue to operate The Harris Products Group separately. That business includes the company’s global cutting, soldering and brazing businesses and retail channel distribution in the U.S.

Revenue for what is now Americas Welding was nearly $1.4 billion for the nine-month period, ended September 30. Revenue for what is now International Welding was about $402 million for the same period.

www.lincolnelectric.com