2023 BUSINESS FORECAST

customer achieve a quick win. This strategy lets a fabricator deploy their skilled labor on more challenging tasks while a cobot does boring, repetitive work at 2X to 4X the productivity rate of semi-automatic GMAW.

Addressing The Talent Gap

Cobots and robots also make manufacturing cool. Running an automated manufacturing cell is a challenge the younger generation can buy into. Automation also helps attract people who want to alleviate the physical tolls of welding, flex their mind more than their muscles and attract a more diverse talent pool. So does using data analytics applications, welding software and cutting automation. Telling young, relatively inexperienced people that their jobs involve computers, nesting software, CNC controllers or robots enables them to impact a business in a short time frame compared to the years it can take to master welding.

Speaking of changing the perception of manufacturing, I’d like to give a hat tip to the industry’s social media influencers that show welding careers in a sophisticated and technically advanced manner. Factories and fabrication facilities look different compared to a generation ago, and that’s changing the perception of the most important influencers of all: parents.

Overall, when we look at addressing the shortage of welding professionals, all of us need to build awareness of the opportunities, including advocating for automation and all the welding careers within the distribution channel. If you think about it, the greater goal of both is to help fabricators and manufactures become more productive.

If you know a young person who wants to pursue an educational path toward a welding career, remind them that the AWS Foundation is offering more than $2 million in scholarships in 2023 and that March 1 is the deadline to apply for National, District, and Section Scholarships.

Distributor Implications Of Automation

For distributors who wish to raise the bar on their automation expertise and open up new business opportunities to add more value to their customers, consider the AWS Certification Program for Robotic Arc Welding - Operators and Technicians (CRAW). Obtaining CRAW certification develops skills related to robot programming and logic, safety, robotic equipment setup, producing sound parts and coaching customers implementing automation, all of which are becoming as fundamentally valuable as recommending the correct filler wire and shielding gas.

If you’re looking for precedence for having distributor personnel pursue certifications, Karen Gilgenbach, the incoming

Chair for the AWS D16 Committee on Robotic and Automatic Welding, holds CWI, CWS, CRAW-T certifications. As Zone Vice President for MATHESON, she leads a team of nearly 400 people across 36 MATHESON locations in the Midwest and credits certifications as helping advance her ability to add more value to customer interactions.

Conferences And Connections

I’d like to conclude this 2023 outlook by returning to the benefits of industry event participation. Our industry is filled with individuals who want to give back to the industry that has provided them not only a solid career with competitive compensation, but lifelong friendships and a close knit community of peers. Right now, we have four generations active in the business. Boomers are working longer, but masses of them are retiring soon. While Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z have different communication styles and learning habits, industry events give them all an opportunity to interact and share their passion for both the science and the craft of welding. There’s an old saying that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity — by attending GAWDA and AWS industry events, welding industry professionals of all ages have an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and to view future trends through the lens of past successes. Part of the reason in-person GAWDA events and AWS conferences are so important is that they create networking opportunities that are particularly important for passing the torch between generations. GAWDA has done an excellent job promoting succession planning, a major issue for smaller businesses of all kinds. Whether you have skills and wisdom to share or a desire to learn, consider participating in a panel discussion or attending one of the many networking events and social functions.