Exciting things in the pipeline

for welding tech company

Formed to commercialise a technology developed at the CSIRO,
K-TIG (short for keyhole TIG) is beginning to see export success.
Brent Bedinski talked to the company about what lies ahead.

T
HE Salisbury welding technology company
K-TIG announced its first exports in August
2012, and has been developing its sales
network since.
K-TIG believes they can revolutionise the way
many jobs are carried out, automating the welding
of thick gauge materials (up to 16 mm). The
process is claimed to be 10 to 100 times faster than
conventional TIG.
"Conventional welding [requires] long
weld times, high power consumption, high gas
consumption and the need for edge preparation,"
the company's Belinda Latz told Manufacturers'
Monthly.
K-TIG's story began in 1997, with founder
Laurie Jarvis's research at the Adelaide branch
of the CSIRO's Division of Manufacturing
Technologies.
Its method was developed over eight years and
patented by the CSIRO.
After CSIRO moved its Adelaide lab to
Melbourne, Jarvis took the IP back and
commercialised it.
Recent boosts include deals with by two large
US companies, one of these a household name.
Details will be released in the year's second half.
Though broadly applicable, K-TIG sees a major
part of its future in pipeline installations.
"It'll be an enormous market for K-TIG and will
really shape our development and growth." Could K-TIG, which Latz says employs three at
Whatever the growth of the company over the its headquarters, take on some of those who have
next few years and its role in the global welding lost auto jobs?
industry - tipped by BCC Research to be worth $US "We are fairly light manufacturing, so we'll
25.1 billion in 2019 - it will likely remain small. never be a huge organisation to be able to take up
Most of the employment pain in SA from the that sort of slack from Holden," said Latz.
automotive manufacturing industry's collapse will K-TIG
be felt around Salisbury and Playford, according to 08 7324 6800
DMITRE. www.k-tig.com

K
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