“Welding industry hits by slow growth” [November 2012]

November 22, 2012 12:59 pm

According to A.H. Maheshwarri, Chairman, D&H Sécheron Electrodes, “In the last six months, manufacturing industry and projects are going slow and growth rate is coming down and welding consumable industry is no exemption to this”
Industry OverviewDiscussing the recent status of welding industry in India, A.H. Maheshwarri, Chairman, D&H Sécheron Electrodes Pvt Ltd said, “In the last six months, manufacturing industry and projects are going slow and growth rate is coming down and welding consumable industry is no exemption to this.”
According to him, “Size of the welding market in India is volatile and exactly cannot be specified in terms of quantity or value because lot of projects are going slow. However, welding consumables requirement is directly proportional to steel consumption.”
Indore-based D&H Sécheron Electrodes Pvt. Ltd. was formed in the year 1966 and ranks amongst the largest producers of welding electrodes in India. Talking about the company’s performance, Mr. Maheshwarri said, “Our focus has always been on customer satisfaction with the most competitive technology. We contribute for development of special and ultra special electrodes with particular attention to import substitution which is known to all those who are associated with sophisticated welded fabrication.”
He adds, “After establishing ourselves as the leader in welding electrodes, we introduced solid wires, flux cored wires and SAW welding fluxes two decades back.”  The company has expanded its products range by adding welding machines in 2007.  It got into fabrication of power plant and oil sector and boiler components in 2011, both high end structures and pressure parts.
ChallengesHighlighting the challenges being faced by the industry, he said, “Though the Indian market is able to make all the products required by absorbing technology to make consistent quality consumables, consistent supply of quality raw materials which includes Rutile, Flurospar and small quantity of solid wires, SS wires, etc. is challenging.” He recommends, “Proper data has to be generated for the consumables especially low hydrogen carbon steel and low alloy types to meet DBTT requirements. This data is required by off-shore drilling platforms, some of the nuclear components etc.”
Also, it has become essential to develop creep rupture data for the recent developmental consumables to ascertain its suitability. “Co-ordinate efforts between user and manufacturer are important to carry out these tests since it is a time consuming test,” he adds.
As we know the temper embrittlement needs to be studied for the weldment. Enough literature is available on this subject and procedures are established at both fabricators and consumable manufacturers end. However, Mr. Maheshwarri feels, “There is a challenge for manufacturers to generate data and submit to the fabricators for consideration.”
He also said, “17 class electrodes is a modification of 16 class covering.   17 class produces spray arc and a finer ripped weld bead surface.  The finish need not demand further machining.  But it needs proper baking before use at 300°C for 1 hour to avoid starting porosity. This is another challenge at the users’ end. Apart from development and improvement of SMAW consumables, it is equally important to educate how it is used at users end. It can be said with certainty that the successful development of an electrode and its acceptance can only be possible if it is used carefully at fabricators end.”
Products & Solutions of D&H SécheronD&H Sécheron has extrusion machines from Pelissier of Switzerland conveyorised ovens and automatic packing lines from Vedeojet Technologies Inc USA and from image SA, France and Precision Layer Winding Machines from  MMW, Italy, Drum packing machines for submerged ARC welding and GMAW wires.
Its range of consumables and equipment for a wide range of welding processes includes:• GMAW: Gas Metal Arc welding process consumables• GTAW: Gas Tungsten Arc welding process consumables• SAW Wire and flux• FCAW: Flux cored Arc welding wires• Wear plates• Service welding by undertaking critical jobs on turnkey basis• Introduction of special reclamation & maintenance electrodes• Welding equipment.
All these consumables are supplied with back up data with 3rd party approvals from various reputed agencies like NPCIL, LRA, BVQI, IRS, RDSO, ABS, GL, BIS, IBR etc.
D&H Sécheron also manufactures following range of consumables that includes:• Carbon and low alloy steels• Stainless Steel including Duplex and Super Duplex SS• Nickel and Nickel base alloys• Surfacing, overlay and hard facing applications• Cast iron • Cutting & gauging, piercing, chamfering• Reclamation and maintenance range includes specialised products to improve productivity as a LoTherme OA & WP series to get consistent quality with higher productivity.
D&H Sécheron’s research & development centre was recognised by Department of Science Industrial Research, Govt. of India and is continuously renewed based on its significant contribution in development.
The company is equipped with state-of-the-art fabrication workshop. To name a few facilities, it has got CNC machines, plasma cutting machines, Hydraulic press up to 150 MT and crane handling capacity up to 50 MT.
D&H Sécheron has got NABL accreditation and ISO 9001 certification with creep facility where accreditation board for testing are carried out for all the consumables which are being used for high temperature properties where creep data is essential for considering for power plant applications. The company is also continuously contributing to knowledge management through its welding institutes located in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.