CWA News
The voice of the welding industry in Canada
May/June 2005
CANADIAN WELDING ASSOCIATION BC CHAPTER
The CWA held its western Board of Directors meeting in Richmond, BC, with the intent of gathering support in the BC welding community for the establishment of a BC chapter. On Friday, April 29, the day before the board meeting, CWA hosted a lunch and seminar. Twenty-two welding professionals from the Vancouver area attended. Our speakers gave three excellent presentations.
Joe Smith took the group through a presentation on plasma welding. He showed the process in its many forms. He had excellent examples of applications for plasma welding and included charts that showed the range of material where it can be used effectively. He included some details on the economic and quality advantages of plasma welding.
Mick Pates gave an animated presentation on some of the exotic welding materials and applications he has been involved with over the years. He discussed uses of electron beam and laser welding, welding of materials including titanium, zirconium and niobium, and the welding and metallurgy involved in applications for nuclear fuel rods and reactor cooling tubes, and in aircraft frame and engine repairs.
Geoff Nimmo of Industry Canada showed the group how the welding industry’s technology roadmap will assist in getting government, industry and academia to understand that welding is one of industry’s enabling technologies. It will help to ensure that current and future manufacturing and fabricating processes keep Canada’s industrial sector competitive.
We are looking for local BC champions to take up the cause. The effort is beginning to show signs of interest in BC – the first new membership applications are beginning to arrive. To further interest in establishing a chapter, a letter and flyer were sent to welding professionals throughout BC.
WESTERN BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The CWA Board of Directors met in Richmond on Saturday, April 30. The day was highlighted by very open and fruitful discussion, with nine of CWA’s chapters represented.
Highlights of the reports included:
- Golden Triangle’s very successful Try-the-Technology night.
- The proceeds from previous Mike Irvine Memorial Golf Tournaments will provide schools in the Golden Triangle, Hamilton and Toronto chapters’ areas with a total of $15,000 in welding equipment.
- Toronto chapter produced a 2005 directory that yielded significant revenue for the chapter. Samples were given to all present.
- A request was made for all chapters’ advertising rates to be consolidated in one document with the possibility of eventually harmonizing them. Further, the suggestion was made to set standards for chapter publications.
- Membership in the association remains flat, with new members being offset by members leaving.
- The chapter rebate system will be replaced by a program of assistance to chapters for their airfare to board of directors and annual general meetings. This will be done on an as-required basis.
Minutes of the meeting have been posted to the website. Thanks to all who participated and contributed reports and ideas to the meeting. A special thanks to Al Lundrigan, who took minutes of the meeting.
EASTERN BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Awards Dinner, fall Board of Directors meeting and the Annual General Meeting will be held in Halifax on September 30 and October 1. The association will present its annual awards, including the Mike Cherry Memorial Scholarship, the Robert J. Jacobson Memorial Award and the Michael N. Vuchnich Award, at the dinner. The criteria for the awards and nomination forms can be found on the website.
MANGANESE LITIGATION
Recent developments in the USA indicate that some manganese-related litigation is being decided on the fact that manganism and Parkinson’s disease originate in different parts of the nervous system.
CWA’S WEBSITE
We have added a new section to the CWA website for press releases from our supplier members. You can see the latest information on their products and services. The same service will be offered to fabricator members.
All members should watch for CWA’s new products and services database, which will be made operational in June. It will allow all members to list the products and services they offer. The database will be searchable by name, company, product or service, and region. Watch for announcements.
CANADIAN WELDING ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
Watch for your copy of the spring issue. The summer issue is being assembled now. It focuses on welding in the pipeline industry. You should see it late in August. All members should provide CWA with your up-to-date mailing address when it changes to ensure uninterrupted delivery.
We will publish articles on education and safety whenever appropriate articles are available, instead of dedicating a specific issue to these themes.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EDMONTON CHAPTER
At the Edmonton Chapter’s seminar on April 15 titled “Designing Welds for Severe Service,” the chapter recruited 16 new individual members to the CWA. Well done!
CWA SUPPLIERS COMMITTEE
The CWA Suppliers Committee met at the end of May to discuss several issues, including the bilingual labeling on equipment and consumables sold in Quebec, and the status of the Ontario government’s efforts (Waste Diversion Ontario) to reduce or eliminate electrical and electronic equipment entering the waste stream.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- June 3–6, 2005 – 2005 Canadian Skills Competition, Edmonton
- June 10–11, 2005 – Southern Alberta Institute of Technology – 30th Anniversary Welding Engineering Technology Reunion, Calgary
- June 23, 2005 – Mike Irvine Memorial Golf Tournament, King’s Forest Golf Club, Hamilton; now sold out
- August 30, 2005 – Mike Cherry Memorial Golf Tournament, Granite Ridge Golf Club, Milton – See the Toronto Chapter webpage for details and registration information.
- September 30 to October 1, 2005 – Canadian Welding Association – 2005 Annual General Meeting, Awards Dinner and Board of Directors meeting, Halifax, NS