The voice of the welding industry in Canada
October 2004

CANADIAN MANUFACTURING WEEK

The last week of September was one of CWA’s busiest weeks ever. At CWA’s national level, it included six major events: a Board of Directors meeting, the 2004 Annual General Meeting, the 2004 Awards Dinner, Weld Expo Canada trade show, the 2004 Welding Symposium and a meeting of CWA’s Education Committee.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

The Board of Directors meeting was held on September 27 at the Toronto Board of Trade. Chapters presented reports, and all functional areas of the Association reported on their status and activities.

Important areas that should be noted are:

• The membership and financial condition of the CWA require major improvement. There is an immediate need for all members to help address the membership problem. We have tried contests and incentives, but now is the time for every member to come to the aid of the CWA. Bring in a new member or encourage a member whose membership has expired to rejoin the Association.
• Benefits to fabricators are numerous in CWA. Recruit a fabricator as a member.
• The Association has implemented its privacy policy under the requirements of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
• Another priority of the Association is to re-establish a chapter in Vancouver. Efforts will be made in that area at the next Board of Directors meeting, which will be held in Vancouver on April 30, 2005.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM followed the Board of Directors meeting. It was held to bring members up to date on the workings of the Association and to enable members to express their approval or disapproval of the actions taken on their behalf by the Board of Directors and the staff of the Association. Members approved the new slate of officers of the Canadian Welding Association. They will hold office for the next two years.

President – Bill Eccles
First Vice President – Emad Assaad
Second Vice President – Bruce James
Treasurer – David Wilson
Past President – Robert Shaw

All standing committees and functional areas of the Association reported to the membership. Members can view these reports online.

AWARDS DINNER

The 2004 Awards Dinner, hosted by Bob Shaw, was attended by 55 welding professionals. Jack Pacey spoke about Northern College’s plan for an Applied Research Centre and the progress of the Technology Roadmap for the Canadian Welding Industry.

The awards included:

• A service plaque presented to Debbie Wright to express the CWA’s appreciation for her dedication to the administration of the CWA and CWS over the last six years. Brian McQueen of the Canadian Welding Bureau accepted on Debbie’s behalf.
• The Toronto Chapter Scholarship, presented to Nicholas Lazure of Northern College.
• The Mike Cherry Memorial Scholarship, presented to Nicholas Leja, a student in 4th year Mechanical Engineering at University of Waterloo.
• The Robert J. Jacobson Memorial Award, presented to Lowell Brown of the Calgary Chapter.
• The Michael N. Vuchnich Award, presented to Pierre Bedard of Lincoln Electric Company of Canada.
• The Governor General’s Gold Medal for academic excellence, presented to Richard Perry by Michael Hill, president of Northern College.
• A plaque, presented to Bob Shaw, recognizing his presidency of the CWA from 2002 to 2004, by Bill Eccles. In accepting the plaque, Bob gave a farewell address, in which he shared his hopes and dreams for the CWA and its future. He then passed the torch to Bill Eccles, CWA’s new president.

Bill Eccles accepted the role of president and spoke about his goals for increasing the membership and geographic span of the Association. He then invited everyone to assist in the strengthening of the CWA.

2004 WELDING SYMPOSIUM

CWA’s 2004 Welding Symposium was held at Weld Expo Canada. There were four sessions on various aspects of welding. Each was given top ratings by attendees.

• Welding of Stainless Steels – Frank Babish, Technical Manager, Welding Products, Sandvik Steel Company
• Aluminum Welding: Increasing Productivity through Advances in Technology – Thom Burns, Regional Sales Manager, AlcoTec Wire Corporation
• Fabrication and Repair Welding – Andy McCartney, Manager of Welding Services, Omniweld Integrated Solutions
• Production Monitoring – Bernie Beaudoin, Manager, Marketing and Product Development – North America, and Deanna Postlethwaite, Product Manager, High Technology Products, The Lincoln Electric Company

Copies of the presentations and contact information for the speakers are online.

WELD EXPO CANADA

Fourteen CWA supplier members exhibited their products and processes at the Weld Expo Canada trade show held from September 28 to 30. Attendees were able to see the latest in welding technology.

Students from schools across Ontario were invited to attend the trade show and did so in hordes. They were able to discuss welding as a career and a process with some of the leading welding professionals in Canada.

DREAM WELDING WORKSHOP

CWA supplier members donated thousands of dollars’ worth of welding equipment and supplies to the Dream Welding Workshop contest. Included in the workshop is enough equipment to start a small welding business. To qualify to win the workshop, an attendee at Weld Expo Canada was required to visit every supplier member’s booth. Through the generosity of our supplier members, there is enough equipment and supplies to not only award the Workshop, but also to award some significant second prizes. CWA offered a year’s membership to all contest entrants who had not been members before.

The Workshop will be awarded to a lucky individual at the next Suppliers Committee meeting.

MANGANESE IS BACK!

The manganese issue has resurfaced for the welding industry in Ontario. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour has asked the industry for its comments on new Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL) for 92 substances. Details of the proposed levels can been on the MOL’s website for:

• current limits – www.gov.on.ca/lab/english/hs/oels/current_limits.html 
• proposed limits – www.gov.on.ca/lab/english/hs/oels/proposed_limits.html 

The proposed limits could create undue hardship for the welding industry. This is an important issue for all members – individuals, fabricators and manufacturers alike – as it impacts on the health and safety, employment, and usability for people, products and processes. The issue will initially be addressed by the CWA’s Suppliers Committee and then rolled out for comment to all members.

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