The WEMCO organization within the American Welding Society (AWS) may well be one of the best-kept secrets in the business. Billed as “An Association of Welding Manufacturers,” WEMCO is a standing committee of AWS, and it offers big benefits for both large and small manufacturers of products for the welding industry, including many gas suppliers.
Where’s the value? Well, for starters, the WEMCO Annual Meeting held February 24- 26, 2011, at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, featured key industry speakers on topics of great relevance to welding users and manufacturers. These included: William J. Kroll, President, Chairman and CEO of MATHESON; Joe F. Colvin, President Emeritus of the Nuclear Energy Institute and President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS); and Andrew Masterman, President and CEO of ESAB North America. Add to this the highly insightful and accurate economic forecast by Alan Beaulieu, President of the Institute for Trend Research, and you have a “can’t-miss” two-day meeting that offered solid and immediate value to everyone attending. Hector Villarreal, President of Weldcoa and 2011 Chair of WEMCO’s Executive Committee says, “As a manufacturer, I plan my year around this meeting. The WEMCO meeting is the single most strategic meeting of the year. Every speaker is hand picked by the executive board in order to make sure that the information is relevant and timely for the membership.”
Who Is WEMCO?
WEMCO was established within the AWS committee structure in 1996. Prior to this, it was a separate association known as the Welding Equipment Manufacturers Association (WEMA), adopting the new name of WEMCO when it entered the AWS fold. Presently, WEMCO is a largely self-governing entity that provides a common voice to the welding industry, government bodies, and technical standards organizations worldwide. It represents companies making products for welding processes and applications, and it provides valuable information and services to end users, distributors, and manufacturers in the welding industry.
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