Wilson & Gilkes has a range of welding options as part of the complete sheet metal fabrication solution
COVID disruption to the Australian economy highlighted a shortage of skills in various industries. Skilled welders are in short supply and the forecasts indicate this shortage will increase. Professional body Weld Australia has advised urgent action to address a predicted shortfall of 70,000 welders by 2030.
Wilson & Gilkes has a team of skilled welders that is part of the complete sheet metal fabrication service.
Gas and engineering company BOC is a valued business partner for Wilson & Gilkes. Recently James Hunt, the Wilson & Gilkes C.E.O. attended the official opening of a new BOC Application Technology Centre in south-west Sydney. The centre has live demonstrations of welding processes and equipment that will assist increasing productivity.
Officially opened by Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade and Manufacturing, the facility will focus on industry 4.0 technologies as it showcases state-of-the-art welding to customers, industry and educators.
The facility in Minto also demonstrates the benefits of welding cobots to semi-automate welding processes to help solve skilled welder shortage challenges and improve welding productivity
Smart welding equipment and BOC’s high-performance gases are expected to help Australian manufacturers remain competitive by ramping up welding speeds, producing high-quality welds, reducing manual handling and improving safety.
With livestream capabilities, BOC gas and metal fabrication specialists will be able to give face-to-face or virtual demonstrations to any customer location in Australia.
Assistant Minister Ayres said the new facility shows BOC’s commitment to helping Australian manufacturing and supporting jobs in Western Sydney, “It is great to see companies like BOC investing in new innovative facilities and developing cutting-edge technologies,” he said.
John Evans, Managing Director, BOC South Pacific, said the facility would allow BOC to demonstrate productivity improvements and share innovation from its R&D centres in Munich, Shanghai and New York, “The Application Technology Centre provides an interactive, technology-ready space for customers and industry to solve challenges and learn how smart welding processes and equipment can improve quality, productivity and safety. Education is vital to help businesses plan and invest for the future.
“Our gas and metal fabrication specialists can use the facility to replicate key challenges in Australian factories, and recommend solutions that can achieve productivity improvements. In some cases, this can be a simple welding gas or wire change, or automating parts of a welding process to solve labour challenges or using data to make more informed business choices.”
Mr Evans said BOC has been proudly doing business in Western Sydney for more than 30 years and is committed to continuous investment in the region.
“We have invested more than $130 million in many facilities, including our Sydney Operations Centre, BOC’s busiest production site processing in excess of 1.3 million cylinders each year,” he said.
Guests at the opening were taken on a tour of the facility including live demonstrations of a welding co-bot, arc projectors and shielding gas performance line demonstration.
Minister Ayres said it is critical that businesses continue to invest in research and development to ensure they can remain globally competitive and create the high-value, high-wage and high-tech jobs of the future.
“Our government is determined to see the Australian industry thrive with a future made in Australia, that’s why we created the largest industry policy in Australia history – a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.”
BOC supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment across the South Pacific region. Its parent company, Linde, is a leading industrial gases and engineering company with sales of $31 billion in 2021 to businesses such as chemicals, energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing metals and mining.
Partnerships with organisations like BOC is one component of the strategy for Wilson & Gilkes to assist our growth as a world class Australian manufacturer.
Wilson & Gilkes is based in South West Sydney. The 6,000 sq mtr manufacturing facility provides a range of sheet metal fabrication services:
- Design and 3D drawings
- Laser cutting
- Sheet metal punching
- Sheet metal folding
- Welding
- Spot welding
- Inserting
- Powder coating
- Assembly
Using Australian suppliers will reduce supply risks.
Wilson & Gilkes designs and manufactures 100% in Australia. No supply chain risk.
Contact us on (+61) 2 9914 0900 or sales@gilkon.com.au
