HCM CITY — The welding equipment market is expected to grow at a rapid rate in the near future as the world moves toward industrialisation faster, experts said.

Welding is an essential part of every manufacturing process, automotive, infrastructure, shipping, railway, and aeroplanes to rockets.

Industry 4.0 – with the emergence of more automation and data exchange between machines – can help welding operations of all sizes meet the expectations of even the most demanding customers, with potential savings of up to 70 per cent, according to a survey by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation.

Trương Hòa Hải, a researcher and teacher at the Việt Nam National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, said: "With increasing foreign investment and local manufacturing, supporting industries are gaining importance, representing a huge opportunity for the welding industry.

"However, the lack of adequate regulations and structural integrity issues of traditional welding methods are considered obstructions to its growth.

"Moreover, welding applications require a workforce with specialised skill sets, and the manufacturing industry lacks in this regard.

“Qualified and competent welding engineers with multi-disciplinary knowledge are essential for the success of the welding industry.”

Suttisak Wilanan, deputy managing director of Reed Tradex, one of the leading exhibition organisers in Southeast Asia, said: “The use of welding in today’s technology is extensive and industrial sectors are highly dependent on welding technologies.

“Companies and their industrial processes need to adapt to the challenges of rapid technology-driven changes if they are not to be left behind by developments in their sectors and by their competitors.”

Digitisation, automation and networking are a dominant trend in industrial production, a development that is usually referred to as industry 4.0, according to Suttisak.

Interconnectivity, automation, and digitisation are questions that have to be tackled today to be a leader tomorrow and the welding technology sector is no exception.

Welding Vietnam

To enable the welding community to get updates on the latest technologies and associated industry trends and expand their professional networks, Reed Tradex plans to organise the 2019 Welding Vietnam international exhibition.

 “Welding Vietnam is expected to attract 250 brands and 10,000 visitors, providing a convenient one-stop venue where manufacturers from the automotive, sub-contracting and energy industries can meet with world-class suppliers, sample the latest welding technologies and developments and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of their welding, metal forming, fabricating, and finishing needs,” Wilanan added.

It will be held together with Metalex Vietnam 2019, an international exhibition on machine tools and metalworking solutions, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City from October 10 to 12. — VNS