Page 10 - Climate Control News September 2022

News
Welders forced to turn down work
WELD AUSTRALIA HAS revealed fabricators are being forced to turn down work due to a shortage of skilled welders.
These are not occasional jobs being turned down but a considerable volume of work, accord- ing to the results of Weld Australia’s 2022 mem- bers survey.
Weld Australia CEO, Geoff Crittenden, said the survey was distributed to members in June and completed by 140 companies.
Asked what they are concerned about the most, 64 per cent of senior managers cited lack of skilled staff in an extremely constrained recruit- ment market.
Crittenden wasn’t surprised by the results pointing out that Australia will need an addi- tional 70,000 welders by the end of the decade.
“With a considerable volume of work being onshored in the wake of international supply chain disruptions, most Australian fabrication companies are so strapped for skilled welders that they are working at anywhere between 30 to 50 per cent of their full capacity,” he said.
“They are being forced to turn down jobs because they simply don’t have the manpower to complete the work.
“This is having a major impact on production and causing delays throughout downstream industries including building and construction, mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing.”
Almost half (47 per cent) of survey respondents
Australia will need 70,000 additional welders by 2030.
have a pipeline of work that extends beyond six months.
This compares to the 2020 members survey when the main pipeline of work didn’t go past four weeks.
“Given the concern over Australia’s looming skills crisis, it makes sense that 95 per cent of respondents support the concept of free TAFE, increased funding to upgrade TAFE facilities, or both,” Crittenden said.
“Clearly, the welding industry is looking to the government to help increase the supply of skilled labour over the coming years.
“Our members are also investing in their own welder training programs. For example, BHP, Komatsu, JRS Manufacturing, Maxi-Trans and Precision Manufacturing Group have all estab- lished their own schools.”
Crittenden said industry is also investing in advanced welding technology to help overcome the skills shortage.
He said more than 28 per cent of respondents indicated that their company or the company they work for has purchased robots or cobots while a further 25 per cent have invested in Industry 4.0 capabilities.
Carrier completes Toshiba acquisition
THE CARRIER GLOBAL Corporation has completed its acquisition of the Toshiba Corpo- ration's ownership stake in Toshiba Carrier Corporation (TCC).
A longstanding joint venture between Carrier and Toshiba, TCC is a global provider of residen- tial and light commercial HVAC solutions, including VRF and heat pump products.
Carrier chair & CEO, David Gitlin, said the acquisition presents tremendous growth opportunities for Carrier in the fast-growing, energy efficient VRF and heat pump markets.
“Toshiba Carrier's differentiated technology, strong channel and global design and manufac- turing footprint allow us to benefit from grow- ing electrification and sustainability trends. We
are thrilled to welcome the 6,600 talented TCC employees to the Carrier family,” he said.
Building on Carrier's previous acquisition of Guangdong Giwee Group, TCC will join the newly created Global Comfort Solutions busi- ness unit within Carrier's HVAC segment.
The new business will be headquartered in Tokyo under the leadership of Saif Siddiqui, a seasoned Carrier leader who will report directly to HVAC segment president Chris Nelson.
Toru Kubo, who has served as president & CEO of TCC, will be joining the Global Comfort Solutions leadership team reporting to Siddiqui.
Carrier acquired Toshiba's interest in TCC for approximately $US900 million.
For the fiscal year 2021, TCC had annual sales of approximately $2 billion. ✺
LEFT: TCC will join a new business division called Global Comfort Solutions.
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