Kemppi’s Robust, Reliable And Portable Products Are Highly Valued By Doosan Babcock

The company has its own electrode manufacturing facilities in Renfrew, specialising in power generation industry applications. Doosan Babcock uses a number of processes in its welding operations including: TIG, MMA, flux cored and solid wire MIG/MAG, as well as oxy-acetylene for brazing applications. Submerged arc welding is also used at the Renfrew site.

Since 1996, Kemppi has been Doosan Babcock’s preferred supplier of MIG, MMA and TIG welding equipment supplying over 1,000 power sources, 350 MIG welding wire feed units, 20 Synergic MIG welding systems and 650 TIG HF units, including PRO pulsed MIG and PROTIG 410 power sources with wire feed units. Much of the original equipment supplied is still going strong today.

In 1996 Doosan Babcock went through an evaluation process to standardise equipment and following a strategic review of manufacturers, appointed Kemppi as a preferred supplier. Kemppi was chosen because of the need to source robust, reliable and portable equipment that could produce quality welds, even in hostile environments. It also made economic and commercial sense for welders to use the same equipment when training at the Welding Skill Centre and manufacturing facilities and on site.


Key activities carried out by Kemppi on Doosan Babcock sites include:
• Fully training Doosan Babcock’s electrical technicians to maintain and service the Kemppi equipment and systems and regularly advise on new developments and servicing procedures
• Provision of multi-process power source platforms able to deliver MMA, scratch start TIG, power a TIG HF unit for slope in/out as well as power a wire feed unit for MIG or FCAW.

Martyn Fletcher, Chief Welding Engineer at Doosan Babcock said: “Kemppi’s equipment has helped to keep repair rates at Doosan Babcock consistently below 2%, much lower than the UK average of approximately 5%, We train and test roughly 800 welders a year on Babcock welding consumables and Kemppi welding equipment meaning that the quality of welding is consistently high right from the Welding Skill Centre through to all site operations.”

The Doosan Babcock world class Welding Skill Centre at Tipton has 60 welding bays and undertakes training for 90 apprentices at any one time. There are 20 welding bays for training in Renfrew, and both sites also train and test welders commercially for other companies. Doosan Babcock’s Welding Skill Centre and welders have a strong industry reputation, and their apprentices were placed 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 8th, in the 2010 UK Skillweld competition,

Mike Pixley, Managing Director, Kemppi UK Ltd said: “The relationship we have with Doosan Babcock has been built up and developed over many years. We recognise that they are a major player both in the UK and worldwide power generation industry, and therefore need to rely on the technical welding expertise of the processes and equipment we provide. Most of the original equipment supplied is still working which is testament to their engineer’s skill in maintaining and servicing the equipment and to the engineering and production skills that we put in when we design our welding products.”