News from Lincoln Electric:

Lincoln Electric Introduces the Chip Foose-Designed
Vista(R) Hemisfear(TM) Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet
Legendary Car Designer Models Helmet After His 500-HP Hemisfear(TM) Hot Rod

Cleveland – Lincoln Electric has teamed up with Chip Foose – award-winning custom car designer and die-hard Lincoln Electric enthusiast – to introduce Vista(R) Hemisfear(TM), an auto-darkening welding helmet inspired by Foose’s 500-HP Hemisfear hot rod.

The latest edition to Lincoln’s Vista(R) series of welding helmets, the Hemisfear welding helmet captures the essence of Foose’s limited production hot rod, a classic car that gave Foose one of his initial claims to fame in 2006. The helmet features the hot rod’s three distinct colors: neon green, black and orange with a custom silver stripe on the side. Other embellishments to the helmet include Chip Foose’s signature and the Foose Design(TM) logo.

The Vista Hemisfear is the company’s first using a new lightweight shell design, bringing the total helmet weight to 20 oz. or less depending on configuration. All Vista helmets feature:

•  Solar powered auto-darkening, eliminating operator error and alkaline corrosion
•  Grind and TIG modes, as well as variable delay settings for greater operator control
•  Four independent arc sensors to ensure reliability
•  Different view sizes for user preferences, including the 3000 series, with one of the largest views in the industry

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POWER MIG^® 140C
POWER MIG^® 180C

Perfect for around the house or
around the shop, POWER MIG®
welders feature Diamond Core
Technology™ and a professional
grade drive roll system.

Precision TIG^® 225

The experts’ choice, with the
widest operating range in its class
and patented Micro-Start™ II
technology.

Ranger^® 10,000 Plus
Kohler^® or
Subaru Robin^®

Perform a variety of AC or DC welding
jobs, with plenty of AC generator
power for lights, tools,
and more. Perfect for construction,
maintenance and the farm.

Ranger^® 225 GXT

All the advantages of the Ranger®
10,000 with an enclosed case!
Perform a variety of AC or DC
welding jobs, with plenty of AC generator
power for lights, tools, and
more. Perfect for construction,
maintenance and the farm.

Check out the Lincoln website for more information about the RULES and REWARDS.

The Skills USA Championship is a well-known competition for high school and college students pursuing careers in trade, technical and skilled trade professions.

With various categories for participants to compete in, Sara Bingham seemed like an average participant at the Skills USA Utah State Championship. However, when she was announced as the first place winner in welding, Bingham stood out among her competitors.

“They called my name and everyone in the audience kept looking around to be sure they really heard a girl’s name. When I stood up, everyone’s mouths fell open in shock,” Bingham said.

Bingham welded for the first time as sophomore in high school at her father’s metal recycling business where she worked since she was 8. But, it was not until she took an advanced welding course at her high school that she began taking an interest.

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I’m not so naive to think that big companies go green for purely altruistic reasons…. but I’m sure happy when I see changes. At Arc-Zone we do what we can to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (check out the video about it over at JoeWelder.com)

And now, Lincoln’s new packaging is green:

Cleveland – The Lincoln Electric Company has introduced newly redesigned, eco-friendly packaging for its consumable products, resulting in added benefits to the customer and the environment.

Beginning in late 2008, all cardboard packaging will be made out of non-bleached bio-degradable cardboard. The new packaging drastically reduces the amount of harmful chemicals used in the production process, while providing a package that is 100-percent recyclable.

In addition, the labeling used on packages has been revamped. New labels are designed to be easier to identify at first glance and from greater distances. Brand, type and diameter information is now more readable and accessible.

“We wanted to make the product easier for everyone to read, from the welder, to distributors and forklift operators,” said Lisa Byall, consumable portfolio manager, Lincoln Electric. “The increased overall productivity combined with the reduced environmental impact of the new packaging offers our customers an added value to what are already the best performing consumables available.”

The Lincoln Electric Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. For more information, visit www.lincolnelectric.com.

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