welding cap
welding cap

Trade shows and conferences are excellent opportunities to learn more about your craft while leaving the office.

They’re an essential part of professional development because attending one is a chance to network, learn about new trends in the industry, and meet suppliers and experts in the field.

More welding and welding-related events are happening worldwide than you might think.

Here are just 10 of our favorites.

FABTECH

Location: Chicago, USA

FABTECH brings suppliers and industry professionals together to showcase new tools and provide education on new solutions in welding.

The Chicago event features 1,700 exhibitors and attracts 50,000 attendees across four full activity days.

Can’t make Chicago? Check your schedule and head to the FABTECH event in Canada or Mexico.

IndustryWeek Manufacturing & Technology Conference & Expo

Location: Cleveland or New York, USA

Here are some welding events members of the American industry can’t miss.

Touted as the only event that covers design to delivery, the conference and expo focus heavily on the digital transformation of manufacturing.

The conference also attracts highly sought-after speakers. Previous speakers include Raj Nair, Ford’s CTO, and Billy Ray Taylor, the Director of Manufacturing at Goodyear.

Because you’re visiting Cleveland, you also get more than speakers and an event center full of technology.

You can also visit local area plants at the forefront of technology, like the MakerGear 3D Printers Production Facility and the Lincoln Electric Facility.

IMTEX Forming

Location: Bengaluru, India

IMTEX is the hub for the metal-forming industry in South and South East Asia.

The event draws in crowds from the manufacturing and ancillary industries.

Those looking for welding events get two-for-one with this package.

IMTEX is the main event, but Tooltech is also held in the same space. Both events take place over six days at the end of January.

Some of the areas covered by this dual event include:

  • CAD/CAM
  • Metalworking machine tools
  • Measuring machines

Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting Fair

Location: Shanghai, China

The Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting Fair is one of the global welding events that attract tens of thousands of visitors and around 1,000 exhibitors from around the world, in addition to the domestic Chinese players.

The event is held at the New China International Exhibition Center every summer. Though, the location has now moved to Shanghai.

Indeed an international affair, the exhibition is sponsored by vital Chinese players, the German Welding Society, and Messe Essen GmBH.

It is also co-sponsored by the American Welding Society, Korea Welding Industry Cooperative, and the Japan Welding Society.

On the docket of events are the following:

  • Technical seminars
  • Exhibitions
  • The IIW Annual Assembly & International Conference

Welding Exhibition

Location: Poznan, Poland

The welding Exhibition is an annual trade show held in the heart of industrial Poland on the country’s north coast.

Held at the Poznan Congress Center over four days, the event offers something for professionals looking for welding events in the welding and cutting industries.

The exhibition is primarily for showcasing new products. Industries and products covered include:

  • Gas welding devices
  • Electron beam welding stations
  • Metal spraying devices
  • Welding mandrel machines
  • Brazing and soldering accessories, devices, and stations
  • Radiators
  • Refrigerators

International Metal Working, Mould Automation, and Welding Technologies Fair

Location: Izmir, Turkey

The 3T fair has drawn significant crowds to Izmir, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, for 13 years.

It’s a general fair that brings together people from across the industry while promoting Turkish manufacturing.

What can you expect at this annual fair? Here’s a sample:

  • CNC-controlled machine technology
  • CAD-CAM
  • PC-based automation
  • Sector machinery
  • Products and technology
  • systems
  • Raw materials

Metalworking Exhibition Welding

Location: Krasnoyarsk, Russia

If you’re prepared to make the trek to the deepest, darkest Siberia, here’s one of those elusive welding events held in the middle of winter.

Hosted at the Krasnoyarsk Siberia Exhibition Centre, the event is ideal for welders in all industries, particularly the minerals, metals, and ores sectors.

The organizers have included the following topics on the agenda:

  • Equipment and tools (all industries)
  • Raw materials
  • Machines (all industries)
  • Equipment and processing technology
  • Iron and steel production

API/AGA Joint Committee on Pipeline Welding Practices

Location: Austin, USA

Here’s one of the best specialist welding events for industry professionals.

Organized for welders and other petroleum industry employees, the conference includes a program designed to promote best practices while providing data on the latest research.

The program includes topics like:

  • Mechanized Welding
  • Maintenance Welding
  • Fracture Mechanics
  • Weld Procedures
  • Welder Qualifications
  • Modification Interpretation and Policy

And as always, there are opportunities to make new contacts across the petroleum industry.

Weld Repair Conference

Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

The American Welding Society hosts and organizes the Weld Repair Conference.

This conference presents an opportunity for all welders across all industries to come together for several days of intensive learning.

Opportunities for learning at this conference include:

  • Discussion of codes and guidelines
  • Exploring case studies
  • Connect with operators, fabricators, and material suppliers to foster relationships and focus on the complexity of using welding for repair

CanWeld Conference

Location: Edmonton or Montreal, Canada

The CWB Group presents the CanWeld Conference and Expo for metal fabricating, welding, and finishing across multiple industries.

Here, professionals from power generation, mining, petrochemical, oil and gas pipelines, construction, shipbuilding, manufacturing, and others come together for two days of learning.

Topics include:

  • Using welding technologies in problem-solving
  • New technologies for managing staff
  • Improving quality and efficiency
  • General business issues and the business of welding

The conference and expo are held in the same building. So when you’re not listening to one of the 30+ speakers, you can hit the show floor to meet other industry experts.

Social events are also provided for everyone, from seasoned professionals to new students, to meet and greet each other.

Welding Events: Where Will You Go?

Whether you’re an industry expert or new to welding, there’s no shortage of welding events to choose from.

So whether you want to learn at home or away, take advantage of one of these incredible opportunities to learn from the best and stay at the forefront of your field.