TPT July 2013

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July 2013 21
Industry News
Six schools provided
with cutting and
welding prize
packages
VICTOR Technologies has announced
the six winners of its “Innovation to
Shape the World” contest for students
in welding and cutting programmes
at secondary and post-secondary
schools.
The individual winners are Mikayla
Bradford from Assabet Valley Regional
Technical High School, Marlborough,
Mass. (instructor Neil Mansfield); Rudy
Gonsalez from Mississippi Gulf Coast
Community College, Lucedale, Miss.
(instructor Joshua Pierce); and Justin
Clay from WEMOCO Career and
Technology Center, Spencerport, NY
(instructor Filippe Rocha).
The themes of the winning essays
were the influence of oxy-fuel cutting at
sites like Ground Zero to inspire Mikayla
to want to be a Navy Seabee, Rudy’s
observations on innovations and human
creativity, and the inspiration Justin
receives from his instructor and his
father (who is a welder and attended the
same school) to make each weld better
than the last.
The team winners hail from Assabet
Valley Regional Technical High School
(students Mitchell Miller and Jesse
Lemanski, instructors George Aziz
and Chris Wittmier); Santa Fe College,
Gainesville, Fla. (students Zachary
Adams, James Moore, Matt Taylor, Matt
Parrot and Syson O’Brien Hall, instructor
Joseph Mahoney); and Highland High
School, Gilbert, Ariz. (students Brett
Eschliman, Matt Focht, Jack Daniel,
Zach Benn, instructor Curtis Willems).
Winning projects were a “two tank
patriotic salute” in honour of the cutting
and welding used to build and repair
military equipment, “the mighty DUC,”
an ancient utility vehicle converted into
the ultimate mobile welding cart using
mostly scrap found on a farm, and 6-ft-
long metal alligator constructed from 1/8"
rod, pipe and scrap metal.
Individual winners won a $250 cash
prize for their winning essay. Members
of the winning team each won a $500
cash prize for their welding project. All
schools associated with the winners
also won a cutting, welding and gas
control package valued at $4,000 each.
Products in the package included a
Victor® Journeyman Welding & Cutting
Outfit, a Victor® Thermal Dynamics®
Cutmaster® 42 Air Plasma Cutting Outfit,
a Fabricator® 211i 3-in-1 Stick-MIG-TIG
Welding Machine Kit and two Tweco®
4-sensor auto-darkening welding
helmets.
“The winning students and schools
demonstrate the spirit of innovation that
enables them to use cutting and welding
equipment to shape their careers and
the world around them,” said Martin
Quinn, CEO, Victor Technologies.
Winner Justin Clay said: “I’m not only
writing this to enter the competition, I’m
also trying to get my message out to
encourage anybody that has a chance
to get to a CTE (Career and Technical
Education) center while you are still
in high school. It is the best decision I
have made, and it can make a dramatic
difference in one’s life.”
Mr Quinn also noted Mikayla’s essay
referred to the need for ironworkers at
Ground Zero. Because the firefighters
did not have the knowledge or expertise,
the ironworkers came in and used
cutting torches to help remove rubble
and debris. Unknown to Mikayla, Victor
created special, extended length torches
for that very purpose.
Tom Wermert, one of the contest
judges and senior brand manager for
the Fabricator 211i 3-in-1 welder that
was awarded, commented that, “The
team winners demonstrated great
imagination in turning what was often
discarded scrap metal into works of
function and beauty. In all cases, the
project components only cost a few
dollars, but the vision shown by the
teams was priceless.”
Victor Technologies – USA
Email:
Website:
thermadyne-us.html