IIW History 1990-2015

preface

“   ” No good thing ever dies The Shawshank Redemption t he International Institute of Welding (IIW) has a proud and distinguished history that goes back to the early years of the 1900s when the modern concept of welding and its processes became a decisive part of a new century, which in its earliest beginnings, promised considerable change in the joining of metals and materials. The origins of IIW, therefore, can be traced back to the period that followed the first international congress on the use of acetylene which was held in Berlin in 1898 and resulted in the subsequent formation of several institutes to represent both acetylene, and to a lesser extent, welding interests. Much discussion was to take place, as a result, on the establishment of a permanent commission to represent ‘Acétylènists’, as they were known. This eventually resulted in an international organisation called the Permanent International Commission on Acetylene and Autogenous Welding, abbreviated to CPI, which was formed as an outcome of an international congress held in Paris in 1923. This Commission concentrated solely on acetylene and its use in gas welding. It became increasingly clear, over time, that CPI could not fulfil the purpose of an international welding organisation because of increasing competition from metal-arc welding, which had found new prominence with a multitude of innovative techniques and processes that also included the utilisation of inert gases other than acetylene. Following the Second Word War many of the members of the welding community, including those in CPI, actively sought to establish an institute with the expectancy that a truly international welding organisation could be formed. This was undertaken with a spirit of enthusiasm and mutual understanding to such a degree that the stage was set for the official launch of the International Institute of Welding, which took place at a conference organised by the Belgian Institute of Welding, on the 11 June 1948. David Barnett

LINKING PEOPLE, JOINING NATIONS