Extended capacity for our laser cladding workshop in Florida

As an upgrade to the LaserClad systems, Whertec, the Castolin Eutectic subsidiary in Florida, has added hot wire feeders to its workshop in Jacksonville at the end of 2018. Whertec’s LaserClad weld overlay system is a superior cladding process that provides a tough, thin protective metal cladded layer on boiler tubes and pressure vessels in the Power and Pulp and Paper Industries. LaserClad is a relatively low heat metal cladding process that limits distortion or shrinkage of the base tube.

Previously this cladding was produced with only powdered alloys applied through the heat of a laser beam. The additional wire capability gives Kevin Smith, Whertec Technical Director, and his team the flexibility they need for a variety of cladding jobs. Currently, LaserClad powdered alloys are used on multi-tube panels and other miscellaneous items, and welding wire is used for single tubes. This translates into the following benefits to our customers: higher quality of coated bent tubes and shorter lead times as wires have better availability.

Power industry shutdowns and scheduled maintenance programs cause high demand for Whertec onsite service jobs in spring and fall every year. While this is expected, at the end of 2018, Whertec project managers were working around the clock finishing up one of their busiest and most lucrative on-site coating seasons in the company’s history.