Lincoln Electric Investing $30 Million In A New Welding Technology Center In Euclid, Ohio

CLEVELAND, Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lincoln Electric Company, a subsidiary of Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LECO), is pleased to announce it is investing approximately $30 million in a new Welding Technology Center on its Euclid, Ohio campus.  The Center will focus on the training of welding educators and industry leaders to address the rising demand for welding education and career pathways in welding and advanced manufacturing.  Lincoln Electric will also dedicate resources to support welding training for veterans at this facility.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2016 with an opening anticipated in 2017 - marking the centennial anniversary of Lincoln's legacy welding school, the longest-running welding school in the United States.  The new 130,000-square foot center will double Lincoln's welding education capacity to 180 welding booths and will include high-tech classroom and seminar spaces.  It will also showcase and integrate Lincoln Electric's latest technologies and solutions into a comprehensive welding curriculum – making it the industry's most advanced facility of its kind.

Lincoln Electric's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher L. Mapes said, "This investment reflects our commitment to being at the forefront of welding innovation and education. The increased demand from customers, the skilled trades and technical schools to help develop the next generation of industry-ready welders has accelerated our investment in education and our new Welding Technology Center will allow us to demonstrate how our technical expertise and the value of our solutions can have a measurable impact on educators, students and customers.  We are thankful to our partners, including the City of Euclid, Cuyahoga County, the State of Ohio, and the many other institutions who are supporting this expansion as part of our '2020 Vision and Strategy,' and who are helping us define the next chapter of our welding school's legacy."

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln Electric has 47 manufacturing locations, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric and its products and services, visit the Company's website at www.lincolnelectric.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The Company's expectations and beliefs concerning the future contained in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements reflect management's current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "guidance" or words of similar meaning.  Actual results may differ materially from such statements due to a variety of factors that could adversely affect the Company's operating results.  The factors include, but are not limited to: general economic and market conditions; the effectiveness of operating initiatives; interest rates; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that may limit our access to capital; currency exchange rates and devaluations, including in highly inflationary countries such as Venezuela; adverse outcome of pending or potential litigation; actual costs of the Company's rationalization plans; possible acquisitions; market risks and price fluctuations related to the purchase of commodities and energy; global regulatory complexity; and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as political unrest, acts of terror and natural disasters, on the Company or its customers, suppliers and the economy in general.  For additional discussion, see "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE The Lincoln Electric Company

Related Links

http://www.lincolnelectric.com