The history of ESAB Corporation.

It all began in 1904, when Swedish engineer Oscar Kjellberg developed the world’s first coated electrode in Gothenburg, Sweden. His invention marked not only the beginning of Elektriska Svetsnings Aktiebolaget (ESAB), but also of modern welding technology, as it substantially improved the quality of joining metal.

In ESAB’s early years, Kjellberg worked tirelessly to promote coated electrode welding and encourage its adoption among customers. During the First World War (1914-1918), shipping companies across Europe began to recognize the value of welding for both the repair and construction of ships. As a result, ESAB prospered despite global conflict and founded the Anglo Swedish and Belgian-Swedish Electric Welding Companies in London and Antwerp, respectively – two of the largest merchant shipping ports in the world. These subsidiaries marked the beginning of ESAB’s expansion beyond Sweden and its increasing presence in the European shipping industry.

By the end of its first two decades, ESAB had established its coated electrode as one of the most important technological developments of the twentieth century.

During the Twenties, ESAB’s presence in the shipping industry grew significantly. And in December of 1920 the 16×4-metre workshop boat, ESAB IV, launched as the first all-welded ship to be classified by Lloyd’s. In 1921, ESAB began insourcing production of welding machines and delivered its first transformer, the KE 225, two years later.

Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB’s founder and the inventor of the coated electrode, died on July 5, 1931 and was succeeded by Walter Edström. The company went on to introduce extruded electrodes — which would ultimately replace dipped electrodes — and an automatic welder for hand welding electrodes to the market. Kjellberg-Eberle GmbH was also founded in Germany to produce gas-cutting machines, such as the Rex, marking ESAB’s first involvement in adjacent welding processes.

During the 1940s, ESAB further increased their production of welding machines and other equipment needed in fabrication. Demand for electrodes grew considerably through the 1950s across Europe. ESAB also expanded its operations by opening subsidiaries in France, Brazil, Austria, and Canada.

ESAB experienced major portfolio expansion in the 1960s, with resistance welding machines, the famous A6 automatic welding system, and automatic welders for submerged arc welding and semi-automatics for gas metal arc welding. ESAB also delivered its first synchronous generator for shipping vessels and brought the OK 48 P, now known as the OK 48.00, to market.

The 1970s were characterized by sustained market leadership in Europe and booming shipyards. ESAB was steadfast in introducing its now iconic black-and-yellow brand logotype, initiating production of robot welding systems, and establishing footholds in South Africa, Iraq, Angola, Algeria, Portugal, and Turkey.

ESAB experienced a definitive period of growth and expansion with acquisitions throughout the 1980s and 1990s, which ultimately converted ESAB into a leading global welding company. In just a 10-year period, ESAB acquired 26 companies across Europe and the United States. Importantly, ESAB identified Airco and L-TEC Welding and Cutting Systems (inventor of the plasma arc for cutting in 1955) as ideal, complementary industry leaders. Almost overnight, ESAB became the second-largest welding systems supplier in the United States.

Significant acquisitions in the nineties included Alloy Rods Corporation and All State Welding Products in 1990 and AlcoTec in 1995. Ninety years after its creation, ESAB boasted a formidable portfolio of welding, cutting, and automation solutions.

By the turn of the century ESAB had cemented its role as a leader in the global welding industry and continued to innovate and introduce important new products. The Integrated Cold Electrode (ICE) was a revolutionary new process for increased productivity in submerged arc welding (SAW). The OK Flux 10.72 was developed specifically to meet the impact requirement of -50 degrees Celsius in the welding of wind towers and gave ESAB a significant advantage over its competition. Later, ESAB introduced high-speed submerged arc welding with ICE^™ and other industry-shifting products and productivity solutions, such as SmartMIG, WeldCloud, Edge 2.0, Rebel AC/DC, RobustFeed, Fit+ 3, Rogue, Sentinel, Renegade, Velocity2, Versotrac, VacPac, CM40, and InduSuite.

From 2012 to 2019 the company completed more than 25 acquisitions including Victor Technologies, WestArco, Soldexa, TBi Industries, EWAC, Thermal Dynamics, and GCE — reputed brands with distinguished histories of their own. The addition of GCE into the portfolio meant the portfolio was serving the critical medical gas and specialty gas industry for the first time, establishing an adjacency business that augmented the company’s expertise in manufacturing, safety, and gas flow control in industrial fabrication.

On April 5, 2022, ESAB Corporation and its portfolio of brands became an independent, publicly traded company. Even as it navigated the historic COVID-19 pandemic, the company remained committed to inorganic growth and acquired WeldNote, Octopuz, Ohio Medical, Swift-Cut, Therapy Equipment Ltd., and Sager S.A.S. in four short years, adding leadership in welding management and robot programming software, oxygen regulators, suction oxygen therapy, central gas systems, and CNC plasma cutting systems to its robust portfolio.

Now, as ESAB Corporation celebrates its 120^th anniversary in 2024, it does so as global leader in fabrication and gas control technology with approximately 9,000 associates serving 147 countries. From the moment Oscar Kjellberg developed the world’s first coated welding electrode, ESAB has operated at the forefront of discovery, defying conventional thinking, redefining what’s possible, and advancing technologies and industries everywhere. The company’s ideas, product innovations, and ways of working are as cutting-edge today as they were in 1904, and the people of ESAB know what it takes to persevere — to create and withstand history.

ESAB associates are united in a purpose to shape the world we imagine and are grounded in a commitment to culture and core values.

120 Years Strong, 120 Years Powerful, 120 Years ESAB.