SIC 3548 Electric and Gas Welding and Soldering Equipment

SIC 3548

This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electric and gas welding and soldering equipment and accessories. Also included are establishments primarily engaged in coating welding wire from purchased wire or from wire drawn in the same establishment. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing hand-held soldering irons are classified in SIC 3423: Hand and Edge Tools, Except Machine Tools and Handsaws, and those manufacturing electron beam, ultrasonic, and laser welding equipment are classified in SIC 3699: Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

333992

Welding and Soldering Equipment Manufacturing

335311

Power, Distribution, and Specialty Transformer Manufacturing

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 516 establishments operated in this category for part or all of 2004. Industry-wide employment totaled approximately 33,833 workers receiving a payroll of more than $1.5 billion. The Annual Survey of Manufactures reported that overall shipments for the industry were valued at more than $8.7 billion in 2005. Additionally, for the combined all other miscellaneous general purpose machinery manufacturing industry and power distribution, and specialty transformer manufacturing industry (also including scale and balance [except laboratory] manufacturing), a combined total of 52,752 employees worked in production in 2004, putting in more than 107 million hours to earn wages of more than $1.8 billion. Companies in this industry tended to be small to medium in size, with about 84 percent employing less than 500 workers.

Multiquip Inc. of Carson, California, was the industry leader, with 2005 sales of more than $2.4 billion and 600 employees. Bowling Green, Kentucky-based Thermadyne Manufacturing LLC was second with 2005 sales of more than $1.5 billion and 3,036 employees. Rounding out the top three was EFD Inc. of East Providence, Rhode Island, with sales of $972 million and 300 employees in 2005.

As a whole, shipment values for welding and soldering equipment manufacturers reached about $9.2 billion in 1997. However, this figure dropped to nearly $7.5 billion by 2002, a decline of more than 18 percent. The industry was able to stabilize between 2002 and 2004 with a slight increase to $7.6 billion in shipment values.

Also in 1997, the industry employed 49,402 workers with wages totaling more than $1.74 billion. By 2002...