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Welding disruptor signs major Singapore deal

Manufacturing

Singapore manufacturer Steel-Ti Precision Welding has signed an 8-year deal with a South Australian high-speed welding provider to use its technology to supply tanks and vessels to Asian markets.

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Adelaide-based K-TIG is commercialising its industry-disruptive technology under a Welding-as-a-Service (WaaS) business model.

The K-TIG system can perform a traditional six-hour weld in less than four minutes to a quality standard and unlike traditional welding it requires no edged preparation or filler materials.

Steel-Ti is a newly incorporated venture by Michael Teo that will supply high value tanks and vessels to the oil & gas, aviation and shipping industries, and piping for the liquefied natural gas industry, to the growing Southeast Asian and Japanese markets.

The Teo family have a strong track record of successful business ventures and are synonymous with fabrication, global shipping and logistics through a conglomerate of family owned and controlled companies across Southeast Asia, including Pacific International Lines (PIL) and Singamas.

K-TIG and Steel-Ti

K-TIG President Market Development Neil Le Quesne (left) with Michael Teo, Managing Director, Steel-Ti Precision Welding.

A purpose-built manufacturing facility is being constructed, with Steel-Ti scheduled to move in by January 2020.

K-TIG re-listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in October following the successful acquisition by Serpentine Technologies Limited, which has now been renamed K-TIG Limited. The re-listing followed a successful AU$7 million capital raise.

Its cloud-based software control platform allows K-TIG to remotely monitor, support, control and record operational performance and output.

The K-TIG technology has been exported to 20 countries with blue-chip customers including GE, Siemens, Bilfinger, Doncasters and the UK Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. Steel Ti is the first customer in Southeast Asia to adopt the new WaaS model.

K-TIG CEO David Williams said the agreement with Steel-TI illustrated the strategic growth priority on long-term recurring revenue generation.

“Signing an 8-year agreement with Steel-Ti demonstrates how transformative our technology is for the industry and the market’s willingness to adopt the technology.”

Under the deal with Steel-Ti, K-TIG will also provide extensive advice and support in relation to materials handling, cutting and automation equipment that will facilitate exceptional quality, high-volume output from the facility.

K-TIG’s technology will record and monitor all usage to provide a transparent reporting and billing system for its licensing arrangements.

K-TIG licence fees adjust automatically in line with actual production and utilisation of its technology. The technology’s cloud feature allows K-TIG to continuously support its customers by storing their welding data, providing updates to software and firmware and uploading new weld routines that customers may require.

Managing Director and majority shareholder of Steel-Ti Precision Welding Michael Teo said K-TIG’s recent move to the WaaS business model made the decision straightforward.

“We are excited to be the first company in Southeast Asia to deploy the latest generation of K-TIG’s technology and one of the first companies in the world to adopt the Welding-as-a-Service model pioneered by K-TIG,” he said.

“We are strategically located in one of the world’s highest-growth regions, we have exceptional commercial networks throughout Southeast Asia and Japan, and plan to leverage this to grow our welding business exponentially.”

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story. Copied to Clipboard

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