November 2021 was out of the ordinary for us, as in the middle of the month we took part in the “Benardos Golden Cup – 2021”, a prestigious competition for skilled welders. The competition was held in Ukraine’s large and beautiful capital, Kyiv. We flew to Kyiv with four of our best welders specialising in MIG/MAG and TIG welding. All of them are graduates of the Hansavest Training Centre, located in Estonia, in Pärnu to be precise. All our trainees are tested and trained there so that they are sure to have sufficient professional skills and the appropriate certificates to meet our clients’ needs. On arrival, we discovered that the competition was of a rather high standard – around 50 top-level welders from all over Ukraine had travelled to Kyiv to take part. But that did not discourage or frighten us. We felt nothing but immense joy at being part of this important event for the first time.
What the welding competition involved
The competition consisted of two parts – a test of theoretical knowledge and a test of practical skills.
1. The theory part was a written exam on welding techniques
According to our own participants, the written exam required knowledge of different types of steel, shielding gases, drawings, and various welding conditions and symbols. The jury mainly assessed the welders’ knowledge of different welding processes. Our welders felt that the written exam was easy, as they had previously worked on many kinds of welding projects and dealt with the formal and technical documents relating to these processes.
2. The practical part consisted of welding work that had to comply with European certificates
This part tested three different welding tasks. The first task was to weld a butt joint from the bottom upwards, i.e. in the vertical position (BW/PF symbol). The steel being welded (grade S275) was 10 mm thick, and the edges had to be bevelled in accordance with predefined standards. The second task was to weld a butt joint in the horizontal position. Here, too, the material was 10 mm thick steel (S275). In the second task, one edge had to be bevelled according to the jury’s requirements. The third task involved a pipe made of S355 material. The pipe had to be welded at a 45-degree angle. The pipe had a diameter of 42 mm and a wall thickness of 3 mm. The most significant difference between the three welding tasks was that in each position (horizontal, vertical, 45-degree angle) the welder had to work out and set the correct settings on the welding machine themselves every time. The settings were very different for each position. The jury members first assessed the visual quality and weld seams of the pieces produced in the three tasks, after which the best pieces were sent for X-ray examination.
Deciding who would take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place took the whole day, because there were so many participants. Hansavest was there as a team and captured every important moment in photos. While waiting for the results, we also asked our welders how they felt the three practical tasks had gone. According to them, the welding tasks had had their own challenges. For example, the welding documentation given to the participants – the so-called WPS data – and the welding parameters did not match each other. Our welding instructor Egon Marder also noted that when the competition began, all the competitors found they had been given welding machines that had not been prepared in advance to the level the tasks required. These were the challenges our welders had to face as they competed to prove their professional welding skills. Despite this, Egon said he was satisfied with how the competition was run; he was also proud that it was the men he had trained who were selected for this international competition. The next day, once all the participants’ welds had been examined by X-ray, the final results of the competition were finally announced. This was the wonderful moment when we heard the announcement that we had won silver.
This was a wonderful surprise for us
As mentioned earlier, we were already happy just to be part of such a huge and prestigious event. But of course we also felt genuine joy and excitement when our welder Dmytro Alexeyev won silver for his TIG welding.
He was rewarded by the jury and also by Hansavest for his excellent performance in the competition. Janek Sirg, Chairman of the Board of the Hansavest Training Centre, was also an important part of the Hansavest team in Ukraine. Janek was there to discuss strategy, cheer on our welders and interview them about how their competition had gone. When we asked for his thoughts on the competition, he replied: “I am immensely happy that the competition was held again this year. I am sure that this competition helped boost our men’s confidence in their own skills and also gave them an unforgettable experience. I believe this event gives our men reason to believe in themselves and encourages them to keep developing. We hope soon to be able to announce some of our welders as welding engineers or supervisors.”
In summary, those who do not dare to try will never know the true extent of their abilities. But now Hansavest at least knows for sure that its welders have the potential to reach the very top of their field, in the form of medals too, and that is exactly why we are very much looking forward to next year, when we can once again take part in these international competitions and demonstrate our top expertise in welding.
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