Baltic welders compete in Tallinn

TALLINN – The international production equipment, tools and materials fair "Instrutec 2000", held at the Estonian Fair Center from Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, included more than 150 companies from 10 countries. During the fair the Baltic states Welder's Cup was held, the first competition of this kind during the six-year history of Instrutec.

The participants (Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian teams, six men for each country) showed their skills in three categories - MMA (carbon-arc hand-welding), TIG (non-fusion-arc gas welding) and MAG (fusion-arc gas welding).

The contest made up of two rounds – practical and theoretical – required thorough knowledge of welding materials, technology and safety rules and, of course, excellent practical skills. The referees from national welders' associations judged competitors according to the look of continuous joint weld and time spent on work.

Oleg Kepov and Sergei Trofimov of Estonia took first place in the MMA and MAG categories. The only TIG category winner, Vladimir Sytnik, represented Lithuania. Yevgeny Anaynjev of Latvia took the second place in all three categories.