RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA. (FEB. 26, 2003) – Broco’s GOWELD™, the first battery-powered portable arc welder to feature an on-board computer, has captured two international design awards. GOWELD™ features innovative technology and design. It is an extremely portable welding gun that has created greater flexibility for accomplishing large or small welding jobs away from traditional welding power sources.
“We utilized state-of-the-art technology and a highly-stylized design to make GOWELD™ the premier portable-welder and give users a new level of sophistication and ease in portable welding,” said Richard A. Ferry, Broco® President.
GOWELD™ was among the winners of The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design’s annual GOOD DESIGN™ Awards for 2002 won by more than 100 of the world’s most prestigious industrial design firms and manufacturers in more than 20 countries. GOWELD™ captured a winning position in the industrial equipment category. This award publicly acknowledges and elevates the best and finest new design and design innovations for products and graphics designed and manufactured between 2000 and 2002. The GOOD DESIGN Awards were founded in 1950 to bestow international recognition upon designers and manufacturers for advancing new and innovative product concepts and originality and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered standard product and consumer design. The GOOD DESIGN Show—the annual exhibition of the Awards—is scheduled to open April 1, 2003 at The Chicago Athenaeum.
GOWELD™ also picked up Germany’s Industrie Forum Design Award (iF) 2002 for its innovative design. The iF award is an international design competition and recognizes those products with exemplary design quality. It has been presented since 1954 and attracts nearly 2,000 entries each year from more than 30 countries.
“We are delighted with the international recognition GOWELD™ is receiving for its superior design,” Ferry added. “And, we are extremely pleased with our customers’ reviews. Contractors and do-it-yourselfers are discovering that GOWELD™ provides them with new welding solutions for metal related repair and maintenance tasks.”
GOWELD™ is the newest product from Broco® and is an extension of the company’s 30-years of expertise in welding and cutting tools and the metal alloys field. GOWELD™ operates on 24 volt or 36 volt battery power and self-shielding (flux core, FCAW) or gas shielded (solid, MIG/MAG) welding wire to join materials ranging from steel to aluminum. The system is designed for use in rigorous environments and a wide variety of applications where welding is more easily and successfully completed away from the shop, a welding generator or inverter power source. Typical tasks made easier by GOWELD™ include joining metal roofing, gutters and siding on the house, fixing cattle guards, gates and fencing at the ranch, creating or repairing ornamental iron works, four-wheeler buildups and repair, adding accessories to a weekend roadster, repairing pipes, containers and conveyances at the factory, maintaining the tractor and barn at the farm, and more.
The system is designed for contractors, miners, farmers, ornamental iron workers, ranchers, heavy equipment and HVAC technicians, utility workers and professional welders and do-it-yourselfers. It can be used in dual modes, either with battery power or as a spool gun with standard power source. The suggested retail price is $795. Accessories include voltage control unit and standard power source converter as well as welding wire and other consumables.
Broco, Inc.® is the world leader in exothermic cutting and underwater welding systems and related technology. During 2001, Broco® systems were used to aid the Russian submarine Kursk recovery effort, and rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11. Broco® has manufactured specialty welding and cutting products for 30 years. The company is based in Rancho Cucamonga, California and distributes its products worldwide.