Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:LECO), the leader in arc welding and cutting solutions, held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony earlier today to celebrate the grand opening of its new Welding Technology & Training Center in Cleveland (the “Center”). The event highlights Lincoln’s expanded educational offering and commemorates the centennial anniversary of its welding school, the longest-running welding school in the world.

The Center focuses on training welding educators, engineers and industrial professionals who are advancing welding in schools and industry globally. Additionally, the Center provides advanced technical welding training for professionals, as well as a comprehensive portfolio of turnkey educational solutions that can be used to launch welding training at customers’ own facilities. Lincoln’s extensive education portfolio includes an extensive educational curriculum, virtual reality and technology-assisted training tools, industry-leading welding and cutting solutions and robotic cells.

“Our new Center is a strategic investment to help our customers and educational partners grow using leading solutions,” stated Christopher L. Mapes, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lincoln Electric. “Our educational offering and leadership in automation solutions provide meaningful solutions to address the skills gap and capacity constraints facing customers in our industry.”

“We are committed to providing students and customers with the relevant skills and knowledge needed to support career and technical schools, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure growth,” said Jason Scales, business manager, education, Lincoln Electric. “Our education model will shape the next generation of welders, managers and industry leaders.”

Located on the company’s headquarters campus in Cleveland, the new 130,000-square-foot facility represents a $30 million investment in training for a new generation of welding leaders and educators. The Center is a state-of-the-art educational facility that features 166 welding and cutting booths, a virtual reality training lab with 10 VRTEX^® virtual reality welding simulators, as well as extensive seminar and welding school classroom space, and a 100-seat auditorium to advance technical skills. The Center will also become an American Welding Society accredited testing facility later this year.

For more information, visit Lincoln Electric’s Education Solutions website.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has 63 manufacturing locations, including operations and joint ventures in 23 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric and its products and services, visit the Company’s website at www.lincolnelectric.com.