Since 1986, Welder Testing Inc. (WTI) has been serving the Texas Gulf Coast, providing welder qualification testing and welding procedure development and qualifications.
The WTI team has more than 150 years of combined experience and is dedicated to giving welders everything they need to pass their welding tests.
According to Ernie Edwards, director of quality for Austin Industrial, the company first started using WTI more than 35 years ago.
"Austin Industrial continues to use WTI because they provide excellent customer service and offer competitive pricing," Edwards said. "WTI delivers a lot of value, and we use them on a daily basis."
WTI delivers a wide range of services to Austin, including welder testing and welding procedure qualifications — in accordance with ASME, AWS, API, etc. WTI also offers metallurgical testing and analysis (corrosion analysis, hardness testing, tensile testing and Charpy testing).
According to Edwards, WTI employs a highly qualified staff who have many years of experience providing testing and consulting services.
"WTI's personnel are very customer-oriented and always working to bring solutions to us,"Edwards explained. "Something that sets WTI apart from the rest is they perform most of their testing in-house, while some of the other service providers have to outsource testing. This helps WTI turn around testing results faster than others.
"WTI has always gone above and beyond to provide Austin Industrial with the best services possible. WTI has one of the few accredited welder testing labs in the Houston area. They provide services with integrity, and we have certainly seen that in practice. WTI has earned our trust."
Universal Plant Services (UPS) is another company that has worked with WTI for several years. According to Andrew Webb, a corporate Level III inspector for UPS, WTI qualifies approximately 40 welding procedures a year for the company. This includes both ASME classified and unclassified materials.
"WTI provides us with welder performance testing of new hires and continuity updates," Webb said. "The testing is done per our specifications and client requirements, and these tests often have additional requirements not listed in industry standards or codes. Being an AWS-accredited testing facility ensures that WTI employees are trained to administer and document the tests as specified. All our welding work requires the use of written weld procedures, and WTI has helped us with qualifying the more than 400 procedures we have today. These procedures range from common to complex."
Since there are millions of possible welding procedure combinations and conditions, Webb explained it's crucial to have a company that understands time and accuracy are top priorities, especially when there's a schedule to maintain on a jobsite.
"WTI has gone above and beyond to help us and our clients get welding procedures completed quickly and to the proper specifications when the need arises," he said. "WTI will report the test findings, whether they're good or bad. If they're bad, WTI will provide a recommendation to correct a deficiency. This is how a great quality system is supposed to run -- not by how fast or how much can be done, but by doing everything correctly even if it takes a little longer or more effort."
Jamie DeLeon, quality control/certified welding inspector for Cleaver-Brooks, considers WTI his "go-to company" for welding procedures and testing.
"We use WTI quite often," DeLeon said. "Lately, we've been working on a lot of out-of-town projects, which requires more manpower and welder testing.
"When we need a qualified welding procedure for a metal or alloy, we call on WTI. We'll have a welder go over there and test under that specification. WTI helps us hold our R Stamp and maintain our qualified procedures and welder certifications.
"WTI has a great facility that's set up very well, and the proctors are very knowledgeable and know what they're looking at. We can get a welder in and out of there quickly, and WTI ensures our welders know what they're doing. It seems like we've been in constant communication with WTI this year, and we will continue using them."
For more information, call (281) 930-9966 or email david@weldertesting.com.
