On-Site & Specialty Welding Servicesin Northwest Indiana

What is specialty and field welding?

Specialty and field welding is welding work that needs more than a standard shop setup: repairs on heavy equipment, welding on stainless and alloy steels, hardfacing worn parts, and welding on site where the equipment sits. SSI does this work with AWS certified welders, in our Portage, Indiana shop or at your plant with mobile welding rigs.

Most plant welding is repair work. A bracket cracks. A chute wears through. A housing breaks during a breakdown. The fix has to be strong, fast and safe to do in an operating plant. That is where a crew with millwright and fabrication experience helps. We look at why the part failed, not just where.

Which welding processes do you use?

We use MIG, TIG, stick and flux-core welding, and choose based on material, thickness, position and conditions. Here is how they compare in plant work.

Process	Best for	Where we use it
MIG (gas metal arc)	Fast, clean welds on steel and aluminum	Shop fabrication, structural work
TIG (gas tungsten arc)	Precise welds on thin, stainless and alloy material	Stainless, sanitary, critical joints
Stick (shielded metal arc)	Thick sections, outdoor and dirty conditions	Field repair, heavy equipment
Flux-core	High deposition, good in wind	Field structural, heavy repair, hardfacing

Carbon, stainless and alloy

Carbon steel covers most structural and equipment work. Stainless needs careful heat control and clean prep to keep its corrosion resistance. Alloy steels and castings often need preheat, specific filler metal and slow cooling to avoid cracking. We check what the part is made of before we strike an arc.

Why does field welding save time?

Field welding saves time because the equipment does not have to be disconnected, rigged out and hauled to a shop. Our crews bring mobile welding rigs to the machine, make the repair and get it back in service. On large frames, housings and structures, that can be the difference between a shift and a week.

Field work comes with field hazards. Every job starts with a job hazard analysis (JHA). We work under your hot work permits, set fire watch, follow lockout/tagout and use fall protection where the work is at height. A safe worksite is a productive worksite.

What is repair welding and hardfacing?

Repair welding restores cracked, broken or worn parts, and hardfacing adds a wear-resistant layer to parts that see abrasion or impact. Both are common in steel mills, refractory plants and anywhere material handling is rough on equipment.

Typical work includes:

• crack repair on frames, housings, bases and brackets;
• rebuilding worn shafts, bores and wear surfaces (with machine shop finishing when needed);
• hardfacing chutes, liners, crusher parts, buckets and screw flights;
• broken or cracked components during an emergency repair.

How do you check weld quality?

Our welders inspect every weld visually and work to the procedure your job requires. When your spec calls for nondestructive testing (NDT), we coordinate it with qualified inspection providers. That can include magnetic particle, dye penetrant, ultrasonic or radiographic testing, and you get the results.

Where does welding fit with SSI’s other work?

Welding runs through almost everything we do. It is the core of our custom metal fabrication, process pipe fabrication and sanitary welding and fabrication work. Our welders also support millwright crews on rebuilds, installs and retrofits.

Need a welder? Call (219) 386-1506 any time, or send details through the quote request form. When downtime isn’t an option.