Young welder wins WELDCUP for Manitowoc Cranes

• Gisela Brust has won a second-place trophy at WELDCUP, a Europe-wide competition for young welders that took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, in September.

• Her award is in the category of manual metal arc welding (MMAW).

• Brust joined Manitowoc in 2013 as an apprentice, and just like her father, started working as a welder at Manitowoc’s factory in Wilhelmshaven soon afterwards.

Manitowoc Cranes is pleased to recognize Gisela Brust for her outstanding performance at this year’s WELDCUP, the European, young welder competition that took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, in September. Brust ranked second in the category of manual metal arc welding (MMAW) and also helped the German national team to win a silver medal in the WELDCUP rankings.

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Brust’s accomplishment is the result of many after-work hours spent practicing a welding technique that is different than the one she uses at Manitowoc’s factory in Wilhelmshaven, where she works as a metal active gas (MAG) welder.

Her dedication to mastering an additional welding technique paid off. To be able to qualify for the WELDCUP, 22-year-old Brust had to win the local competition in her district earlier this year, finishing in second place in the state welder competition.

Following in the footsteps of her father, who also works as a welder at Manitowoc, Brust joined Manitowoc Cranes in August 2013 as an apprentice. She was able to finish her apprenticeship six months ahead of schedule, and in June 2016 she was hired as a MAG welder.

WELDCUP 2017 took place during Schweissen & Schneiden, an international trade fair in Düsseldorf that was held from September 25 – 29. The competition had 27 participants between 16 and 23 years of age from eight countries: Russia, Romania, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Serbia and Germany. The winners were selected by an international jury of welding experts, who assessed three joints that were welded by each competitor. Inspection of filled welds included visual and dimensional examinations plus detection of any inner defects after breaking the joint. Butt welds are also subjected to visual and dimensional examinations along with radiographic inspection for inner imperfections.

Said Andreas Krug, responsible welding engineer at Manitowoc Cranes in Wilhelmshaven: “We are thrilled by Gisela’s fantastic performance. The fact that we have such a qualified and motivated welder on our staff says a lot about our production quality.”