2008 Welding Expo and Car Show is Wednesday
15th October 2008
Fast, fancy and unique cars will be joined by state-of-the-art welding equipment being displayed and demonstrated Wednesday (Oct. 22) as Mohave Community College and Praxair present the 2008 Welding Expo and Car Show on the Neal Campus-Kingman.
“Racing and welding along with body modification go hand in hand, so it is natural to combine welding and a car show into one event,” said Richard Presnal, the event organizer and resident welding instructor on MCC’s Kingman campus. “Welders make very good money, and, according to the American Welding Society, there is already a shortage of 250,000 welders in the United States.
“The event is also a chance to bring in state-of-the-art welding equipment and to encourage as many students as possible to join our program,” he added.
The public is invited to join in the event, which begins at 8 a.m. with seminars discussing the latest equipment and practices in welding. The seminars are “Environmental Systems” and “Sharpening Your Competitive Edge,” presented by Praxair and Lincoln Electric. Other vendors include Miller Electric, Hobart Brothers, Thermodyne, United Abrasives, H&H Trailers and Performance Specialists.
“Top welding supply companies will all be on hand to showcase the newest technology in welding,” Presnal said. “From noon to 5 p.m., the MCC welding lab will be open for viewing to show the public what a great program we have at MCC.” From 5:30 to 7 p.m., small group tours will be given of the lab to watch the students practice their welding.
The car show runs from noon to 7 p.m. with race cars and their drivers, customized cars and their designers and a couple of specialty cars that must be seen to be appreciated.
Entries in the car show will be divided into three categories - race cars, show cars and specialty vehicles, Presnal said. The winners of those categories will receive one of the three plaques given - The Chancellor’s Award, The Vice Chancellor’s Award and The President’s Award.
Throughout the event, Praxair will be selling tickets for several drawing items donated by the vendors. The prizes include a starter welding pack valued at $250 from Miller Electric and Hobart Brothers, a $200 welding hood from Lincoln Electric, a $450 Performer torch set from Thermadyne, Eagle tools and a Speedglass hood from United Abrasives ($435), a golf bag and putter from Hypertherm, a Prostar heavy-duty torch set ($379) from Praxair, an aluminum tool box ($250) from H&H Trailers and a $50 gift certificate for parts or labor from Performance Specialists.
The tickets are $2 each and those who attend the event can put the tickets into the hopper at the vendor’s station whose prize is the one they want. All proceeds go to MCC’s welding program.
Event T-shirts will be sold for $10 each, and hamburgers and other refreshments will be available.
Welding classes offered at MCC are shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, flux cord arc welding (gas shielded), flux cord arc welding (self shielded) and oxygen-acetylene welding and cutting.
For more information about this event or about welding classes offered at MCC, contact Presnal at (928) 692-3012 or via e-mail at rpresnal@mohave.edu. For more information about MCC and its programs, check the Web site http://www.mohave.edu/.
Photo Cutline:
The blue 1941 Ford Coupe, left, owned by Bob Ackerman of Kingman, and the red 1937 Hudson Terraplane, right, owned by Dan Dowdy of Dolan Springs, will be two of the autos taking part in the 2nd annual Welding Expo and Car Show, sponsored by Mohave Community College and Praxair, on the Kingman campus of MCC on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.