Of course, welders need to know how to weld, but that’s not all that solid welding experience brings to Paso Robles breweries and wineries. To provide the top professional service, a welder needs to have all of the required training and licenses and:
- Understand what wineries and breweries need to preserve the quality of their products
- Know about working with stainless steel
- Know how to install tanks and pipes and fabricate and modify as necessary
- Read blueprints and schematics and recommend adjustments when necessary
- Measure accurately and get the most use from available space
- Know how to assess and accurately estimate a job
- Have a commitment to safety
Toby Heer, the owner of THC Welding, has been welding for Paso Robles breweries and wineries since 1998 and has a thorough understanding of the needs of the industries. THC Welding experience includes everything from setting wine tanks, refrigeration lines, process lines, building catwalks, crush pads, conveyors and anything else related to the wine, brewery and distilling industries.
Understanding the business of breweries and wineries
The condition of brewing and winemaking equipment is critical to the quality of the final product. Where tanks are positioned in relationship to other tanks and to other equipment is essential to the timeliness of the processes. The ability for brewery or winery staff to monitor any part of the process at any time is important to preserving the quality, delivering the product on time and the bottom line that keeps business flowing.
Working with stainless steel
Stainless steel belongs in a family of corrosion-resisting steels with excellent resistance to corrosion, which is a characteristic that makes it a top choice for fermenting and aging. When tanks need to be installed or modified, pipes need to be installed, and other stainless steel components need installing, modifying or fabricating, wineries and distilleries have special requirements for preserving sanitary conditions. A thorough understanding of the most effective processes for welding stainless steel and connecting all of the components makes a difference.
Knowing how to install, modify and fabricate
Each winery or distillery has its unique needs. There is rarely a “one size fits all” approach to setting up. Variables, such as available floor space, might mean that adding an additional tank or more requires repositioning existing equipment or that something needs to be modified for the new configuration. Knowing how to make the necessary modifications with the least impact on production is one of the skills an experienced welder brings to the operation.
Understanding how tanks and pipes need to drain, how hoppers, filters and process lines need to work makes the difference between a smooth, trouble-free operation and one with unpleasant surprises.
Reading blueprints
The ability to read blueprints and schematics adds a layer of expertise that can save money and time. As new installations and modifications become necessary, the ability to review the blueprints and make recommendations that better accommodate the changes becomes a cost-saving skill.
Measure accurately and get the most use from available space
Employees need to be able to move around the production area to do their jobs. Experience in the winery and distillery industries tells a skilled welder how the workspace is going to be affected by any changes and how to make adjustments for the equipment, the jobs that need to be done, and still preserve quality.
Know how to assess and accurately estimate a job
It takes years of experience to accurately assess and estimate a job. There are those times when the unexpected happens, but the more experience a welder brings to the job, the more the unexpected is anticipated and taken into account.
Have a commitment to safety
The safety of everyone on the floor is the concern of an experienced, professional distillery and winery welder. Safety is not limited to cordoning off the work area where the welding is happening. Safety involves knowing how much space workers need to safely move around the equipment, how the quality of the welding is a safety feature, how to safely anchor equipment and what safety guards need to be installed when someone is working on a catwalk or next to heavy tanks.
Make an appointment with THC Welding today to discuss your welding needs.
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