Digital Age

**This story originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of AMT Magazine**

For Emil Dela Cruz, regional sales manager NSW for Kemppi Australia, digitalisation and automation are reshaping demand for welding across Australia.

“We no longer manufacture any analogue models, so 100% of our models are digital,” Emil says, noting that the shift began around 2017–18 as Industry 4.0 began influencing manufacturing workflows.

“Knowing that Industry 4.0 is digitalisation, Kemppi has been well ahead in incorporating programs and software that empower welders to weld better and faster. We have also been at the fore in delivering solutions that gather welding data to ensure compliance and quality, while boosting productivity.”

This progression has positioned Kemppi as a technology leader, he says.

“We deliver premium machines for high quality welding as well as digital solutions, and we continue to develop different types of products to meet various market requirements,” he says.

“Given the breadth and depth of our product range, we target the entire welding market from small workshops and single contractors to industrial welding companies,” he says.

“Kemppi is not just a box, it’s not just a welding machine. We deliver the solutions that people need. So pretty much, it’s a combination of computer and machine, with the software to deliver the precise welding arc characteristic.”

“We actually celebrated 25 years in October in Australia, helping the Australian manufacturing industry,” he says.

Among the products Kemppi will be presenting at this year’s Australian Manufacturing Week is the Master T premium series of TIG welders.
Dela Cruz says that the new range has the same chassis as the existing MasterTig welding range but lifts the technology to a different level.

The welders will be available in 230 amp, 300 amp, and later 500 amp versions, he says, with the range devised to meet the diverse needs of users.

“The 230 amps is mainly a single-phase machine… it’s portable, so you can take it anywhere,” he explains.

“The 300 amps is most common in the market for welding thicker material, and the 500 is for extremely thick material where more heavy-duty welding is required.”

The Master T ACDC models also incorporate MAX WeldClean and a demagnetisation mode, which help deliver consistent, quality welding results.

“We know that workshops are struggling to find skilled welders, while also dealing with demanding workloads, so the Master T is full of technology that can actually help welding fabrication businesses,” Dela Cruz says.

“Weld Assist is a function that allows welders to quickly select their base parameters so that they can spend more time actually welding to boost output.
Kemppi also offers the double pulse function on the Master T, a combination of two pulsing modes that use a high frequency to reduce heat input and eliminate distortion.

Dela Cruz says this is particularly useful when welding stainless steel.

Kemppi will also showcase its new and unique GXP torches at AMW – a MIG torch with a swiveable neck that rotates 360° and extends up to 70mm that Dela Cruz says is currently exclusive to Australia.

Kemppi will also display its well‑established X5 FastMig and X3 FastMig MIG platforms. The X3 is an entry‑level model with a non‑lingual symbol‑based interface “so it’s easy for the welder to understand,” Dela Cruz says.

The X5 offers advanced modular software capabilities and can connect to WeldEye or ArcVision. Kemppi’s WeldEye is a sophisticated welding management system, that allows customers to “actually monitor welding activity regardless of the size and type of your organisation,” he adds.

With WeldEye, Emil says customers can track “amps, volts, wire consumption, gas consumption, power consumption, heat input… from point A to point Z of your project.”

ArcVision is an entry level software solution that delivers basic data about welding production.

Kemppi will also be demonstrating its AX robotic power source at the show. “Cobotic welding is a game-changer for the manufacturing industry. It’s a flexible solution that can be tailored to the individual needs of the manufacturing firm and is increasingly gaining traction in Australia,” explained Emil.

“With the rise of AI, the welding industry will undoubtedly see more technological change. However, by its very nature, it will always require the skill, judgement and adaptability that only human welders can provide.”