SIF: Your partner for over 100 years
Weldability can trace their rich heritage back more than a century to the beginning of welding and brazing as we know it. SIF (Suffolk Iron Foundry) was founded in 1914 and made castings such as flywheels and ploughshares, later they even began to make lawnmowers. Though casting and iron-founding was a major part of the business, the company had always been interested in welding. During WW1, the owner of SIF had met a young engineer in London who was experimenting with welding cast-iron using an oxy-acetylene flame. Suffolk Iron Foundry was asked to supply a few cast-iron rods containing extra silicon. They performed so well that they became a production item in due course, under the brand name, 'Super-Silicon Rod'.
From Suffolk to The Great War
It was around this time Tibbenham, owner of Suffolk Iron Foundry, learnt the techniques of low temperature bronze welding for cast-iron, so he developed a rod suitable for welding virtually any metal except aluminium. Taking the initials SIF from Suffolk Iron Foundry, and adding 'bronze', he gave a name to the technique and formed a division to handle the products. The name sifBRONZE has remained a fact in welding ever since and has come to describe a technique which is universally accepted.
During the Second World War, most of the company's efforts were devoted to war work, largely for the Royal Air Force. This included the production of ground equipment such as the bomb trolleys - a prominent feature of so many air stations. Amongst other things, sifBRONZE was the preferred technique being used for the fabrication of air frames at this time.
sifTIPS: Sharing the knowledge
'Will The Welder' was a sifTIPS magazine that was produced in the early 1930s, then as women joined the war effort and made up a large part of the welding force, SIF also introduced ‘Winnie the Welder’. Throughout the years, sifTIPS has existed as a stand-alone magazine and as an advice column in other publications, but its purpose has always been the same, to provide users with ideas and tips as to how to get the most out of their welding equipment.
Queen Elizabeth 2nd and sifMIG wire
Developments in welding in the 1960s were such that new techniques like semi-automatic MIG welding were introduced and with them the requirement for new, high-quality materials. At this point sifBRONZE introduced the consumable electrode wire sifMIG, a shaved aluminium wire, to ensure consistent, high-quality welds. When the ship, the QE2 was built, the aluminium welding of her superstructure was carried out exclusively using sifMIG, it remains the industry favourite to this day.
Weldability
Formally known as Wholesale Welding Supplies Ltd (WWS), Weldability was founded in 1981 with the sole purpose of assist distributors to obtain and promote welding products for sale. In the early years of trading, the business established a firm financial foundation, and became widely known for introducing many product ranges from international sources to the UK welding market. In 2007, the Company acquired sifBRONZE, the welding consumables division of the Suffolk Iron Foundry, known internationally as sif. sif is renowned for its manufacturing heritage, and for its complete range of quality welding consumables for MIG/GMAW, TIG/GTAW, Arc/SMAW, Oxy/Fuel Welding and Brazing, which have been used globally for almost a century. Weldability later wholly integrated sif into the Weldability operation.
Committed to support the welder
Weldability have also since added a full workplace environmental health range under the name Extractability, training division Learn to Weld and are pleased to be able to bring to you the British made but world class machines from Newarc, who they acquired in 2020. Through their various brands, Weldability is committed to supporting welders in every aspect of their craft and always aim to share their century’s worth of knowledge and passion as well as finding the perfect solution every time.?