A new cored wire manufacturer has launched operations in Ohio with the intention of producing an advanced welding wire for a variety of applications.

RevWires, LLC expects to have test quantities of its new cored welding wire in the hands of potential customers in January.

The company is investing more than $14 million to build an 80,000-sq-ft facility in Troy, Ohio, that will be its manufacturing and research center.

The facility will have an atmospherically controlled environment and will house the company's patented production equipment, according to Andy Blanchard, president and chief executive officer of the company.

Blanchard said he expects the combination of the company's wire and core formulations and its controlled manufacturing process to produce a high-quality welding wire that will surpass the performance of competing products.

Blanchard said patents held by Donald Karnes and Philip Monnin cover the production methods for the new wire. Carnes formerly was with Hobart Brothers, and Monnin formerly was with Motoman Inc. Both are retired. RevWires acquired exclusive rights to the patent they developed.

“Cored wire provides the highest deposition rates, and it's the most productive welding process, but its growth has suffered because of inconsistencies in the way the wire is made. Because of the inconsistencies, the people who have had to deal with it have had to have extra quality control and more inspection on their welds,” Blanchard said.

“We are approaching this from an engineering standpoint. Karnes and Monnin are retired, and they went after solving the way to make cored wire effectively,” Blanchard said.

“We thought that if we can put a product into the hands of welders that has more integrity and higher quality, they would eat it up,” he said.

Karnes and Monnin developed the new manufacturing method for cored wire that includes tight production controls, a controlled environment and sealing the wire as part of the manufacturing process.

“We have a wire that has improved core consistency and a more accurate core to steel percentage. The ratio of core to steel provides instant, exact metallurgy when you melt the core and the metal, and eliminates the variables in welding,” Blanchard said.

“This will give the welder, the welding engineer and the welding shop owner peace of mind, and the ability to build a brand,” he said.

One of the primary focuses of the production process is to keep moisture out of the wire, Blanchard said.

He said he expects the low moisture content and the consistent chemistry to lead to improved conductivity and feedability, and to dramatic benefits for welders.

“Our formulation and our process of manufacturing are different than what others are doing.

“They give us a quality level that others can't match. We expect that welders will be able to weld at speeds three to four times faster than they can with other wires, and we will create weldments with consistent metallurgy and consistent properties,” Blanchard said, adding that his company's wire will meet welding wire standards.

Blanchard, who formerly was the president and chief executive officer of ESAB North America, said RevWires is going to take a multi-channel approach to marketing its new wires.

The company is targeting offshore oil, wind power, shipbuilding, railcar and heavy and off-road equipment applications as its first markets.