Above: The SelectAlloy all position product's slag system melts and freezes at the right temperatures to allow flat vertical up fillets and equal-legged horizontal fillets.

April 2018 -  Select-Arc was established in 1996 by Dale Stager, Tri-Mark co-founder and former vice president of Filler Metals at Hobart, and for 22 years, this family owned and operated company has been striving for excellence in tubular welding electrodes. Now, in 2018, Select-Arc is making waves in the welding industry with SelectAlloy—its line of next-generation tubular stainless steel electrodes.

These products began their journey in 2014 when Select-Arc purchased a 100,000-sq.-ft. climate-controlled manufacturing and R&D facility in Stager’s home town of Troy, Ohio, for the sole purpose of manufacturing stainless steel electrodes. Stager then made a $4 million investment in wire drawing equipment, customized to the company’s exacting specifications. The latest welding, robotics and metallurgical test labs rounded out the new facility. The Troy factory complements Select-Arc’s headquarters and primary manufacturing facility in nearby Ft. Loramie, Ohio.

Next-generation products

For decades, the flux-cored stainless market was dominated by foreign manufacturers. “They were way up here and everyone else was way down here. No one was close,” says Mike Merlo, senior development engineer at Select-Arc.

With its new capabilities, Select-Arc set out to end the dominance of foreign manufactures in the flux-cored stainless market. To do that, however, the company’s products had to meet and/or exceed the weldability, slag behavior and bead appearance achieved by the imported products.

With its objective clearly defined and manufacturing equipment being bolted to the floors of the new facility, Select-Arc’s R&D department set out to accomplish what no American manufacturer had been able to do. In 2017, after extensive research, raw material analysis and weldability testing under Stager’s personal direction, the company had a breakthrough, and the next generation of flux-cored stainless was born—right here in America. Keven Stager, production manager at Select-Arc, says he is proud that its Ohio-based workforce can put the American flag right on the box.

Flat and horizontal

Select-Arc designed the flat and horizontal series of flux-cored stainless steel electrodes to compete with the very best products available around the globe, with respect to arc transfer, spatter levels, bead geometry, slag removal and weld bead coloration. The arc transfer is a small droplet, or spray, mode. These electrodes’ smooth characteristics create virtually no spatter residue on the welded surface, and the deposited weld beads are shiny and have minimal discoloration. Horizontal fillets are flat and equal legged, with very consistent ripple patterns. The slag typically lifts off in sections or completely self-peels, leaving behind no residue on the weld surface. The combination of low spatter and easily removable slag means minimal clean-up is required.

This series of electrodes welds equally well on both 100 percent CO2 and 75-80 percent Ar/balance CO2. They are highly efficient and have higher deposition rates compared to covered electrodes and solid wire.

All-position

The arc transfer on the all-position product is a smooth, small droplet spray with virtually no spatter that provides superior performance in pipe joints. Ease of welding in all positions is possible as a result of the slag system’s design that melts and freezes at the right temperatures to allow flat vertical up fillets and equal-legged horizontal fillets. The vertical up fillets can be welded with either a direct, stringer technique or by using a slight weave. Slag typically self-peels and removes cleanly, leaving no residue on the weld surface. Operating appeal is good with both 100 percent CO2 and 75-80 percent Ar/balance CO2. Similar to the flat and horizontal series, the all-position’s low spatter and easily removable slag means clean-up is a snap.

Just the beginning

Customer feedback regarding the next generation of SelectAlloy products has been very encouraging. Zack Stager, special projects lead for Select-Arc, says, “Customers are loving them. Just about every report we get back from field trials are extremely positive. We hear things like, ‘I am glad an American company finally has [the foreign] product beat,’ ‘We are switching,’ ‘Our next stainless order is going to be Select-Arc.’ We are thrilled, and this is just the beginning.”

Zack Stager also says customers who have “Buy American” requirements are glad they finally can purchase an American-made product, saving them freight and customs costs and the necessity of obtaining special variances to use foreign electrodes. 

Select-Arc Inc.
Fort Loramie, Ohio
800/341-5215