ESAB Corp (ESAB)

ESAB Corporation, founded in 1904, provides connected fabrication technology and gas control solutions, including advanced equipment, consumables, gas control equipment, robotics and digital solutions for cutting, joining and automated welding. It was incorporated in Delaware in 2021 to hold the fabrication technology business of Colfax and became an independent, publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange when the separation was completed on April 4, 2022. Colfax, which was renamed Enovis, sold its remaining stake in a November 2022 secondary offering. The company manages its operations through its business system, ESAB Excellence (EBX), and uses acquisitions as a core part of its strategy, completing two in 2022.

Its products are sold mainly under the ESAB brand. Welding consumables include electrodes, cored and solid wires and fluxes, while cutting consumables include electrodes, nozzles, shields and tips. Equipment ranges from portable welding machines to large customized automated cutting and welding systems. ESAB also offers software and digital solutions that help customers increase productivity, remotely monitor welding operations and digitize documentation. Some gas control products are related to medical devices and are regulated by the FDA and under the EU Medical Device Regulation. The company reports two segments: Americas (North and South America) and EMEA & APAC (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa and Asia Pacific). Research and development expense was $36.0 million in 2022.

ESAB serves customers in about 150 countries across general industry, infrastructure, renewable energy, medical and life sciences, transportation, construction and energy. Its customer base is broadly diversified, and customers value quality, reliability, availability, design and application engineering support. Products are sold through independent distributors and direct salespeople, depending on geography and end market. The company estimates its addressable market at about $30 billion. Roughly 50% of 2022 revenues came from developing markets, which it defines as South America, Eastern Europe, India, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. The majority of sales come from international operations.

The company obtains raw materials, components and supplies from multiple global sources, with steel, iron, copper and aluminum as the principal materials, and it does not consider the loss of any one supplier material. The markets it serves are fragmented and competitive. Competitors include well-established regional companies, more specialized firms and larger players, with Lincoln Electric and the welding business of Illinois Tool Works named specifically. It relies on patents, trademarks, trade secrets and proprietary processes, but does not consider any single patent or trademark essential. ESAB employed about 9,000 people at the end of 2022, roughly 1,200 in the United States and 7,800 elsewhere. Its principal executive offices are in North Bethesda, Maryland.