Kemppi's new portable class powerhouse, the Master M 323, was piloted at Meyer Turku shipyard, where the machine's versatility, good usability, and small size were appreciated.

Meyer Turku is one of the world’s largest shipyards building modern and environmentally friendly cruise ships, ferries, and special vessels. Meyer’s share of the world’s cruise ship market is around 15 percent, and the order stock reaches all the way to 2026. The Meyer shipyard designs and builds the world’s most advanced ships, riverboats, and passenger ferries, tailor-made to meet the client’s needs and to exceed even the highest expectations. The 7th-generation family business is known and respected around the world.Meyer Turku operates at the Turku shipyard, with a shipbuilding history since 1737. The shipyard employs 2,000 people, and over 1,300 vessels have been built there.

Welding in tight places

The work environment in a shipyard is often challenging due to poor reach, limited space, or lack of light. During the working day, the welder may change the welding site several times, and the distances may be long. Mainly the work is done outside regardless of the season or weather.

"The ideal welding machine for shipyard work is small and portable, which makes it easily transportable. In addition, the machine must be weatherproof and so efficient that long-term welding can be done without overheating," described Sanna Nyholm, a hull assembly foreman at Meyer.

Shipbuilding is divided into several different phases, and welding is an essential part of the work. The shipyard has plenty of manual welding but also laser hybrid welding, robotic welding, and powder arc welding. Approximately 30 welders work in hull assembly, and the materials to be welded are mainly black or stainless steel, high-strength steel, and occasionally aluminum. Most commonly, welding is performed with rutile wire.

Power and usability in a portable package

"Right from the start, I had a good impression of the Master M 323; the portable device is easy to handle, and the arc is soft. The user interface was new to me, but after the guidance and a couple of days of using it, it was all easy and hassle-free," said welder Miro Sarenko.

"The machine's small size and portability are superb for the needs of the shipyard industry, and the versatile programs make daily work easier. Weld Assist, in particular, greatly facilitated the introduction of the new device and proved to be useful and easy to use."

The power of 320A is sufficient even for thicker materials to be welded, which increases the use cases for the Master M 323 considerably. During the pilot phase, the machine was mainly used for welding black steel in various welding positions. The standard Max Cool arc welding process also enables the welding of thin materials in future applications, which is a particularly useful additional feature. In all test situations, the machine performed its tasks flawlessly.

The possibility of hanging the welding machine eases the work in a shipyard environment. The Master M 323 has a reinforced carrying handle, which also enables hanging. The hanging feature was used almost every day at Meyer's. The machine's work lights also received a lot of praise, and thanks to them, welding was successful even without additional lighting.