The laser-welder solutions of Primetals Technologies are unique within the steel industry. They are highly effective and reliable, and can be used to both cut and weld a large variety of steel grades: dual-phase, transformation-induced plasticity, twinning-induced plasticity, boron, silicon, stainless, and specialty steels can all be processed by laser-welder-based production lines, reaching tensile strengths of up to 2,000 MPa. The laser welders from Primetals Technologies are designed to prevent any deformation of the strip during treatment. Compared to other welders, they deliver much higher performance, with a 20 to 50% boost for welding and a 20 to 100% increase for cutting, depending on strip thicknesses.

Primetals Technologies has over 20 years of experience with laser-welder solutions, and Thomas Vallee has pioneered many of the most recent advancements. Vallee worked on adapting the laser-welder technology, which had originally been crafted for medium-size applications, to heavy ones. "To make a good weld, you need a perfect cut," he says. "Steel producers want a solution that reliably achieves both, without any deformation of the strip." Vallee likes to push the limits of what's technologically possible: "I enjoy developing solutions that surpass others performance-­wise. But they also have to be dependable and easy to operate." To underline this conviction, Vallee refers to a Thomas Edison quote: "The value of an idea lies in the using of it."