Roy & Marianne Edwards with Lynn Willacy from Air Products

When a representative from Air Products contacted Rapid asking if we’d like to be part of a space adventure of astronomical proportions, naturally we jumped at the opportunity no questions asked!

Most people have heard of the name Tim Peake. Well, if you’re harbouring secret desires to follow in his intergalactic footsteps and have your very own space odyssey (like we clearly are), then you might be interested in visiting the newly launched exhibition at The Novium Museum in Chichester - Tim Peake; An Extraordinary Journey.

An excellent occasion to bring the two businesses together.

Air Products is one of the world's largest Industrial Gas companies, and a Strategic Sponsor for the exhibition. As an Air Products agent offering a full range of Industrial Gases and cylinder gas solutions, and a local agent to Chichester where the exhibition is being held, we were very excited to receive the invitation from Air Products to support them during the launch which took place this week to coincide with the first anniversary of Tim’s take-off.

"We have been helping launch astronauts into space for the last 50 years. Since Tim's own extraordinary journey ended, his aim has been to encourage children to think about the importance of science, technology engineering and mathematics. We are really pleased to be involved in this exhibition and we hope it will inspire the next generation and be the launch pad for many more extraordinary journeys in the future." 

Air Products.

The exhibition allows would-be explorers to embark on a space mission, following Tim Peake's very own astronomical adventure. Starting with a 'rocket lift', transporting occupants into outer space, the exhibition aims to encourage and inspire young people to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), and to think ‘big’ about their futures. From blasting into outer space and finding out about Tim’s Space Walk, to experiencing what it’s like to eat, sleep and work in an International Space Station, it’s certainly going to inspire and ignite. It’s a project we are very proud to offer our support to.

“It was a great pleasure to meet Mr Peake Senior, Tim’s Dad (Nigel Peake is part of the project group pulling the exhibition together) and see the obvious pride he has in his son’s achievements and the joint passion they share for encouraging and educating our future Astronauts, Engineers and Welders. Inspiring future generations is also an ideology both Rapid Welding and Air Products have shared throughout their years in the Gas Industry.”

Marianne Edwards, Rapid Welding

Roy & Marianne Edwards with Mr Nigel Peake

www.rapidgases.com

No Rental     No Transaction Charges     Fully Tested Cylinders

Welding Gas Solutions for DIY Enthusiasts - Smaller Volumes with the Highest Levels of Weld Quality.

Excellent Penetration     Minimal Spatter     Low Fume Levels

The Air Products Maxx Cut & Weld® is the perfect answer to DIY welders looking for smaller volumes of high quality, high performance cutting and welding gases across MAG welding processes. Combining usability and convenience with all the quality standards of the Maxx® range, the Maxx Cut & Weld® is available in higher pressure industrial 200bar/230bar 10 litre cylinders, making handling easy and improving weld quality across a range of materials and thicknesses. 

The increased 200 bar / 230 bar pressure means higher content than other similar offerings! 

There is no rent to pay and refills are easy, just pop in to see us or phone 023 92 221 211!

Rapid Gases has been an agent for Air Products since 1999, and we are committed to offering a full range of welding gases to our customers, from large industrial companies to DIY welders. The new Maxx and trade shielding gases, standard industry mixtures, acetylene, argon, coogar, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen are all available in various cylinder sizes to met your requirements. From Poole to Littlehampton, with three gas sites covering Hampshire and West Sussex, we are immensely proud to provide our customers - new and old, with cylinder gas solutions and experienced, friendly support from the Rapid Gas Team.  

Welcome to the Rapid Experience  

Don’t forget to visit our sister companies 

www.RapidWelding.com                               www.RentArc.com

SkillWeld 2014 Semi finalist 

The SkillWeld 2014 event took place on the 8th May in Northern Ireland at the Ballymena Campus, and we were very pleased to be sent this picture of one of the semi finalists who, we think, looks very happy with his prize.

The Save Phace welding helmets - as sponsored by Air Products and with the addition of their logo, were purchased through Rapid and don't they look great! 

Skillweld is a competition based in the UK for trainee welders of all ages with good levels of skills in MMA. MIG/MAG. The national final is to be held during The Skills Show at the NEC in Birmingham later on this year, and aims to give participants the chance to not only be involved in the UK'S premier craft and welding skill competition, but to raise the profile of the industry and compete on a national and international platform.

For more information on SkillWeld, visit The Welding Institute website. 

More information on Save Phace Welding helmets can be found here.

Happy Welding

Well, we're still in Essen, Germany, and having loads of fun catching up with suppliers, ex-employees and friends alike.

Obviously we made a bee-line for the Air Products stand and we were sehr beeindruckt (very impressed) with how it looked.

Do I recognise that dress from somewhere, Marianne?

We also caught up with Richard Etchings, Andrew Thomas, and Philip Goldney from Wellington Welding - local competitors of Rapid and a bunch of great people we consider as 'old friends' - who says you can't all get on! While we were all nattering,  we bumped into our old mucker Nick Dully from JSP ( ex-Rapid so obviously a great guy!)  and we thought it was a great photo opportunity not to be missed.

 Our Roy, with the lads from Wellington Welding and Nick Dully from JSP

Of course, no welding event would be complete without a visit to the Weldability Sif stand! 

 Um, Marianne, there's someone photo bombing behind you!

At Skillweld this year - the UK's prestigious and highly contended competition to find Britain's most talented trainee welder - the gifted winners of the seven semi-final events held across the country were handed specially designed Save Phace helmets with the Air Products logo (Air Products being the prime sponsor for Skillweld).

Exciting stuff, eh?

It all came about when Colin Kennedy, Marketing Associate for Air Products UK and Ireland, visited Rapid HQ in Portsmouth (Rapid is very proud to be an agent for Air Products offering a full range of industrial gases). Browsing our extensive website, he hit upon the great range of Save Phace Helmets and wanted to see more. Two months later he asked for a quote and made a purchase, with the fantastic idea of using them at Skillweld for the semi-final prizes.

Needless to say, when we sent the photos of the end result to the lovely Paul at Save Phace, he was really chuffed and understandably so.

It's a great product, and now part of a great association.

 We love this picture of 'wonder welder', Claire Murphy from Ardrossan, clutching her Save Phave helmet with Air Products logo.

About Skillweld

"The standard of workmanship has been high this year with more than 60 trainees taking part in the semi-final" Spatter Matter - Welding World 

Skillweld 2013 is closed now, but for all you budding trainee welders out there, there's always next time. The competition is open to all ages with good levels of skill in MMA, MIG/MAG and TIG welding.

This year the final is due to take place in Birmingham (14th - 16th November) with the shortlist of the 10 contenders being announced in a few months time.

According to Colin, there was an abundance of welding talent and enthusiasm at the semi finals, which "Bodes well for the future of the UK'S welding industry".

Things will be heating up come November. Rods at the ready, folks!  

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Save Phace products are available from Rapid online at: http://www.rapidwelding.com/dynamic/TextSearch.aspx?t=1

For more information on the Skillweld competition, visit: http://www.airproducts.co.uk/skillweld/TheCompetition.htm

Air Products Website: http://www.airproducts.co.uk/

As an agent for Air Products, Rapid offers the full range of industrial gases. The new Maxx and trade shielding gases, standard industry mixtures, acetylene, argon, Coogar, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen are all available in various cylinder sizes to meet your requirements. Next working day delivery is offered as standard, or you can collect from our Rapid Gas premises.

For more information on Rapid Gases, visit: http://www.rapidgases.com/