Lincoln Electric's Richard J. Seif and David Fink Elected to the American Welding Society 2010 Class of Counselors

CLEVELAND, Nov. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln Electric's Richard J. Seif and David Fink have been elected to the 2010 Class of Counselors of the American Welding Society (AWS).  The two were honored at the 2010 FABTECH/AWS exposition held in Atlanta, Ga., and inducted during the AWS Annual Business meeting on Monday, November 1, 2010. The election as an AWS Counselor is in recognition of a career of distinguished organizational leadership that has enhanced the image of welding.

Mr. Seif, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Development, has spent more than 39 years in the arc welding industry and is a Life member of the American Welding Society. Over the past four decades, he has served AWS in many capacities, including Section Chairman (Michigan) and National Committee Chairman, Conventions and Expositions.  In 2002, he was named to the Board of Trustees of the American Welding Foundation.  In that role, Mr. Seif has been instrumental in the launch of several welding education programs and initiatives to promote careers in welding and workforce development.

Mr. Fink is Manager of Compliance Engineering for Lincoln Electric and a recipient of the International Institute of Welding's (IIW) Thomas Medal for his work with the IIW and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). He has worked in the welding industry for nearly 40 years and has remained active with AWS technical committees for almost 35 years.  Mr. Fink is currently the chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO/TC 44/SC 3 – Welding Consumables.

About AWS

The American Welding Society (AWS) was founded in 1919 as a multifaceted, nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes including brazing, soldering, and thermal spraying. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, and led by a volunteer organization of officers and directors, AWS serves more than 63,000 members worldwide and is composed of 22 Districts with 250 Sections and student chapters. For more information, visit the society's website at http://www.aws.org and click on "Pressroom."

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has 38 manufacturing locations, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric, its products and services, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.lincolnelectric.com.

SOURCE Lincoln Electric