LINCOLN ELECTRIC HOLDINGS INC (LECO) Business

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the term "Company," except as otherwise indicated by the context, means Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. and its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries for which it has a controlling interest. Founded in 1895 and incorporated in the state of Ohio in 1906 as The Lincoln Electric Company, the Company reorganized into a holding company structure as Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. in 1998.

The Company is a high-performance industrial machinery and technology leader who helps customers manufacture and maintain vital equipment and infrastructure. The Company’s innovative solutions enable higher quality and productivity across a variety of processes including welding, cutting, brazing, machining, process automation, and field repair.

Solutions

The Company’s products include arc welding equipment, filler metals (welding, brazing and soldering consumables), cutting systems (laser, plasma and oxyfuel), wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, specialty gas regulators, mobile power equipment, wear solutions, software, and education solutions; as well as a comprehensive portfolio of automated solutions and system integration services for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing. Services include additive manufacturing, precision fabrication, wear services, upfitting, and training.

Solutions range in technology and features from basic units used for personal, maintenance and light manufacturing use to highly sophisticated robotic solutions for complex fabrication and production activities.

Manufacturing Footprint

The Company has, through wholly owned subsidiaries, manufacturing and automation facilities in 20 countries located in the United States, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Reportable Segments

The Company’s business units are aligned into three operating segments. The operating segments consist of Americas Welding, International Welding and The Harris Products Group. The Americas Welding segment includes welding operations in North and South America. The International Welding segment includes welding operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. The Harris Products Group includes the Company’s global cutting, soldering and brazing businesses, specialty gas equipment, as well as the retail business which is primarily in the United States.

Customers

The Company’s products are sold in both domestic and international markets. In the Americas, products are sold principally through industrial distributors, retailers and also directly to users of welding products (OEMs, manufacturers and integrators). Outside of the Americas, the Company has an international sales organization comprised of Company employees and agents who sell products from the Company’s various manufacturing sites to distributors and product users.

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The Company’s major end-user markets include: