Western Australia’s welding community gathered in Perth last night for the 2025 Western Australia Welding Excellence Awards, recognising the people, projects and organisations advancing safety, innovation and workforce development across the state’s fabrication and manufacturing sectors.
Hosted by Weld Australia, the annual awards highlight excellence in areas spanning automation, quality assurance, education and training. This year’s winners were praised for delivering world-class outcomes and strengthening local industry capability.
Weld Australia CEO Geoff Crittenden said the winners represented “the cutting edge of Australian industry”.
“They’re delivering world-class outcomes, embedding safety and quality into every process, and investing in the skills that will define the next generation of trades and technicians,” he said.
“The innovation, collaboration and professionalism on display this year highlight a state that’s not just keeping pace with change, it’s leading it,” he added.
Bossong Engineering secured the 2025 Company of the Year – Fabrication Award. Established in 1988, the family-owned company now operates workshops in Welshpool, Broome and Karratha, servicing mining, oil and gas, infrastructure and renewable energy.
WPF Duratec won Project of the Year for the Darwin Pipeline Duplication for Santos’ LNG facility. The project involved fabricating and installing more than 250 tonnes of pipe spooling and 50 tonnes of structural steel. WPF used in-house robotic welding to halve welding times and achieved a failure rate of less than one per cent, completing work two weeks early and without any lost-time incidents.
Lighthouse Engineering received the Health and Safety in Welding Award for pioneering the use of a Lincoln Electric Welding Fume Ventilation System and equipping welders with powered air-purifying respirators.
OneGas was named Company of the Year – Supplier, while North Metropolitan TAFE took out the Training and Education Award for an Organisation for its advanced fabrication programs and partnerships with industry.
Individual honours included Andrew Cain of Callidus Welding Solutions (Welding Coordinator category), Paul Thariyan of Aerison (Welding Inspector category), and joint Young Trades Person of the Year winners Kyle Gourlay of Bossong Engineering and Matthew Rowbottom of Callidus Welding Solutions.
Huspicio Villamor from Austal Ships was named Trades Person of the Year, recognised for his mastery of the Bug-O semi-automatic system and more than 300 flawless welds on the Cape Class project.
North Metro TAFE’s Allan Albrey won the Training and Education – Individual Teacher Award for more than 40 years of vocational training, while Monadelphous’ Lee Oakley received the Mick Cudmore Award for decades of leadership in welding engineering and industry development.
