Olivier Revel, Serimax’s Welding Professional appointed as a judge for the Welding Championships in 2023

Olivier Revel is without doubt a “welding professional” with over 20 years of experience under his belt and nominated earlier this year as part of the prestigious jury for the “Championnat de France Soudage 2023”, Olivier shares with us his experience and how he feels about being part of this welding event, where in fact, being a welding professional makes you a V.I.P.

You began your career September 2000, what were some of your main challenges as a young welder starting out?

What really used to challenge me was understanding how welding processes worked and how to get the most out of them. It really was something that baffled me when I first started my career as an apprentice in a welding R&D center, surrounded by technology and experts in multiple fields (arc processes, consumables, flame, laser, electron beam…). As I was not originally trained as a welding engineer, I had to try and understand everything on my own and more often than not through experimentation and trial and error. My second position, at a French car manufacturer (far from the calm of an R&D center) confronted me with the productivity requirements imposed by this industry. Indeed, every tenth of a second or gram of deposited metal is considered; but in a way, I am glad I had this experience because that’s what made me who I am today. Learning from practicing and demonstrating rigor and precision are key concepts for progressing in this profession.

You have held many positions, all related to welding but in various industries, how do they compare?

You can’t compare them all because welding isn’t an end in itself, but a means to an end and is part of the process to fabricate, build and construct. Whatever the industry, welding must be completed with minimum disruption to the production cycle (cycle time, robustness, finishing). What really does change from one industry to another is the balance between this equation.  

When you were asked to be on the jury for the event, how did you feel?

Proud, impatient but also slightly apprehensive about how best to judge a welder’s performance. It’s not just about the weld respecting the acceptance criteria but also about being able to assess as accurately as possible the level of a competitor and to be able to position them in relation to others. This is what motivated the jury under the impulsion of Mehdy throughout the first championship. 

Young welders out there could be reading this, what have you got to say to them?

That they really are lucky to begin their career in a world passionate about welding and working with incredible technologies. Controlling an electric arc that is 3 times hotter than the surface of the sun to then go on and create a pool of molten metal in positions sometimes defying gravity, really is something that we could attribute to a superhero!  More seriously though, with a lot of rigor and professionalism, this industry allows those willing to learn and progress; to reach top positions, even without having the degrees that are sometimes considered essential in other sectors.

Olivier says:

“I am really looking forward to being part of this event and even more so to take the centre stage as part of the jury!”

For more information about the Championnat France Soudure visit their website: here.