Gateway Technical College welding student Tom Ruge captured second place out of 200 contestants in the “Best Welder in America” competition at FABTECH 2015 held in Chicago.
Ruge took second place in the event which required contestants to make a gas metal arc weld in fewer than 5 minutes on low-carbon steel, and were graded on speed and quality.
Ruge is a student taking courses on Gateway’s Racine Campus. He also is a welder/fabricator at a Racine County company.
FABTECH 2015 is North America’s largest collaboration of technology, equipment and knowledge in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries. The Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 event drew more than 1,700 exhibiting companies and a total of 43,836 attendees from more than 90 countries to Chicago’s McCormick Place.
