Demolition derbies are exciting stuff for young boys… and apparently for the older ones as well! 

“I was nine or ten-years-old when I started welding on my dad’s demolition derby cars in our garage,” says Tony Penwell of Washington Court House, Ohio. 

By age 14, Tony was driving in the derbies, with just one stipulation.  He had to get straight A’s in school.  So Tony studied and worked on cars in preparation for the local derbies.  Both activities have paid big benefits!

Tony graduated with an associate’s degree in high performance automotive mechanics / welding from Northwestern University in Lima.  While at Northwestern, Tony quickly realized that anytime the team he was working with needed a welder, they turned to him.  He began taking extra classes so he could graduate as quickly as possible because what he really wanted to do was attend Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.

In September 2002, Tony enrolled in the Combination Structural and Pipe Welding Program at Hobart Institute and completed that training in May 2003.  Within a short time, he outgrew his Dad’s garage and opened Tony’s Welding and Fabrication.

“I’ll take any welding job that comes along,” says Tony.  “I do fabrication work for the auto industry and just about anything else.” 

But at age 25, Tony has found his niche in building large water tower walkways and fabrication of piping for the water industry.  These massive walkways and towers, when filled with concrete, can support one million gallon tanks along with cement bases.

Just four years after completing his welding training, Tony is working out of a brand new facility and has eight employees including an office manager and a shop supervisor.  And he is hiring Hobart Institute graduates.

“Contracts have been coming in and I really do not have the time to train welders,” Tony comments.  “So I am interested in hiring Hobart graduates because I know they have the hours under the hood and the experience necessary to perform the work that needs to be done.  To work for my company, welders must be certifiable to AWS standards.”  

“We utilize shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, and gas tungsten arc welding on carbon steel, stainless steel or aluminum,” explains Tony.  “We also use galvanized steel for fabrication.  The work is diversified and never boring.”

When an opportunity to bid on a job arrives, Tony and his staff put together a full plan to include CAD blueprints and drawings.  Once the contract is signed, the real work begins.  Initial fabrication takes place in Tony’s shop and his company will travel anywhere in the nation to perform on-site assembly and construction.

Contact Tony’s Welding & Fabrication at (740) 333-4000.  Tony’s Welding will strive to provide complete customer satisfaction through quality workmanship at competitive prices.