Safety that keeps up with welders' challenges and changing risks

Ask a welder their challenges at work and the answer still starts with the same fundamentals such as arc radiation, intense heat, spatter, and electrical energy. When Kemppi began in 1949 in Finland, these were the same problems every welder faced and still manages today. The arc will always generate powerful light and heat; current will always be present; molten metal will always behave like molten metal.

What has changed is the operating environment around the arc. More welding is carried out indoors and in confined spaces, where airborne exposure can accumulate over time. At the same time, expectations have tightened as the evidence base has strengthened. International health authorities have classified welding fumes as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), reinforcing the importance of robust exposure control and correctly selected protective measures.

A credible safety approach entails a system of controls that begins with hazard reduction at source and ends with PPE as the final barrier. For PPE, the quality threshold is high: protective performance must remain stable during movement, maintain fit and sealing, and be wearable across long shifts.

Making safety measurable

In the EU, PPE placed on the market must meet Regulation (EU) 2016/425 and follow defined conformity assessment procedures linked to CE marking and technical documentation. The practical value of this framework is transparency: it connects what a product claims to what it can be shown to do using standardised test methods.

At Kemppi, PPE performance is measured well before product certification. Our in-house R&D in Finland covers design, material selection, prototyping, laboratory testing, verification, and readiness for production. Early prototypes are typically produced using 3D printing to validate design, ergonomics and usability quickly. Once the design is sufficiently validated, development progresses to mass-produced parts after tools are manufactured. Keeping this loop in-house shortens iteration cycles and strengthens accountability, and design decisions can be evaluated directly against test outcomes.

This is where compliance becomes meaningful. For example, Kemppi’s glove documentation references Regulation (EU) 2016/425 and lists harmonised standards including EN 12477 (welders’ gloves), EN 407 (thermal risks), EN 388 (mechanical risks), and EN 511 (cold protection) and EN ISO 21420:2020 (Protective Gloves). This approach demonstrates how a field problem can be translated into engineered targets and anchored to defined requirements.

From welder feedback to engineering requirements

We constantly gather welder feedback through site visits, pilot users, test programs, distributor-led trials, and standardised feedback forms. It is then reviewed by R&D and Product Management and translated into measurable requirements.

A clear example comes from harsh winter conditions, where an end user could not find a glove that was warm enough for sub-zero environments while remaining compliant for welding work. Existing options forced welders into trade-offs between warmth, dexterity, and certified protection. Kemppi worked with the end user to define real operating constraints such as temperature exposure, dexterity needs, and safety targets, and translated these into design requirements for insulation, materials, protection levels, and usability.

Designing Safety into welding

To validate outcomes, Kemppi tests safety products under conditions that reflect welding work. The performance criteria include resistance to heat and spatter without deformation, durability against impact and abrasion, reliable function in cold environments, stable fit and sealing during movement, and ergonomics that reduces strain over a full shift.

In practice, the difference between compliant equipment and effective protection is consistency. At Kemppi, welding safety relies on controls that are engineered and verified by welders.