Tag: TIG welding

  • Boilermaker Salary in Australia: Award Rates, Real Earnings and What Lifts Them

    What Does a Boilermaker Earn

    It is one of the most searched questions about the trade, and most of the answers online are a single headline number with no explanation of where it came from. The truth is that boilermaker pay in Australia spans a wide range. A tradesperson on the award minimum in a small fabrication shop and a coded welder on a remote shutdown can be doing recognisably similar work for very different money.

    This article sets out the figures that can actually be verified for 2026/27: the legal minimum, the national median and the penalty structure. It then explains what moves an individual boilermaker from one end of the range to the other.

    The Award Minimum

    Most boilermakers are covered by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award, code MA000010. A trade qualified boilermaker enters at classification C10. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, the C10 minimum is $1,119.10 a week, or $29.45 an hour, for a 38 hour week. Annualised, that is about $58,200 before overtime, allowances and superannuation.

    The award ladder continues above C10 for tradespeople who hold additional training or carry more responsibility. In 2026/27 the hourly minimums run to around $30.38 at C9, $31.30 at C8 and $32.13 at C7. A tradesperson who supplies their own tools is also entitled to a tool allowance of $17.90 a week, and a leading hand in charge of three to ten people receives an additional $48.98 a week.

    Nobody should be paid less than these figures under the award. Very few experienced boilermakers are paid only these figures.

    What Boilermakers Actually Take Home

    Jobs and Skills Australia publishes earnings for the occupation group that includes boilermakers, structural steel and welding trades workers. Its latest profile, based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics earnings survey of May 2025, puts median full time earnings at $1,688 a week, with median hourly earnings of $44. Multiplied across a year that is roughly $87,800.

    Two things are worth understanding about that number. First, it is a median for full time, non managerial adult employees, so half earn more and half earn less, and it includes overtime. The same profile shows full time workers in the trade averaging about 46 hours a week. Second, it is a national figure that blends small workshops, large manufacturers, construction and resources. The spread around it is wide.

    The gap between the award and the median, more than $560 a week, is the clearest evidence that the market pays well above the minimum for competent tradespeople.

    How Penalty Rates Change the Picture

    Much of a boilermaker’s earning power sits in when the work is done. Under the Manufacturing Award, overtime is paid at 150 per cent for the first three hours and 200 per cent after that. Saturday work is paid at 150 per cent, Sunday at 200 per cent and public holidays at 250 per cent. Afternoon and night shifts attract a 15 per cent loading, rising to 30 per cent for permanent night shift.

    Apply those multipliers to shutdown work, where twelve hour days across a weekend are normal, and a fortnight’s pay can look nothing like the base weekly rate. This is why two boilermakers on the same hourly rate can report very different annual incomes.

    Six Things That Lift a Boilermaker’s Pay

    Welding tickets. Pressure welding certifications and coded welder qualifications open work on pressure vessels, pipework and structural jobs that uncertified tradespeople cannot touch. They are the single most reliable way to raise your rate.

    Stainless steel and TIG skills. Food, beverage and pharmaceutical plants run on stainless. Clean, fully penetrated TIG welds on thin wall tube and sanitary fittings are a specialist skill, and far fewer tradespeople have it than can run a MIG bead on mild steel.

    Reading and working from drawings. A boilermaker who can take a drawing, or a sketch on the back of a job card, and deliver a finished fabrication without supervision is worth more than one who needs every cut marked out.

    Site and shutdown work. Installation work on customer sites, especially during planned shutdowns, pays through penalty rates and often through site allowances.

    Industry. Mining, resources and major construction projects pay the highest headline rates, usually under enterprise agreements and often with rosters that keep you away from home. Manufacturing and maintenance work pays less at the peak but offers steadier hours and a bed at home every night.

    Responsibility. Leading hand, supervisor, workshop manager and welding supervisor roles all sit above the trade rate.

    What Apprentice Boilermakers Earn

    Apprentices are paid a proportion of the C10 rate that rises with each stage. For 2026/27 the indicative weekly minimums for a junior apprentice who did not complete Year 12 are $559.55 in stage 1, $671.46 in stage 2, $839.33 in stage 3 and $984.81 in stage 4. Adult apprentices, those aged 21 or over when they start, begin at $895.28 a week. Our separate guide to boilermaker apprenticeships covers the pathway, the Certificate III in Engineering, Fabrication Trade, and the government support available.

    Is Boilermaking Still a Good Career

    Demand for fabrication and welding trades remains strong. Jobs and Skills Australia identifies structural steel and welding trades workers as the largest employing occupation in Australian manufacturing, and employers across the sector report difficulty filling vacancies. Welder and metal fabricator both appear on national apprenticeship priority lists.

    The work is physical and it is not for everyone. But it is a trade where skill is visible, where a good tradesperson can always find work, and where the path into supervision, inspection, estimating or running your own shop is well worn.

    Boilermaking in Food and Beverage Manufacturing

    Fabrication for beverage and FMCG plants is a distinct corner of the trade. The material is mostly stainless, the welds have to be cleanable as well as strong, and the job is usually a modification to a line that has to be back in production by a fixed time. It rewards tradespeople who are tidy, accurate and comfortable working to a deadline alongside fitters and electricians.

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in manufacturing. Our workshop combines TIG and MIG welding with guillotines, a brake press, lathes, mills and CNC machining, and our fabricators work with our drafting and automation teams on turnkey projects for some of the largest manufacturers in Australia. If you want to put your trade to work in that environment, current openings are listed at bevtech.com.au/hiring.

    A Note on the Figures

    Award rates in this article apply from July 2026 and are reviewed every year. The earnings median is the most recent published by Jobs and Skills Australia and is a guide to the market, not an entitlement. To check the minimum rate for your own classification and roster, use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool.

  • TIG vs MIG Welding: Choosing the Right Process for FMCG Fabrication

    Two Processes, Very Different Outcomes

    Welding decisions in food and beverage manufacturing fabrication are rarely just about joining two pieces of metal together. The choice between TIG and MIG welding affects weld quality, surface finish, hygiene compliance, and long term durability, all of which matter significantly in an FMCG environment where equipment is regularly exposed to wash down, caustic cleaning chemicals, and strict hygiene standards. At BevTech, an engineering business with an in house machine shop and TIG and MIG welding capability, choosing the right process for each job is a genuine technical decision, not a default habit, and understanding the difference is useful for any plant manager scoping a fabrication project.

    How TIG Welding Works

    Tungsten inert gas welding, commonly known as TIG, uses a non consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld, with a separate filler rod fed in by hand where additional material is needed. The process is shielded by an inert gas, typically argon, and gives the welder precise, direct control over heat input and weld pool formation. TIG welding produces a clean, controlled weld with minimal spatter, and because the process does not rely on a continuously fed consumable wire, it allows for very fine control over bead appearance and penetration.

    This precision comes at the cost of speed. TIG welding is generally slower than MIG welding, requiring more skill and a steadier hand from the welder, since heat input, filler addition, and torch movement are all managed manually and simultaneously.

    How MIG Welding Works

    Metal inert gas welding, or MIG, uses a continuously fed consumable wire electrode along with a shielding gas, typically a mix of argon and carbon dioxide for steel. Because the filler wire feeds automatically through the welding gun, MIG welding is generally faster and more forgiving than TIG, making it well suited to production environments where welding speed and throughput matter, and where slightly less precise bead control is an acceptable trade off.

    MIG welding is also generally easier to learn to a competent standard than TIG, which is part of why it remains the default process for a significant proportion of structural and general fabrication work across engineering more broadly.

    Why the Choice Matters More in FMCG Fabrication

    In a food and beverage manufacturing context, welds are frequently exposed to wash down regimes involving high pressure water, caustic and acid based cleaning chemicals, and repeated thermal cycling from hot water rinse and clean in place processes. A weld with poor surface finish, undercut, or trapped porosity is not just a cosmetic issue in this environment, it can become a hygiene risk, providing a location for bacterial growth or product residue to accumulate, and a durability risk, providing a starting point for corrosion under repeated chemical exposure.

    This is a key reason why TIG welding is often the preferred process for stainless steel fabrication in food and beverage applications, particularly for product contact surfaces, pipework, and equipment requiring a smooth, easily cleanable finish. The precise, controlled nature of TIG welding produces the clean, consistent weld beads that hygiene compliant fabrication genuinely requires.

    Where MIG Welding Remains the Right Choice

    TIG welding is not automatically the correct choice for every job, and defaulting to it unnecessarily adds cost and time without a corresponding benefit. Structural fabrication work, such as equipment frames, guarding, platforms, and non product contact structural components, is frequently better suited to MIG welding, where speed and cost efficiency matter more than the fine surface finish TIG delivers. For carbon steel fabrication that will be painted or coated rather than left as a hygiene critical surface, MIG welding is often the more practical and cost effective process.

    An experienced fabrication team makes this decision based on the specific requirements of each component, whether it is a product contact surface requiring hygiene compliant finish, or a structural component where fabrication speed and cost are the priority, rather than applying a single process across every job by default.

    Material Considerations: Stainless Steel and Aluminium

    Material choice also influences the TIG versus MIG decision. Stainless steel, the dominant material in food and beverage product contact equipment, welds particularly well with TIG, given the control it offers over heat input and the resulting weld quality on thinner gauge stainless sheet and pipe common in FMCG fabrication. Aluminium, used in some lighter weight equipment and guarding applications, can be welded with either process, though TIG again tends to offer superior control for thinner sections and applications where finish quality matters.

    The Value of In House Fabrication Capability

    For FMCG manufacturers, having an engineering partner with genuine in house TIG and MIG welding capability, alongside broader mechanical fabrication resources including CNC machining, mills, lathes, and brake presses, means fabrication decisions can be made based purely on what each specific job requires, rather than being constrained by which process a particular subcontractor happens to offer. BevTech’s combined mechanical, electrical, and automation capability means welding decisions are made as part of a broader, coordinated engineering solution, whether that is fabricating a replacement component for a hot water rinse system, or building structural guarding as part of a machine safety upgrade.

    Cost Comparison Between the Two Processes

    The cost difference between TIG and MIG welding on a given job is driven primarily by labour time rather than consumables, since TIG welding’s slower, more controlled process translates directly into more welder hours for a comparable length of weld. For a small, hygiene critical component, such as a repair to a section of stainless product pipework, this additional labour time is a reasonable cost to accept given what is at stake if the weld quality is insufficient. For a large structural fabrication job, such as a full equipment guarding frame, the labour cost difference across the total length of welding involved can become significant, reinforcing why MIG welding remains the sensible default for this category of work.

    An experienced fabrication team factors this cost difference into project quoting from the outset, recommending TIG welding only where the hygiene, finish, or precision requirements genuinely justify the additional cost and time, rather than applying it uniformly regardless of the application.

    Welder Qualification and Standards Compliance

    Both TIG and MIG welding used in FMCG fabrication should be performed by welders holding appropriate qualifications relevant to the materials and standards involved, particularly for pressure equipment, structural components, or product contact surfaces subject to food safety requirements. BevTech’s welding team holds qualifications appropriate to the stainless steel and structural fabrication work regularly undertaken for FMCG clients, and welding procedures for critical applications are documented and controlled to ensure consistent, verifiable quality, rather than relying purely on individual welder skill without supporting process control.

    Getting the Right Weld for the Right Job

    The TIG versus MIG decision is a genuine technical judgement, informed by the material, the surface finish and hygiene requirements, and the balance between quality and production speed each project demands. For FMCG manufacturers scoping a fabrication or repair project, working with a team that understands and applies this judgement correctly, rather than defaulting to a single process, is a meaningful factor in long term equipment reliability and hygiene compliance. To discuss a fabrication project with BevTech’s in house welding and machining team, contact 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD 4077, or admin@bevtech.com.au.

  • In House Fabrication and Welding: A Reliability Advantage for Food and Beverage Plants

    Fabrication and welding work on a food or beverage production line is often treated as a commodity service, sourced on the basis of the lowest competitive quote with limited regard for the specific demands of a hygienic, high cycle manufacturing environment. This is a costly mistake. The welding quality on a conveyor frame, guard rail, or custom bracket directly affects its fatigue resistance under constant vibration, its hygiene performance if it sits anywhere near a product zone, and ultimately how long it lasts before requiring rework or replacement.

    Why FMCG fabrication is not general purpose welding

    Production line equipment in food and beverage manufacturing operates under conditions that general construction or automotive fabrication rarely encounters, constant vibration from running machinery, frequent washdown with caustic or acidic cleaning chemicals, temperature cycling between ambient and chilled or heated process areas, and in many cases direct or indirect product contact zones requiring specific surface finish and material grade considerations. A weld that would be perfectly adequate on a static structural frame can fail prematurely under the cyclical vibration loading of a conveyor system, and a surface finish acceptable in general fabrication may not meet the hygienic standards required near a filling or packaging zone.

    TIG welding, valued for its clean, precise finish and suitability for stainless steel commonly used in food contact and washdown areas, and MIG welding, valued for speed and strength on heavier structural fabrication, both have their place in a production environment, and an experienced fabrication team will select the right process for each specific application rather than defaulting to whichever method is fastest or cheapest for the fabricator.

    The cost of getting it wrong

    Poor quality fabrication does not usually fail immediately. A weld with inadequate penetration or an unsuitable process for the application may hold for months before fatigue cracking develops under the cyclical loading of a running conveyor or vibrating machine frame. By the time the failure becomes visible, the original fabricator’s warranty period has often expired, and the plant is left with an unplanned repair, potential downtime, and in cases involving product contact surfaces, a possible hygiene or contamination risk that requires far more than a simple repair to resolve. The lowest quote on a fabrication job rarely accounts for this deferred failure risk, since the immediate price comparison only reflects materials and labour, not long term durability.

    The advantage of an in house team with industry experience

    Fabrication teams who work routinely within food and beverage manufacturing environments develop an intuitive understanding of where components are likely to fail and why, informed by years of seeing how conveyor frames, guards, and brackets actually perform under real production conditions rather than in a generic workshop setting. This experience translates into design choices, material selection, and welding process decisions that a fabricator without FMCG specific experience may not consider, even if their general welding skill is perfectly competent.

    Having this capability in house, rather than outsourced to a separate fabrication subcontractor, also materially improves turnaround time. A combined drafting, machining, and fabrication team working from the same workshop can move a project from initial design through to a completed, installed component without the delays inherent in coordinating between separate design and fabrication businesses, each with their own queue and scheduling constraints.

    What to look for in a fabrication partner

    For procurement teams sourcing fabrication work for production line equipment, the key evaluation criteria should include demonstrated experience specifically within food and beverage or similarly demanding manufacturing environments, both TIG and MIG capability so the right process is applied to each component, integrated drafting and design capability so fabrication work is properly engineered rather than built to a rough sketch, and a track record of supporting urgent breakdown fabrication work, not just planned project fabrication on a comfortable timeline.

    Fabrication capability built for FMCG environments

    Bevtech Engineering and Automation’s machine shop includes TIG and MIG welding capability alongside CNC machining, mills, lathes, guillotines, and brake press equipment, staffed by a team with over 25 years of experience specifically within food and beverage and broader FMCG manufacturing. This combination allows the team to handle everything from custom conveyor fabrication through to urgent breakdown welding repairs, with the design and drafting expertise to ensure fabricated components are properly engineered for the vibration, hygiene, and durability demands of a working production line. To discuss a fabrication project or establish a maintenance fabrication arrangement, contact Bevtech on +61 400 881 321 or admin@bevtech.com.au, or visit 25 Silvio St, Richlands QLD.

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