ABOUT US
MiG Buddy History
| 2007 - Idea |
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| I’m tired of this crap" moment (a.k.a. ‘the ah hah moment’) |
| 2008 - First Prototype |
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| Finally getting some where |
| 2009 - First Prototype Testing |
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| Getting feedback and making improvements. Installed MIG Buddy at each welding gun station at Contra Costa College, and given to welders in different industries to test drive. |
| 2011 - MiG Buddy Prototype Re-Design |
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| Improved designs for multiple guns. |
| 2012 - Preparing for Launch |
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| Assembled team to bring to market. |
| 2014 - MiG Buddy Final Re-Design |
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| New single design to fit many welding guns. |
| 2015 - MiG Buddy Product Release! |
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| Launching at FABTECH 2015 – Chicago - November 9-12. |
Hi, this is George at GeorgeB Design (MiG Buddy), thanks for visiting our website. We are committed to making your welding life safer and easier. I believe we have a product that will truly help welders by promoting the most effective practices when welding.
I’ve always been an innovator – surrounded by ‘junk’ as Thomas Edison calls it. You probably have the same feeling that your junk is “good junk” and everyone else’s is just so so. This is a crucial point when it comes to whose stuff stays when clean out day arrives. My wife lets me keep my “good junk” around as it has led to many improvements around the house, and now the shop, with the invention of the MIG Buddy.
Many times you just accept things as being a certain way and keep doing what has always been done. Then there are times you get so fed up wasting your time and money and think there must be a better way. This is the point of no return for me, when I become driven to find a solution to a long-standing annoyance.
After devising the first welding gun holder prototype, I wanted real life feedback to see what could be improved. The answer came through the help of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California.
The College is an educational facility for students of all ages, including me. It is a Welding Certification Test Center for ASE (The Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) and I-CAR (Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair) for professionals in the automotive industry. What a perfect environment to get feedback from folks new to welding and professionals in the industry!
Peter Lock, Professor and Director of the program, was enthusiastic about letting us set up every welding station with its very own a MIG Buddy. This means each person using a welding station at the college has the opportunity to use the MIG Buddy while they work. With a facility that busy, those MIG Buddys get a lot of wear and tear. Thru observation and discussion with other welders, improvements were made to both design and function.
After many iterations and countless 3-D printed prototypes, we have an excellent functional design. With a great team effort, from engineering to design and manufacturing, we now deliver a high quality, industrial strength product.
A huge thanks to the many individuals who helped us on this awesome journey. We hope that they and you will be a part of our evolving story.
What’s next? As a member of AWS, I want to promote efficiency and safety in welding and with the MIG Buddy, the two go and hand in hand. When you do use the MIG Buddy to weld you’ll understand why it’s like having a third hand. To find out what we mean perhaps enroll for a class at Contra Costa College to try the MIG Buddy on campus and for you professionals, please give the MIG Buddy a try at your shop. Once you use it, you won’t work without it. We sure would appreciate your feedback and we’ll use that to keep improving along the way.