Raymond Corp. welder wins gold for second year in Toyota competition

The Raymond Corp., a member of the Toyota Industries family of companies, has announced that Jordan Taft, a welder at its Greene, N.Y., facility, has won gold in the welding category of the international Toyota Material Handling Group Skills Competition. Chris Vrba, a welder at the company’s Muscatine, Iowa, facility, placed sixth among global contenders.

The competition involved welding a steel pressure vessel, which required performing tack welding, executing semiautomatic welding, and finishing the vessel’s surface.

In the assembly category of the competition, assembler Jessica Vargus represented Raymond’s Muscatine facility and assembler Tom Morrison represented its Greene facility. They took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Taft has been invited back to Japan in March 2024 to compete against other gold-winning welders in the international Toyota Industries Corp. Welding Skills Competition.

The Raymond Corp. is a global provider of material handling products and intralogistics systems.