Posted on 05/01/2023 1:24:48 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Now she's hoping to inspire the next generation of women welders
Tiffany Orff owns Welding Women Syndicate, a company she started in 2020, opening her shop in Salinas in 2021. Growing up in Los Angeles, Orff got her start in real estate construction about 25 years ago. That led her to owning a fabrication shop before falling in love with welding.
"There's just something about this process that you are just able to focus, and you shut down. And that's all it is, is welding. It's complete therapy," said Orff.
Orff says from the start, she was hooked. Getting her formal training — an associate's degree in welding tech — at Arkansas Tech University. Earning multiple certifications, a skills U.S.A. gold in welding and fabrication, and the distinguished WEMCO award from the American Welding Society.
"Other women have won this, but not women's initiatives," Orff said.
Welding Women Syndicate, setting the precedent. Orff, paving the way for women who weld. And with only 7% of the welding industry, women, she knew from the beginning it would be tough to forge a bond between what she loves to do and making a name for herself in a male-dominated industry.
She said, "In the beginning, it was really tough because you are constantly validating yourself. And then, at some point, you realize after certifications, degrees, awards, businesses, that you just don't need to do that anymore, and you have to have that self-confidence. And it takes many, many years."
Her work has taken her all over the country before leading her back to California and now the Central Coast; doing what she loves most, welding and teaching. She’s currently teaching a welding course at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad.
"I have always been an underdog, and I want to be able to convey my skills to somebody that they could potentially leave that facility and hopefully not come back," she said.
And also, spending time visiting high schools on the Central Coast, hoping to inspire the next generation of women welders.
When asked what her message was for girls, Orff said she offers them words of encouragement.
"To not give up," she said. "It is really, really intimidating when you go, and you're the only girl in a classroom. I just like to show them a successful business owner and I come in with a business partner who is also a woman, and then we let them know, the people that come here are women. We show them videos. We've showed them so many things that they know that we're here. We're not many, but we're rising."
Classes out of Orff’s shop include welding, then wine and welding, then whiskey. She also offers an exploratory academy, an all-day event that teaches more advanced processes. For more information: https://www.weldingwomensyndicate.com/.
If a woman does a great job then I am all for that.
Over the years, I’ve run across a very few women in industrial sales (industrial bearings, conveyor systems, power transmission equipment, etc), and I was impressed with all of them. To be successful in a male-dominated business like that, they had to know what they were doing.
I don’t recall If I ever saw a female welder/fitter.
For those of you old enough to remember VICA from high school, They became Skills USA. The Gold is a gold medal in regional or national competition.
Pretty cool.
My Mom and Dad had their own welding and fabrication business. Dad was an iron worker after WWII, he started his own shop w/Mom as secretary. At one point he had over a dozen guys working for him. I kick myself for not following in his footsteps.
More power to the lady!
I love these stories. Perseverance, dedication, years of hard work, doing what you love, building a successful business, teaching others, rehabilitating cons in prison…and all by a woman in a traditional man’s trade! Good for her.
I’d wager she’s not confused in the least about her pronouns.
Are we sure that they’re referencing an actual “she” in this day and age?
We’ve got a woman neighbor and friend who was CFO in one of the biggest defense contractors. Her stories of rising to that level in that testosterone-fueled industry are amazing. She is kind, sweet and unassuming, too. It took quite a while before we learned about her career.
I worked for three different fabrication/design/installation shops doing estimating and project management. Wood products/paper mills mostly. Really liked it, as I got to meet lots of new people all the time.
What customer base did your folks serve?
Wow, that’s news. Heroic, earth shattering, no more glass ceiling. You go.
“I don’t recall If I ever saw a female welder/fitter.”
I knew a Hot blond programmer that went to California and learned to be an underwater welder. This was in the 80s.
“Classes out of Orff’s shop include welding, then wine and welding, then whiskey.”
Sounds like a real character, I like her.
“I don’t recall If I ever saw a female welder/fitter.”
“I knew a Hot blond programmer that went to California and learned to be an underwater welder. This was in the 80s.”
A couple of Sisters our Daughters grew up with are Pipeline fitters.
However, promoting the trade as a vocational alternative to college is well worth noting. More schools should be offering after school trades training.
My nephew's son had that opportunity starting in his junior year of high school. After graduation, he went on to the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology for their 9 month program and upon graduation, their placement program had him overwhelmed with job offers.
Mike Lowe did an interview with a female welder - I think she was the recipient of one of his trade scholarships:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfFDa4LY5mA
Jennifer Beals probably wasn’t doing most of that dancing. I think much of it was Marine Jahan.
Beals was very beautiful, though - one of the most attractive woman in films at that time.
I was always told this bunch was the best of the best. I knew a couple of them, and they could make anything stick together.
https://local798.org/overview/
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