The company was founded in 1904 by Swedish businessman
Oscar Kjellberg in
Gothenburg,
Sweden. The company sells equipment for
welding and
cutting. Other notable CEO was
Lars Westerberg who ran ESAB for three years. The ESAB was acquired by
Charter International in 1994. The ESAB group was acquired by
Colfax Corporation on 13 January 2012. Following the purchase, the CEO of Colfax, Clay Kiefaber, stepped down to the president role of ESAB and was replaced by Steve Simms. The ESAB group acquired the Welding Wire business of
Sandvik effective February 1, 2018. The acquisition included production units in Scranton, PA, and Sandviken, Sweden; the technical sales and product management organization; as well as multiyear strategic collaboration on R&D for future product developments. On April 5, 2022, Colfax Corp. (now Enovis Corp.) distributed 100% of the shares of ESAB Corporation to Colfax shareholders. An Information Statement was sent to Colfax shareholders. On October 17, 2022, ESAB Corporation announced the acquisition of Ohio Medical, a global leader in oxygen regulators and central gas systems for the healthcare industry. == Critics ==