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When Kevin Hembre was deployed to Iraq, he had no idea that he would end up co-starring in a television show with Monster Garage's Jesse James or that he would ultimately end up the owner of an ESAB Multimaster 260 welder. But fate can be a funny thing.
Recruited at age 18, Kevin has dedicated 17 years of his life to the Army. When reviewing his options for job training, he chose the path of a metal worker and was trained by the Army in welding and auto body repair, which appealed to him because he was a motorhead in high school.
Kevin was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and ended up a member of the 181st Transportation Battalion, stationed near Baghdad. In 2005, Jesse James decided to make a surprise visit to the troops in Iraq to thank them for their bravery and service. He happened to pick Kevin's shop as the base of operations for his small production crew to film a show for the Discovery Channel called Iraq Confidential with Jesse James.
The show, which aired in 2006, was designed to showcase a glimpse of everyday life for the soldiers while also providing a diversion from the war for the group of mechanics selected to help Jesse restore a damaged Humvee that was hit during an insurgent attack. In true Monster Garage fashion, the Humvee was souped up and able to do wheelies by the time they were done. The final product was donated to the U.S. Army Reserve recruiting command.
Kevin applied to be one of the participants on the show and was interviewed by the producer. He suspects his interest in custom cars, motorcycles and drag racing may be what caught Jesse's attention, and Kevin was selected to appear in the show. Jesse brought a number of pieces of ESAB welding and cutting equipment with him to use on the project and rather than pay to ship it all back, he left it with the soldiers who were part of his crew. Kevin was lucky enough to become the owner of the Multimaster 260. When it was time to leave Iraq, Kevin carefully crated the machine and shipped it home to Wisconsin.
The return trip was uneventful for Kevin, but unfortunately not for the Multimaster. When it arrived in Wisconsin, the crate was destroyed, the front of the welder was crushed, much of the sheet metal was damaged and the handle was in two pieces. Kevin feared it might be a lost cause, but he contacted Oxygen Service of St. Paul, Minnesota, the local ESAB representatives. Sales rep Mike Nelson and repairman Jeff Tuomela rose to the challenge. Jeff repaired the sheet metal and body of the machine, while Mike contacted ESAB, who agreed to replace all the damaged parts at no charge.
Kevin now has a fully functional Multimaster 260 and is very happy with it. "I've been impressed with the versatility of the Multimaster 260," he says. "I've used almost every capability it has, and it has done everything I've asked it to." Multimaster is a multi-purpose welder with Mig, Tig and Stick welding capabilities.
When he came home from Iraq, Kevin opened his own fabrication shop doing repair work and sheet metal for custom motorcycles. The Multimaster 260 has definitely come in handy for that work, and Kevin is looking forward to purchasing a Tig welder and a Powercut 875 from ESAB in the near future. His shop may not yet be at the level of Jesse James' West Coast Choppers but with a little help from ESAB and Oxygen Service, Kevin Hembre is well on his way to success.
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