Damion Gustafson received his AAS in Manufacturing Technology-Welding from Mesa State College in 2004. Leading up to that, he worked as a welder’s apprentice and then as a field welder. After working for a number of years in the industry, Gustafson wanted to further his knowledge of the science behind the skills he attained and sought out a formal welding education. After graduating, he worked with local welding fabricators, followed by starting up and running his own welding business.
Gustafson experience includes structural welding; fabricating machinery and mine equipment; designing, building and installing stairs and handrails; as well as custom design and ornamental welding. He has more than 20 years of experience in the structural welding/fabrication industry and brings his experience to the classroom. His experience as a business owner is shared with students through demonstration and discussion of different facets of a job, providing real-life experiences. He aims to teach students more than just welding skills but also life skills they can take with them into the next chapters of their life. His style of teaching is very hands-on — instruction and discuss in the classroom, demonstration in the lab and coaching students as they work on their techniques.
He teaches gas tungsten arc welding; gas metal arc welding; oxy-fuel welding; oxy-fuel cutting, PAC and related cutting applications; shielded metal arc welding; and introduction to welding.
Outside the classroom, he spends his time with family, usually outside. He enjoys boating, hiking, skiing, dirt biking, exploring, and camping. He also enjoys building for himself and will custom fabricate tools, accessories and everything in between.