Bright spark

Chloe Sales (Chloe the Welder), Alpha Manufacturing

 Contributing Editor Steed Webzell discovers the person and career path behind the rapidly growing social media phenomenon that is Chloe the Welder

Chloe the Welder. Heard of her? If not that’s a surprise as Chloe has become something of an online sensation. With more than 11,000 followers on Instagram and thousands more on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), in welding terms Chloe is a bona-fide celebrity. She even has her own website offering merchandise.

So who is the person behind the (welding) mask? Meet Chloe Sales, currently an apprentice-qualified welder at Alpha Manufacturing, a multi award-winning, custom metal fabrication company in Staffordshire.

Chloe’s journey into welding came about largely by chance. As a schoolgirl, she had “no idea” what she wanted to do. She tried courses in both health/social care and hairdressing, but neither felt right. As a stop-gap, Chloe took a temporary position in a warehouse at an engineering company, where she learnt of the company’s struggles to recruit welders. She put herself forward and subsequently enrolled on a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Welding and Fabrication at Stoke-on-Trent College.

“I went on to become STEM Apprentice of the Year at my college,” she says. “Journalists started getting in touch and schools wanted me to give talks. That was the origins of Chloe the Welder.”

Four years ago, changes at her employer prompted Chloe to join Alpha Manufacturing. She currently works at the company’s Stafford facility (Alpha Manufacturing Chemical Technologies), where she performs TIG welding involving high-grade titanium and nickel.

Doing so well at work, Chloe plucked up courage to request her own welding bay, somewhere she could learn new welding skills and undertake special projects after hours – somewhere she could be Chloe the Welder. Alpha Manufacturing duly bought her a shipping container and converted it into a workshop.

“With my social media profile gathering pace, I also started receiving approaches from sponsors, like welding equipment manufacturer Miller Electric, who kindly donated equipment.”

Now 28, Chloe is about to take a break from welding and start her biggest life-change to date by shortly giving birth to a baby boy. Who knows, maybe another welder in the making? Good luck Chloe.