BB&T Commercial and Industrial Conference

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. Update BB&T Commercial and Industrial Conference – March 21, 2013

Vincent K. Petrella SVP and Chief Financial Officer Safe Harbor -- Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made during this presentation which are not historical

facts may be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-

looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause

actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or

implied. For further information concerning issues that could

materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking

statements, please refer to Lincoln Electric’s quarterly earnings

releases and periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange

Commission.

2 A Proud History

3 World-Class Arc Welding and Cutting Products

Virtual and Automated welding MIG & TIG consumables

Soldering Welding and Consumables Brazing alloys PowerPower Wave Wave ® 65% AC/DCAC/DC 1000 1000 ® SD Welding Equipment 35%

Stainless, Nickel & High Alloy Welder/Generator – consumables, Submerged Arc, Engine Drive Stick Electrodes, Cobalt

Fume extractor

CNC Cutting Gas regulators, welding Flux-Cored Wire System guns and torches, accessories Plasma cutter Orbital TIG welding 4 Lincoln Electric: Dynamic and Evolving Company 45 Manufacturing Facilities in 19 Countries

CLEVELAND, OHIO MISSISSAUGA, CANADA PORT TALBOT, WALES GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS DZIERZONIOW, POLAND Consumables Consumables OREL, RUSSIA Consumables & Consumables CLEVELAND, OHIO TORONTO, CANADA ESSEN, GERMANY Gas Apparatus REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS Equipment & Consumables Pipe Mill Welding Systems BIELAWA, POLAND LUAN COUNTY, CHINA North America Consumables CLEVELAND, OHIO Equipment RENO, NEVADA NIJMEGEN, NETHERLANDS LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Equipment, Consumables Consumables JINZHOU, CHINA CNC Cutting Equipment & Automation Gas Apparatus Consumables MENTOR, OHIO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA ZHENGZHOU, CHINA Consumables Consumables MTSENSK, RUSSIA Automated Welding Systems Consumables Consumables FT. LORAMIE, OHIO MASON, OHIO NANJING, CHINA SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA Automated solutions REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS ISTANBUL, TURKEY Pipe Cutting Equipment Harris Products Group Consumables Consumables ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA MASON, OHIO SHEFFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM AREZZO, ITALY Accessories Consumables Consumables Consumables TIJUANA, MEXICO GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA CHERTSEY, UNITED KINGDOM SHANGHAI, CHINA Consumables & Accessories GENOVA, ITALY Gas Apparatus Consumables Equipment Equipment & Consumables TORREON, MEXICO ROUEN, FRANCE SHANGHAI, CHINA Equipment & Consumables MEXICO CITY, MEXICO LISBON, PORTUGAL Consumables REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS Consumables Consumables Asia Pacific BARCELONA, SPAIN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS Consumables Europe, Middle East, Africa & Russia MARACAY, VENEZUELA CHENNAI, INDIA Consumables Consumables GUARULHOS, BRAZIL GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS Consumables JAKARTA, INDONESIA Lincoln Electric Consumables Cleveland, Ohio USA SAO PAULO, BRAZIL Brazing Consumables REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS SAO PAULO, BRAZIL North America REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS Cleveland, Ohio USA South America

South America Sao Paulo, Brazil

Europe, Middle East, Africa & Russia Barcelona, Spain

Asia Pacific Shanghai, China

Harris Products Group Mason, Ohio USA 5 Global Sales Shift

Sales by Destination

2002 2012

Total BRIC 3% Total BRIC 15%

International 30%

North North America America International 30% 67% 55%

BRIC= Brazil, Russia, India, China North America = United States, Canada, Mexico 6 Lincoln Electric – 2020 Vision

7 Strategic Growth Drivers

 Leverage breadth of product and process solutions

 Penetrate critical global end markets and regional segments

 Develop distribution channels

 Invest in new product development

 Grow and train our own technical sales force

 Focus on continued cost improvement and operational excellence 8 Leverage Products & Process Solutions Across the Globe

Penetrate Critical Global End Markets

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9 Develop Key Channels

• 200 person technical sales force in North America • Similar program launched globally Direct to Industrial Rental Retail End User Distribution Network

10 Innovation is a Major Driver

• Lincoln Electric has the R&D Expenditures industry’s most

comprehensive R&D $40

program. $35

$30

$25

• Approximately 50% of $20 equipment sales in 2012 $33 $37 $15 $19 $20 $22 $ in in Millions $ $24 $26 $27 $28 $29 were new products $10 developed and introduced $5 over the last 5 years. $0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

• Industry leading technology

Lincoln leads the arc welding industry in new product introductions

11 Operational Excellence

• Lean manufacturing • ISO 14001

• Six Sigma • Cost savings programs

12 $20 Billion Global Arc Welding Market Global & Regional Market Share

40% North America 35% $4.2 Billion

30%

25% Latin America Europe & RAM $1.6 Billion 20% $5.2 Billion 15% Market Share Market Asia Pacific 10% $9.0 Billion 5% 0% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% Growth Rate

13 Global Competitive Landscape

Global Market Share

Lincoln Electric

Others The top 3 ESAB companies (Colfax) compete in Equipment and Consumables Kemppi ITW Fronius Hyundai Golden Bridge OTC Kobelco Hypertherm Big Bridge Atlantic Panasonic Air Liquide Bohler Messer Victor Technologies (Thermadyne)

14 * Amounts based on the Company's estimate of the total market and include sales of equity affiliates $20 Billion Welding Market Segments

Power Gen / Pipeline Offshore Process 3% Pipe Mill 4% Maintenance & 14% 3% Repair 6% Structural 14%

General Fabrication 31% Heavy Fabrication 9% Automotive Shipbuilding 8% 8%

15 Economic Variables Impacting Industry

Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization (U.S.) WSA Global Steel Production

Source: WSA

Purchasing Manager’s Index Share of World Crude Steel Production

16 Global Acquisition Strategy Expands Footprint

MGM

LEIM

Tennessee Rand Electro-Arco

Heli

JINZHOU JINTAI WELDING METAL CO LTD

SLE

8% Acquisition Growth % of Sales 7.0%

6% 5.8% 5.3% 4.9%

4% 3.4% 3.0% 3.0% 2.3% 2.0% 2%

0% 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 17 2012 Highlights

• 2012 sales and EPS highest level in Lincoln’s history • Expanded margins; increased return on invested capital; and generated record cash flows • Successful execution of ongoing global growth and operational improvement strategies • Initiatives to reduce costs, sharpen operations

Net Sales

Dollars in Millions

$3,000 $2,853 $2,695 $2,479 $2,500 $2,281 $2,070 $1,972 $2,000 $1,729 $1,601 $1,500 $1,333 $1,041 $1,000

$500

$0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

19 Q4 Sales -- 2011 vs. 2012

Dollars in Millions

$800 $694.5 (1.4%) $684.6

$600

$400

$200

$0 Q4 2011 Q4 2012

20 LECO Historical Sales Mix Trends

50%

40% 28.1% 30.2% 30% 2.6% 3.1% 20.1% 23.1% 2.3% * 19.7% 5.8% 1.3% 15.7% 0.9% 3.4% 20% 9.5% * 8.7% 5.3% 6.9% 7.0% 2.9% 3.2% 0.4% 5.9% 2.0% 1.9% 10% 3.7% 3.0% 8.0% 15.5% (30.2%) 14.1% 14.8% 13.2% 4.9% 4.2% 6.8% 7.8% 1.7% 3.0% 1.3% 0% -3.9% -2.0% -10% -29.80% -20%

-0.5% -30% -2.9% -40% 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Volume Price Acquisition FX * Differences due to rounding

21 Operating Income Percentage

15% 13.3% 11.9% 12%

9% Q4 2011 vs. Q4 2012 6%

0% Q4 2011 Q4 2012 Excluding Special Items

15% 13.1% 12.2% 12.7% 12% 11.5% 11.0% 9.6% 9.1% 9% 8.3% Historical Trend 6.7% 7.0% 6%

0% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Excluding Special Items 22 Improving Segment Margin Performance

The North Asia South Europe* Harris America Pacific America Total Welding Products Welding Welding Welding Group

FY2012 Organic Sales +11% (6)% (14)% +9% flat +3% Growth**

FY2012 EBIT Margin 17.1% 8.0% 2.1% 11.3% 8.6% 13.3% (excluding special items)

YoY Margin Performance +130 +110 +140 +310 +150 +200 (bps)

* “Europe” includes Middle East, Africa and Russia ** “Organic” refers to volume and price performance

23 Net Income

$300 $257 $250 $217 $203 $212 $200 $175 $150 $122 $130

($ in millions) ($in $100 $81 $55 $49 $50

$0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

24 Q4 Adjusted Net Income – 2011 vs. 2012

Excluding Special Items

$80 $65.9 $70 14.2% $60 $57.7 $50 $40 $30

($ in millions) in ($ $20 $10 $0 Q4 2011 Q4 2012

25 Diluted Earnings Per Share Progression

Beginning of Recession

$0.90 $800 $0.81 0.81 $0.80 0.80 0.79 $0.80 Beginning of 0.76 Upturn $700 $0.68 0.68 $0.70 $0.66 $0.62 $600 $0.60 $500 $0.50 $0.50 $0.44 $0.45 $400

EPS $0.39$0.39 $0.40 Sales $0.32$0.32 $0.29 $300 $0.30 $200 $0.20 $0.17

$100 $0.10 $0.05

$0.00 $0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 EPS Sales

(EXCLUDING SPECIAL ITEMS)

26 Operating Cash Flows: Consolidated Trending

Operating Cash Flows Change in Working Capital $350.0 $327.5

$300.0 North $257.4 $250.4 America $250.0 $193.5 $200.0 $158.3 $157.0 $150.0 $102.2 $100.0 $50.0 $0.0 ($50.0) ($24.5) ($29.5) ($100.0) ($150.0) ($110.5) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2727 Cash Flow/Net Cash

Operating Cash Flows  Cash Flow Dollars in Millions • Strong operating cash flows • Improvement in working capital management • Net cash balance $266.2 million

 Debt • Debt/invested capital ratio 1.5% • Net cash to total capital 19.3%

Pension Contributions • $10.1 million for the quarter and $63.4 million YTD

28 Capital Allocation

Capital Allocation 2007-2012  Dividends Dollars in Millions • 17.6% dividend rate increase in 2012

 Capital Expenditures • Focused on cost improvements

 Acquisitions • Kaliburn • Tennessee Rand • Wayne Trail • Weartech

 Return on Invested Capital • 18.7% at Dec. 31, 2012

 Share Repurchases • $81.0 million in 2012

29 Summary

 Good earnings growth

 Strong cash flows, improving working capital management

 Active share repurchase program

 Consistently reinvest in the business through strategic capital expenditures

 Targeted acquisitions improved geographic and product line portfolio

30 31