Month: March 2018

The foresight, innovation and generosity of second-generation owner O.E. Meyer Jr. in the 1980s has carried the company through a family-owned to employee-owned transition. Today, it celebrates 100 successful years in business as a 100 percent employee-owned firm. Company Origins O.E. Meyer Company began in 1918 when Omar E. Meyer Sr., who had been a lake captain, joined his brother in the operation of a welding shop. The company now operates eight locations in Ohio and has headquarters in Sandusky. The Decision In mid-1982, as Omar Jr. got up in age, he pondered what to do with the company. Meyer…

GAWDA is looking for 25 new distributor members and 15 new supplier members. Those are the goals set for the Member-Get-a-Member campaign this year. The program, being led by the Member Services Committee, assisted by headquarters staff and involving the entire membership, is an important program for 2018 for GAWDA. The program is designed to strengthen, grow and diversify the distributor and supplier business organization. Membership growth is a goal that will help to sustain the Gases and Welding Distributors Association even in an environment of continuing acquisitions and consolidations across the industry, according to 2017–2018 Committee Co-Chair Linda Smith…

The hallmark of many independent gases and welding distributors is family ownership. For Butler Gas Products (BGP) of Pittsburgh, 2018 marks its 70th year in operation and the continuation of a family business with a dynamic father-daughter team at the helm. Chief Executive Officer and President Jack Butler is the son of Butler Gas Products founders John A. and Millie S. Butler. Jack’s daughter, Abydee Butler Moore, serves as the company’s chief operating officer and executive vice president. Together, they work side-by-side carrying on the family tradition of excellence in industrial, specialty and medical gas distribution and production. Jack has…

Get Yourself – and Your Associates and Employees – To These Great Events! Have you ever attended a GAWDA Regional Meeting? They’re like mini versions of GAWDA’s national conferences. They’re packed with the same kind of great information. They’re attended by GAWDA consultants, association leaders and a great assortment of suppliers and distributors. They’re the chance to meet others from different regions and network with people in the industry who can give you new ideas or help you boost your business. Regionals are also a great way to introduce prospective members to the association and all it has to offer…

Many business leaders talk about the difficulties of improving the productivity of workers in today’s “distracted” workplace. They cite how a constant online and technology connectivity for most workers intrudes on their ability to complete tasks and finish projects. That’s an issue I fully understand from two distinct angles: the viewpoint of someone who has been greatly affected by my own tendency to get distracted, and as well as that of a business leader who has worked hard to overcome it. My initial “focus” on distraction started as an entirely personal battle. While I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder…

A Fair, Principled, Mutually Beneficial Employment Plan is Valuable to Individuals and the Organization Time after time, our company finds itself engaged by new clients looking for our help to resolve family conflict. Many times, that includes conflict that, left unreconciled for too long, may have erupted into litigation. While the nature of every disagreement is different, we have found that one of the most interesting —  and paradoxical — similarities is that they all have longstanding relationships with professional advisors whose traditional focus is on money — and the details about how to grow it, how to minimize taxes…