Month: September 2019

Team Airweld was thrilled to once again join Team Lincoln Electric at two NHRA fall classics! The crew worked the U.S. Nationals at the Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis Labor Day Weekend and The Mopar Nationals at the Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania, September 12th through 15th. “Out of all the events and shows that I have the opportunity to attend, it is the races at NHRA that I look forward to the most,” said Airweld Vice President Eric Terwilliger. “There is just something about pulling up to the track on a Thursday before any spectators arrive; maybe it is…

If you had a prize that is not listed here, please submit by clicking here. If you took a picture with the prize winner at your booth, please email to Tim Hudson to be included in the Convention Connection recap.

Absolute Air, LLC, a consortium of independent gas companies including A-OX Welding Supply, Huber Supply Company, Minneapolis Oxygen Company, Mississippi Welders Supply Company and Toll Gas & Welding Supply with coordination and support from the Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC), broke ground on its new, state-of-the-art Air Separation Plant, located just south of Minneapolis in Faribault, Minnesota, on Thursday, September 19, 2019. The event was attended by officials from the city of Faribault as well as Mayor Kevin Voracek. Also attending were representatives from the five companies involved with the consortium and the IWDC. Members from these companies each had…

Central Welding Supply will be hosting a Customer Appreciation Event at its Lynnwood, Washington location on October 4, 2019, from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Make plans to stop by the event so that Central Welding Supply can say THANK YOU! Customer Appreciation Day October 4, 2019 – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central Welding Supply 19227 Hwy 99 Lynnwood, WA 98036 LUNCH TO BE SERVED: Smoked brisket, chili, coleslaw, cornbread and a beverage! Get a close-up look at the U-11 and G-55 Hydroplanes that will be on-site! See Location Details for directions and contact information. Other October 1 Connection Items: Absolute…

On 13 September 2019, Messer held its annual Safety Day across all of its sites. The focus of this year’s event was on labour’s protection discipline, because many accidents happen as a result of habitual or casual behaviour. Messer has been raising employee awareness of health, safety, environmental protection and quality assurance within the framework of an annual health and safety day since 2013. But no matter whether the topic in question is safe driving, safe handling of gases or something else: the priority for Messer is the individual and his or her health. “We want everyone to return home to…

The Morris Gold Award was presented to Gordon Edwards of Praxair Canada Inc, during the 2019 CGA Canada Annual Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 10-11. The award was presented in recognition of Gordon’s outstanding and long-term contribution and leadership to the compressed gas industry and CGA Canada. Gordon has actively contributed to Compressed Gas Association committee work for more than 20 years. Currently, he serves on a number of CGA Committees, including the Canadian Pressure Vessels and Piping Systems Committee (Chair 2003-2005), Canadian Medical, Food and Beverage Gases and Equipment Committee (Chair 2011-2013 & 2017-2019), Food Gases Committee, Medical…

Linde announced that it has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in its first year as a new company since the merger between Linde AG and Praxair, Inc. was finalized. The DJSI World comprises the top ten percent by sector of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index. Inclusion in the DJSI Indices is determined by asset manager RobecoSAM. To be listed, the companies must demonstrate continuous improvement in a variety of economic, ecological and social criteria. Linde was evaluated at the 97th percentile (3rd highest) in the chemicals sector and scored highest…

Xiris is pleased to celebrate its 30th anniversary as of September, 2019. Founded 30 years ago by Cameron Serles, the business was initially set up to commercialize the budding technology of machine vision, where cameras are used to acquire images of manufactured goods and send them to computers for processing. Back in 1989 when the company started, most manufacturers were highly skeptical of the success of using cameras to measure the size or shape of their manufactured goods. As a result, the first few years were tough until the technology slowly gained acceptance, initially in the automotive and semiconductor industries,…

Specialty, Industrial, Food and Medical Gas Safety Alert Mixtures containing Carbon Monoxide & Carbon Dioxide in steel cylinders This GAWDA Safety Alert is issued to inform GAWDA members of potential cylinder damage resulting from internal stress corrosion where carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are filled in steel cylinders. In the past, cylinders have violently ruptured causing significant damage. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are present in many mixtures. Recently, food gas mixtures (meat processing gas) and laser mixtures have been widely produced. If you are filling mixtures containing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, with or without other balance gases, in steel…

Nearly 650 members and guests of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association came together on May 4 – 6 to enjoy great speakers, collect industry information, network and reconnect with friends and colleagues from all over the country at the GAWDA Spring Management Conference in Minneapolis. As has become custom at GAWDA events, the 2019 SMC offered attendees indispensable value and information that could be brought back to their companies and applied at all levels of the operation. President Brad Peterson was able to combine insightful educational sessions with opportunities to network with like-minded professionals from across the industry in…

Welcome to the world of an entrepreneur. The concept that failure can be okay can be so difficult to absorb. Do we really need to experience failure to learn and succeed? Maybe not, but tried and true success does come with bumps and bruises and lessons learned from the experience of failure. What is the “entrepreneurial mindset?” According to a common misconception, an entrepreneur is a bold, risk-taking, rules-breaking individual with the reputation of a riverboat gambler. Why would you want that in your company culture? But, in reality, an entrepreneur is confident and decisive, understands risk clearly and knows…

In the previous issue of Welding & Gases Today, I looked at the remarkable ability of text messaging (SMS) to drive immediate sales. No other direct marketing tool comes close. Because of its phenomenal message open and response rates, text has unparalleled access to your customer’s attention. And yet, in the business-to-business landscape for distributors, SMS is a technology that is just beginning to make it into the distributor’s marketing toolkit. In this article, I’d like to highlight an additional seven use cases for text messaging that bring additional value to your relationship with your customers. Understanding this wide array…

I hate shopping! Fortunately, my wife, Sandy, enjoys it and is willing to put in the time to make the right purchase at the right price. Whenever I need shirts or pants, she will bring home several selections so I can choose what looks best on me. This personal shopping system works well for casual attire, but I find that buying a suit requires a more concerted effort on my part. Early in my career, I was promoted from sales engineer to sales manager. At that time, the company’s vice president advised me to buy a suit, noting that people…

“Cylinders that are 100 years old will be good for another 100 years if they are properly taken care of and maintained,” says Hydrostat Inc. Owner and CEO Stacy Schraut. “The beauty of the packaged gas industry is that we have assets that are 100 years old that can continue to generate revenue. How many other industries can say that?” Compressed Gas Cylinders are over-engineered, due to the critical nature of their purpose, according to Airgenics, Inc. COO Jonathan Balbi. When properly maintained, these cylinders should last for hundreds of years. The key to this is proper maintenance coupled with…

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has two new rules set to go into effect in early 2020.  One establishes an online clearinghouse for information on drug and alcohol testing information for commercial motor vehicle drivers, and the other imposes requirements for classroom and behind the wheel training for drivers before they may obtain a new Commercial Driver License or upgrade a CDL from Class B to Class A. The FMCSA has uploaded to its website (fmcsa.dot.gov) an expanded list of Frequently Asked Questions and other information on the agency’s drug and alcohol testing clearinghouse rule. The new rule…

Over the years, I have written several articles and Traffic Bulletins about training and with good reason. It consistently ranks as the number one inquiry from members and continues to be one of the most cited issues by DOT inspectors who visit our members. I want to touch on the high points of the main training topics required by the DOT: function specific, hazmat, driver, and drug and alcohol training. Hazmat Training (172.704) A hazmat employer must train, test and certify every hazmat employee who has any function that directly impacts hazardous materials transportation safety. Function-Specific Training Requirements (172.704) Each…

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has increasingly observed violations involving data integrity during audits. Data integrity issues have been observed in traditional pharmaceutical firms as well as in medical gas firms. Solid, accurate and reliable data is an important component to ensure compliance with FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations. The integrity of drug (and food/beverage/device) manufacturing data is also critical for your own business success. What is “data integrity”? Data integrity refers to the completeness, consistency and accuracy of data. The data integrity term ALCOA stands for Attributable, Legible, Contemporaneous, Original and Accurate. What…

Al Earlbeck had a passion for the technical side of welding and it began when he was just a teen working for the T.A. Canty Company, in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Canty established a welding equipment and repair shop in 1919. By the time he was ready to retire, Al was a seasoned employee. He and a partner bought the company in 1949 and, after purchasing his partner’s shares in 1954, it became Earlbeck Welding Supplies. Today, Jim Earlbeck, Al’s son, serves as president of Earlbeck Gases &Technologies. In the 100 years since T.A. Canty was started, the company, since rebranded,…

Keen Compressed Gas of Wilmington, Delaware, is proudly celebrating 100 years of service to its customers. Stanley Keen established the business in 1919 with the goal to be a company whose associates work hard to achieve total customer satisfaction in the delivery of its products and services. “Delivering on that promise,” says Bryan Keen, the company’s third-generation president, “is how we have achieved a century of success.” In the Beginning One hundred years ago, the welding and gases business as we know it today barely existed and the industries from which it emerged were just getting started. Having served his…

GAWDA members celebrate milestone anniversaries and share lessons learned during their years of service to the industry by Steve Guglielmo GAWDA has marked 2019 “The Year of Service.” For this issue, Welding & Gases Today interviewed those GAWDA members who were celebrating milestone anniversaries about their history of service to the gases and welding industry. Learn about how these members have helped shape our industry and how they will apply the lessons learned from the past to continue to serve the industry in the future. 220 Years PFERD, Inc. 115 Years ESAB Welding & Cutting Read More Federated Insurance Read…