Month: September 2019

While Tekno Valves North America incorporated in 2009, Greg Leumas and Jim Guitreau actually began selling Tekno Valves products in North America four years earlier. Guitreau and Leumas were working together at another company that sold chlorine valves when they met a Tekno Valves representative at a Chlorine Institute Meeting. “We started talking to them about representing their product in North America,” says Leumas, president of Tekno Valves North America. “We began selling the product in 2005.” Four years later, the company that they had been working for was being sold and Leumas and Guitreau decided to strike out on…

Global Calibration Gases Managing Partner Ray Borzio started a consulting business called Special Gas Systems and Technology (now Special Gas Services Inc.) in 1993 to serve the needs of the independent gases and welding supplies distributors desiring entrance into specialty gases manufacturing. . A small training lab was set up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and interest grew rapidly. In 2004, the school was moved to Fort Myers, FL at the then corporate headquarters of CryoVation LLC. This gave Special Gas a forum to teach high end production techniques with hands-on lab demonstrations. In March of 2009 Global Calibration Gases was formed…

CryoWorks, Inc. began ten years ago after an idea from Donna Mast. Tim Mast, CEO and owner of CryoWorks, was working as a salesperson from his home office.  Since Donna was also home with their children, the entire family was gaining first-hand experience in the cryogenic piping industry. Tim was helping a customer who was having issues with the products and services that his previous employer was providing. “I got off the phone that day and Donna said to me, ‘Why don’t we do this ourselves?’” says Mast. “So, we started planning it and about a month later we were…

American Gas Products is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2019. However, the company’s roots trace back to 1978, when Louis D’Auria purchased a local welding supply distributor and started American Gas Products. Together with his son, Mike D’Auria, Louis grew the company until 1999, when it was sold to BOC gases. “After we sold to BOC, I became the New England business manager for BOC,” says Mike D’Auria, president of AGP Helium. “I worked in that position for five years until 2004.” In 2004, American Gas products was reformed as a partnership between Louis, Mike and Jim Hermetet. “The original…

The core division of Ratermann Manufacturing is celebrating their 20th anniversary. Founded by George Ratermann out of the shed of his house, the company has now grown thanks to the support of customers and employees. Ratermann manufacturing opened its doors with two parts to sell and now houses over 20,000 individual parts and supplies for cryogenic and high-pressure gases. George reflects back on Ratermann’s growth, “It is hard to believe we are 20 years old. The only way this was able to happen is from the relationships and support of our great customers and the dedication from our employees that…

Hydrostat, Inc. was founded by Stacy Schraut in 1999 with three employees, a straight truck and approximately 7,000 sq. ft. of leased warehouse space. “The original employees were invaluable in the startup, as was the mentoring I received from my former employers, partners and the support of my family,” says Schraut. From the very beginning, Hydrostat has been careful to make sure that it has maintained a manageable growth plan. In the last two decades, the company has grown through expanding its territory and diversification. In 2008, Hydrostat expanded into an adjacent building, adding 20,000 sq. ft. of space to…

The Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC) was officially formed on January 1, 1994. However, the IWDC’s story goes back much further than that, to the formation of the Independent Welding Distributors Association, which was formed in 1948. The I.W.D.A. was a buying group which, by the early 1980’s, became the largest unified welding distributor organization in the western United States, Mexico and Canada. At the 1992 annual meeting, the main topic focused on defining what I.W.D.A. needed to do to be most effective for its Members. A steering committee reported on the concept of forming a “Cooperative,” and a unanimous…

Trendex Inc. was started by Soumitra Mukherjee in 1984. Within a few months of the company’s founding, Soumitra’s brother, Bob Mukherjee, joined the company and the two began developing software for the wholesale distribution industry. Shortly afterwards, in 1985, they were asked to develop a system for the welding industry by several welding supply distributors who knew Soumitra. They decided to develop the software for the welding industry also. Unfortunately, in 1991, Bob passed away in a car accident. “We were just starting to expand into the U.S. with our software for the welding industry, Gastrend, and had to put that on hold…

Revco Industries was started in 1974 by Mitchell Chu.  C. Edward Chu, Mitchell’s brother, joined the company more than 39 years ago. In January 2017, Steve Hwang was named president of Revco Industries, with Ed Chu becoming CEO and chairman of the board.  “Steve has made numerous positive contributions and is a respected leader within the organization,” Ed Chu said at the time.  “With Steve as president, along with our experienced management team, Revco is ready to face all challenges and changes in our current business environment.” Also in 2017, Revco Industries announced that it would be doing business going…

Veite Cryogenic Equipment and Service was founded by Harry and Jim Veite in 1969. The company, formerly known as Cryogenic Equipment and Service, serves the U.S., Mexico and Canada from its 14,000 sq. ft. facility in North Ridgeville, Ohio. In 1969, distributors would typically lease fill plant equipment from their gas suppliers. Because of this, there was no incentive to upgrade equipment and no competitive element to gas pricing. The Veite brothers demonstrated to distributors how to increase profits by installing modern filling systems and the benefits that came from owning their own equipment rather than leasing it. That commitment…

The history of Saf-T-Cart can be traced back to April 1, 1969, when Jimmy Walker, Sr. opened Walker Welders in Clarksdale, Mississippi. While Walker Welders grew and expanded, Walker saw a need in the industry for a self-contained oxy/acetylene unit with the gauges completely enclosed. However, Walker was unable to find manufacturers to produce the cart, so he decided to buy used equipment from local auctions and build them himself. With that, in 1986, Saf-T-Cart was born. “Saf-T-Cart really grew out of Walker Welders,” says Jim Herring, vice president of Saf-T-Cart. “Part of the reason for it was that the…

Vern Lewis Welding Supply Inc. was founded in 1969 by Vernon F. Lewis. Prior to opening the company, Lewis served as a district manager for Forney Industries. The company began with Vern selling welders and Lincoln welding rods to farmers and welders in Avondale, Arizona and the surrounding west valley. He later added a business associate, Ron Ruch Sr.  Ruch Sr. has since started his own welding supply distribution business, but Vern and Ron remain close associates after all this time. From a store front in Avondale and a warehouse in Phoenix, Vern Lewis Welding Supply has since expanded to seven Arizona…

While Red Ball Oxygen technically incorporated in 1930, it didn’t begin to resemble the modern company until 1969, when Craig and Lorena Kennedy purchased the company. At the time, Red Ball Battery and Oxygen was a National Cylinder Gas distributor that focused on automotive batteries and tires. The Kennedys set about building an entirely new kind of distributorship with welding and expanded cylinder gas capabilities. Fifty years later, the second and third generation of the Kennedy family now run the distributorship, which has grown into a regional industrial gas and welding supply powerhouse. “I’m standing on the shoulders of what…

Thomas Kuo, founder-CEO of Genstar Technologies Company, founded Genstar in 1969. He saw an opportunity for growth in the area of industrial regulators and cutting equipment. “His idea was to make a good quality product at a reasonable price and to give good quality service,” says Larry Meyers, national sales manager at Genstar. “People were looking for an alternative to the other major players in the market and Thomas figured out that if he could provide a great product with great service, he could be very successful.” Over the next 50 years, Genstar has emerged as a global company, with…

In 1969, Walter Welsch was working at 3M as an abrasives’ salesman when he developed the original Dynafile Abrasive Belt Tool. The tool improved the task of hand-filing metals and other hard surfaces. It was then that Welsch decided to strike out on his own and Dynabrade, Inc. was formed. “The vision that Walter set forth in the beginning has always been the driving force behind our success,” says Ron Veiders, Dynabrade’s director of marketing. “That entrepreneurial spirit and devotion to innovation and high-quality.” Entrepreneurial spirit has especially been a hallmark of Dynabrade’s history, as the company is partially owned…

Acme Cryogenics was founded as a general machine shop in 1969 under the name H&B, serving the Lehigh Valley. A few years later, the company changed its name to Acme Screw Machine Products as several partners, including Rod Fink, entered the business. In 1977, the CGA released standards on a liquid transfer fitting that Acme was manufacturing. This provided the inroad to the industrial gas industry. By that time, Fink had become the sole owner of the company, and began growing the company through new products acquisitions. As the business grew and expanded, the name was changed again to Acme…

Oxygen Service Company was founded in 1959 by Bill Huber and Bill Lund. The company was originally called Wagner Welding before changing its name to Oxygen Service Company in 1965. One of the company’s most important moments came in 1993, when Bill and Bill decided to sell the business to its employees and Oxygen Service Company became a 100% employee-owned company. “Bill and Bill really felt that they had dedicated employees that they wanted to reward for their dedication,” says Oxygen Service Company President and CEO Ryan Diekow. “They said, ‘You helped us build this and we want to reward…

Beginning in 1959, a group of stake holders launched the North American Sales Company [Nasco] with a primary focus to serve the welding industry. Years later and several states away Oklahoma Rig & Supply [ORS] was founded with a mission to provide products supporting the industrial and oilfield industries. The two wholesale companies merged in 2003 forming ORS Nasco and positioning the master distribution company for strategic growth through geographic expansion and product diversification. Throughout its 60 years, ORS Nasco has adapted to evolving business environments and technology advancements contributing to the success in supply chain. “We strive to streamline…

Kaplan Industries was officially founded in 1959 as the A-M Fire Equipment Company. But the roots of the company go back even further than that. “In the late 1940s, after the second World War, my dad, Morris, and his brother, Albert, had what we would call today a recycling business,” says Dean Kaplan, CEO of Kaplan Industries, Inc. “They would collect cardboard boxes from the Philadelphia Navy Yard for recycling. But inside the boxes were decommissioned fire extinguishers from battle ships. They had so many fire extinguishers that they ended up acquiring UL approval, which allowed them to sell these…

While today, Gullco International has locations in six countries and distributors in more than 80, selling cutting-edge welding and cutting automation products, the company’s origins are much more modest. When Jack Gully started the company, as The Gully Company, it sold welding electrode ovens. When Mike Harris and his business partner purchased the Gully Company in 1954, they changed the name to Gullco and set the company on the path it still travels today. “At the time, there was the emerging ship building industry and Canada needed some form of welding automation to help with ship building,” says Nick Drake,…