Year: 2019

by abydee butler moore, brad peterson, ned lane, mark raimy, bill visintainer and tom biedermann At the 2019 GAWDA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. Abydee Butler Moore officially ascended to the position of president of GAWDA. After the ceremony, which saw her get escorted to the stage by the GAWDA Past Presidents in attendance, Abydee laid out her “2020 Vision” for the association next year. However, the guided escort to the stage was more than a symbolic gesture. The past presidents who guided her to the stage have all stood where Abydee was about to stand and dealt with many…

The “skills gap” is an issue that all companies in our industry, as well as many of our customers, face every day. The nation-wide shortage of qualified welders and fabricators is certainly not a new phenomenon. We discussed what many GAWDA members are doing to address this issue in the spring issue of Welding & Gases Today, in an article entitled “Attacking the Skills Gap.” Today, a high school in Syracuse, New York, is doing its part to prepare students to fill that gap. Corcoran High School last year introduced a welding program as part of its 27 Career and…

by tom badstubner and michael dodd 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 cylinders, it is highly recommended that you obtain CGA P-57, Avoidance Of…

Holston Gases, Inc. (Knoxville, Tennessee) was originally founded as the Holston Oxygen Company in 1958. Pat Baxter and Bob Walsh had worked together at National Cylinder Gas (NCG) and decided to strike out on their own to start the Holston Oxygen Company in Knoxville. Baxter and Walsh grew the business one account at a time, as customers were attracted to the personal attention and superior effort that the company made to satisfy their needs. In 1976, Baxter bought out Walsh’s interest in the company to become the sole-owner of Holston. What had started as a two-man operation began to grow…

Kaplan Industries is increasing its capacity to service their growing distributor base and has just installed two new 11,000-gallon bulk tanks at their Ohio facility. These new tanks will go alongside their existing instrument grade N-Butane tank at its state-of-the-art, filling and cylinder cleaning facility. The tanks will contain Instrument Grade Propane and Isobutane at a purity above 99.5%. With the addition of the 2 tanks, Kaplan will be better able to continue providing distributors with premium packaged gas for the expanding Industrial Hemp and Cannabis markets. “It’s an exciting time here at Kaplan Industries,” says Devon Goodman, Specialty Gas…

Flame Technologies presented Samantha Farr, founder and CEO of Women Who Weld, a check for $4,000 during FABTECH. The proceeds were raised from the sale of Women Who Weld branded merchandise. Flame Technologies President Shawn Toops was on hand to present the check. After the check presentation, Farr stayed at the Flame Technologies booth to take part in an interview on the Arc Junkies podcast with influential Instagram welder Rae Ripple. Flame Technologies initially announced their support for Women Who Weld in December 2018, and have been selling tee shirts through their FTMerch.com to raise money for the worthy cause.…

FABTECH 2019 enjoyed record attendance for the event held November 11-14, 2019, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Despite the unexpected winter weather, the 2019 event closed with record attendance, marking a 7% increase over the previous FABTECH Chicago. A total of 48,278 attendees from 95 countries participated in four full days of product evaluation, education and collaborative discussions on key industry issues. Three massive exhibit halls full of more than 500 new products and 1,700 exhibitors highlighted the emerging trends and technologies influencing the future of manufacturing. For the first time, FABTECH expanded into the Lakeside Center with early access…

3M Hosted “Clash of the Grinders 2019” at FABTECH. The event featured 12 metalworking pros going head-to-head grinding 4-inch welds to see who the fastest grinder in America is. The event took place at 3Ms booth at FABTECH on November 12, 2019. The prizes included: First place: – 3M™ Speedglas™ Welding Helmet 9100, 06-0100-30iSW, with ADF 9100Xxi – 3M™ Grinder 28824, T27 4-½ in. 5/8-11 External 1.5hp – 3 cases of 3M™ Cubitron™ II Abrasives Average Retail Value: $2,707.03 Second place: – 3M™ Speedglas™ Welding Helmet 9002NC – 4 cases of 3M™ Cubitron™ II Abrasives Average Retail Value: $1,286.60 Third…

IWDC celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a novel art auction event that generated more than $30,000 for Workshops for Warriors. “We wanted to do something special and, through generous Vendor partner support, we were able to commission an artist who crafted a one of a kind oil painting on steel titled ‘Warrior to Welder'”, stated Frank Kasnick, President & CEO of IWDC. “We held a live auction during the closing dinner that included a silent auction and some games that had everyone on their feet having a blast supporting this great cause.” The IWDC would like to thank Dave Mahoney…

Anova announced that it has merged with Silicon Controls, provider of the Gaslog solution and a key player in the global LPG & propane industry. This merger is motivated by a shared approach to customer engagement, innovation and global engineering capabilities in tank telemetry, telecommunications, cloud applications and mobile platforms. The combined capabilities uniquely position Anova to help its customer base transform logistics and redefine consumer services, ultimately driving greater profitability for propane distribution. This accelerates Anova’s strategy of connecting the industrial world ‘for the better’. With over 25 years of proven experience providing end-to-end solutions in remote telemetry, Silicon…

Thank you so much to Messer, who hosted members of GAWDA Media at their CO2 Production Facility in Fulton, NY, on Tuesday, November 19. The facility, built in 2007, produces more than 700 tons of clean CO2 per day. It is located next to an Attis Biofules ethanol plant and cleans the waste gas to produce food and medical grade CO2 for consumption. The team was given a tour of the plant as well as a crash course in how the Carbon Dioxide goes from the ethanol plant, through the cleaning process and out for delivery. View a photo gallery…

Trendex added two members to its customer support team: Maksudur Rahman comes to Trendex from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with a major in Accounting. Parin Patel also comes to Trendex from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with a major in Business Technology Management. Both of these new members are at Trendex to provide support to its customers on the Gastrend Software. They will also be responsible for installation, training and implementation of our systems throughout North America. Other December 1 Connection Items: GAWDA Media Visits Messer CO2 Plant IWDC…

ABICOR BINZEL has added Jeff Barron as Key Accounts Manager – Automotive. Jeff will continue BINZEL’s efforts to work more closely with automotive manufacturers and increasing BINZEL’s product presence at key companies. Mr. Barron has a long established career in the welding and manufacturing sector. Starting off as a Sales Representative for welding goods distrubutor Roy Smith Company, Jeff worked at Tregaskiss as Director of Sales and also served as President at DINSE USA, Inc. Said Key Accounts Group Manager Tom Graham of the addition of Jeff Barron: “Very happy to welcome Jeff back to the organization. We think he’ll…

ILMO Products Company welcomes Peter Van Slyke  to the company’s Specialty Gas Division as Specialty Gas Program Director for the Jacksonville, Illinois based company. Van Slyke brings over 20 years in sales, financial, and management experience in specialty gases and will be responsible for directing the sales functions for ILMO’s Specialty Gas Division. He began his career in Charlotte, NC for National Welders Supply as a Specialty Gas Sales Rep, and has since spent the last 20 years working in the Specialty Gas industry. Prior to joining ILMO, he worked as Specialty Gas Products Manager for Scott-Gross Company and then assumed the…

Xiris Automation is pleased to announce that Weld Australia has been appointed as its exclusive Distributor of Xiris Weld Camera products for Australia. Weld Australia represents the welding profession in Australia with the primary goal of securing the future of Australia’s welding industry by providing members with a competitive advantage.  Among their various activities, they recommend and provide some equipment to their members to help them develop their welding capabilities.  They have an extensive network of instructors, representatives and agents across the country. Providing turnkey sales and after sales service and training, Weld Australia will be able to distribute and support…

AWISCO is teaming up with City Harvest & Community Foodbank of New Jersey to provide food and help to those in need by collecting non-perishable foods and goods. Please consider joining AWISCO in giving back. To participate, drop off donated items at any AWISCO branch. Below is a list of the most helpful items: Canned fruit Canned vegetables Soups, pasta, rice Peanut butter (in plastic jars) Canned proteins (tuna, beans, etc.) Macaroni & cheese Hot and cold cereal Juice packs Donations are being accepted at all AWISCO locations. Other November 15 Connection Items: Weldship Appoints Vice President of Business Development…

Rick Kowey was named Vice President – Business Development for WELDSHIP. Rick brings more than 36 years of experience in the industrial and specialty gas industry to the role. He has served in multiple senior leadership positions with Matheson and Scott Specialty Gases, Inc. (now Air Liquide), including strategic marketing, commercial leadership, operations, general management, business development and merges and acquisitions. Rick holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Ursinus College and an MBA in Marketing from Drexel University. Other November 15 Connection Items: Weldship Appoints Vice President of Business Development AWISCO Gives Back All Safe Global Continues on Growth Path…

Minnesota-based All Safe Global continues its expansion by acquiring Thunderbird Cylinder of Phoenix, Arizona. Thunderbird Cylinder has been providing compressed gas cylinder requalification, refurbishment and maintenance services for more than 70 years. The services provided by ASG and Thunderbird parallel each other – both dedicated to safety, customer service, best practices, and DOT compliance. Each location offers hydrostatic testing, ultrasonic examination, cylinder refurbishment, visual inspection, and wide variety of replacement products, equipment customization, branding services and more. “All Safe Global’s acquisition of Thunderbird expands our presence in the western United States and is an important step toward realizing our vision…

General Distributing Company announced new additions to their family members.  has been promoted to our industrial sales manager. Evan has worked with the company for five years in the capacity of outside sales in the Bozeman, Montana market. Evan has been a key component with GDC’s success in that market driving fabrication, specialty gas, industrial equipment and just overall great customer service. Evan is happily married and a father of two, he enjoys snowmobiling, mountain biking and water skiing. Evan carries a number of welding certifications and is invaluable to the Gendco team. “We look forward to him bringing his wealth…