Year: 2019

Arcos started in 1919 as the R.D. Thomas and Company. Until 1931, electrodes were imported from Arcos S.A. in Brussels, Belgium. In 1931, the first heavy coated hand-dipped electrodes for welding stainless and other specialty steels were manufactured in the U.S. In 1936, R.D. Thomas and Company merged with the world’s most advanced producer of coated electrodes, Arcos Belgium. Six years later, the company developed the first 307 stainless steel electrode to weld armor plates instead of the then scarce and expensive stainless 310. In the pinch of war time shortages, this was a real advantage, as the war created…

The American Welding Society was founded in 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a mission to meet a national need to support welding during World War I. President Woodrow Wilson had asked Harvard Professor Comfort Avery Adams to chair the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corp., which was merged with the National Welding Council to form AWS. Adams served as the first president of the Society. The objectives of the newly formed society were, “To advance the science and art of welding in all the branches. To afford the members the opportunity for the interchange of ideas with respect to…

In 1944, Lawrence Amzy Morgan purchased the Brian Battie Company, a soda fountain service company, established in 1909, that distributed carbon dioxide gas and fountain syrup to drug stores, restaurants and taverns. In 1946, Morgan changed the company name to City Carbonic Sales & Service and incorporated the company in 1964. For the next 53 years, City Carbonic continued to focus on the food service industry, distributing CO2 in high-pressure cylinders that needed to be requalified for continued service every five years. As this became cost-prohibitive with their current vendor, City Carbonic invested in the equipment to provide its own…

Federated Insurance was founded in 1904 by a group of equipment dealers seeking better value for their premium dollar. In the early 20th century, the company began providing property coverage to auto dealers, machine shops, petroleum marketers and contractors throughout the Midwest. From the beginning, Federated’s relationships with associations like GAWDA have strengthened its understanding of the industries it helps protect. Those relationships and input from association members have played a key role in the evolution of Federated Insurance. Industry insights help shape the products and services that Federated offers. “Our growth into a national organization with 35,000+ policyholders can…

Oscar Kjellberg founded ESAB — Elektriska Svetsnings AtkieBolaget (Swedish for Electrical Welding Limited Company) — on September 12, 1904 in Gothenburg, Sweden, a port city. Trained as a ship engineer, Kjellberg developed the world’s first coated electrode to solve contamination and embrittlement issues in ship building, laying the foundations for a totally new epoch of welding, as his invention made it possible to exclude the oxygen in the air surrounding the workpiece. ESAB’s biggest accomplishment is to have established a track record of innovative solutions, whether through internal R&D efforts, acquisitions or collaborations which created entire process and product categories…

Iwatani Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange code: 8088) announced that Joseph S. Cappello has been named Executive Officer of Iwatani Corporation and also appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Iwatani Corporation of America (ICA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Iwatani Corporation. Mineharu Okamoto, president of Iwatani Corporation of America, will assume the additional title of Chief Operating Officer. In this new role, Cappello will lead the expansion of ICA’s total businesses including hydrogen and industrial gases across the Americas and have the additional responsibility for mergers and acquisitions in the region. Cappello has served as Executive Advisor to Iwatani Corporation…

Airweld is thrilled to announce that in partnership with Swift-Cut and Hypertherm, it is setting up a fully operational demo-room at the company’s Farmingdale training center. This will include a Swifty44 4′ x 4′ automated cutting table and a Hypertherm Powermax™ 65. Customers will be invited to see the system in operation including the ease of programming and superior cut quality. This new compact addition to the Swift-Cut line is ideal for smaller shops, educational institutions and training centers. We will be doing an email blast when the demo-room is ready and our sales team will invite customers to witness…

Baker’s Gas is hosting ARC FEST 2019! The event, which takes place at Baker’s Gas & Welding Supplies Monroe, Michigan, location will feature welding, grilling, & BBQ! Jimmy McKnight with the Arc Junkies Podcast will be at Baker’s Gas for his first annual Arc Fest. ESAB will be onsite with live demos including the Rebel 205 AC/DC multiprocess welding machine and other Rebel models. Treagering, networking and welding we hope to see you there! Arc Junkies podcast will go live at 10 a.m.! If you want your questions answered – leave a comment on the event and Arc Junkies will…

Anova recently announced that Danelle DiLibero will serve as its new vice president of people & culture. An accomplished human resources and talent professional, Danelle will lead Anova’s end-to-end employee experience, ensuring Anova has the key strategies in place to accelerate a culture of performance excellence, high engagement and continuous improvement. Danelle has more than 20 years of experience within various industries, including financial services (Goldman Sachs), consulting (BCG), engineering and manufacturing (Sensata Technologies), and technology (RMS). She joins Anova from her most recent position as the global head of talent acquisition at Verisk Analytics. In her new role, Danelle…

Six months after expanding to America, the largest family-run industrial gases specialist worldwide, Messer, is investing 34.6 million euros (38 million US Dollar) in the construction of a new air separation plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, America. The production plant for the air gases oxygen, nitrogen and argon is scheduled to go into operation in early 2021. It will produce industrial and medical grade gases for various sectors of the local and regional economy, including the healthcare, chemical, food as well as the glass and metal industries. “This investment underscores Messer’s commitment to strategic expansion in the US to meet growing…

Jessi Combs was a racing legend known as the “fastest woman on four wheels.” She was a fixture on television auto shows, co-hosting Spike TV’s “Xtreme 4×4” and appearing on “Mythbusters,” “Two Guys Garage,” and “All Girls Garage.” Combs competed as a racer in many venues including a top ten finish in the Baja 1000. She set a four wheel land speed record for women drivers in 2013 with a run over 398 miles per hour. She died while attempting to break her own land speed record and Kitty O’Neil’s fastest woman in the world record of 512 miles per…

The Memphis Business Journal recognized the 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the Memphis area. nexAir LLC was recognized as part of this list. The list was calculated by the percentage of revenue growth each company on the Top 100 Memphis-Area Private Companies List experienced over a three year period, from 2016-2018. The Top 100 Memphis-Area Private Companies List is also produced by Memphis Business Journal. In October, the MBJ will further pare down the top 50 to reveal the Top 25 Fastest Growing Companies, in order of their revenue growth. Fastest Growing Companies will be held Thursday, Oct. 24, 6-8:30…

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The GAWDA Event App will be available to download on September 6. Available through the app store or Google Play store under the name Attendee Hub (search GAWDA 2019 Annual Convention), the Convention App is indispensable in the run up to and during the GAWDA Annual Convention. Here are nine reasons to download the GAWDA Mobile App: Stay up-to-date with announcements and event reminders Get full access to the attendee list Message and set up meetings with other attendees View the schedule of events and set your own personal schedule Learn about featured Convention Speakers Post and share on the…

Thank you to Bob Ranc, Weldcoa and Rafael Arvelo, Equigas, Inc. for providing these pictures of the 2019 GAWDA Central Regional Meeting

The latest addition to Airweld’s LN2 Self-Sufficiency Initiative arrived Friday, August 23rd, when a 14,000-gallon tank was delivered to the Farmingdale, New York, facility. The 65,000-pound vessel was installed on a new concrete pad August 26th. “This is the next phase of the program we launched several months ago,” said Airweld President Eric Lundquist. “This tank, along with the two new liquid nitrogen trucks we inaugurated in July, will ensure our customers an uninterrupted supply of liquid nitrogen,” he added. Noting that severe weather has plagued deliveries from Airweld’s major supplier in the past, Lundquist says the new tank will…

Weiler Abrasives has launched a new website designed to improve user experience and provide access to purchase product through select distribution partners. Built on a modern ecommerce platform, the new website features dynamic search functions that allow users to find products, solutions and resources for their surfacing conditioning needs — quickly and easily. Weiler Abrasives has also enhanced content on WeilerAbrasives.com, providing improved product content, as well as solutions guides and other resources to help users select their abrasives and gain the best performance from them. “We know our customers’ and distributor partners’ time is valuable and they need to…

Cryoworks, Inc. launched its newly updated website, www.cryoworks.net. The new site represents a major leap forward for the company. Says CryoWorks CEO and Owner Tim Mast, “Our website for the first ten years was a very simple website. It basically said, ‘We sell piping.'” The new Cryoworks.net represents a big leap forward for the company as it celebrates its ten year anniversary in 2019.

Keen Compressed Gases held its grand opening celebration of its new Bristol branch on August 22, 2019. The event, which was hosted at the new location: 6401 McPherson Street, Levittown, Pennsylvania, 19057, was touted as “Celebrating the completion of another brownfield redevelopment project in Bucks County” by the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, state Rep. Tina Davis, Bucks County commissioners and Bristol Township Council members were hand for the celebration. To read more about the event and what it means to the Bristol Township, click here. View other September 1…

Having an organized career path ahead of you can be very important as high schoolers are nearing graduation and are thinking about their futures. ALM Positioners has found a way to get involved and offer their knowledge. Davenport Community School’s High School Welding Registered Apprentice program is new for the 2019 year. The majority of students that are starting in this program have established interest in welding and they are taking the opportunity head-on. They complete pre-requisite courses through their respective high schools. Upon application and acceptance, they can take advanced courses through Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ Blong Technology Center…