Month: February 2020

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) recently visited SafTCart’s Clarksdale, Mississippi, Headquarters. Senator Hyde-Smith was visiting the Mississippi Delta with a breakfast at the Delta Blues Museum, then came to SafTCart for a plant tour. Engineer Reid Walker and CEO Jimmy Walker, Sr. escorted her throughout the plant, including the site of the expansion to the truck and trailer fabrication facility that SafTCart recently opened. “The Senator was most impressed with the operation not realizing what came out of the Mississippi Delta,” says Vice President Jim Herring. “The Senator had an impressive knowledge of steel fabrication and asked most pertinent questions.” Other March 1 Connection…

Air Products announced that the Air Products Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant, approximately 700,000 renminbi, to assist novel coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery efforts in China. “As the world navigates the challenges and threats from COVID-19, I want to express my full support—and the support and solidarity of all of Air Products—as many dedicated organizations and individuals continue their important work,” said Seifi Ghasemi, chairman, president and chief executive officer at Air Products. “I am very proud of our teams in China, across Asia and around the world who have been working hand in hand and supporting each other with one common…

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. announced that Vincent K. Petrella, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, will be succeeded by current Executive Vice President, Finance, Gabriel Bruno, effective April 22, 2020. Petrella will continue to serve as Executive Vice President to assist the Executive Team with the transition of the finance and corporate strategy organization until his retirement later this year. Petrella joined Lincoln Electric in 1995 and held various finance positions with the company before being appointed Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in 2004. During his twenty-five year tenure, he has been instrumental in shaping the Company’s global…

Tim Nesser retired from Chart Industries on Feb. 14 after nearly 40 years with the company. He started as an intern in 1980 and became a full-time product engineer right out of college in 1982. He said the company employed about 150 when he started and now has 5,000 employees and does $1.5 billion in sales worldwide.  He holds 25 patents and one of his early designs for a storage system for Coke syrup is still used by McDonalds today. Other March 1 Connection News and New Products: Butler Gas Wins 2020 Ethics Excellence Award Tim Nesser Retires from Chart…

Pittsburgh Rotary named Butler Gas the winner of the 2020 Ethics Excellence Award! Butler Gas owners Jack and Elissa Butler and Abydee Butler Moore, attended the Pittsburgh Rotary Ethics Excellence Award ceremony at the Omni William Penn Hotel on February 12th, anxious with anticipation of the pending awards announcements. Butler Gas had been a finalist alongside two outstanding organizations, wealth management leader Hefren-Tillotson and entertainment giant Topgolf. The event was a remarkable all-volunteer effort by the Pittsburgh Rotary and Pittsburgh Business Exchange. Funds generated at the awards ceremony benefited the ‘City of Champions Emergency Fund’. This fund is used to eliminate barriers to success for…

PHMSA Denies Reconsideration of California Meal and Rest Break Rules Preemption.  The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has denied a petition for reconsideration of the agency’s determination that California’s meal and rest break requirements are preempted under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act as applied to drivers of motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials.  85 Fed. Reg. 10216 (February 21, 2020). The petition for reconsideration, filed by the California Labor Commissioner, was denied on the grounds of mootness.  PHMSA reasoned that after it issued its preemption determination, and after the request for reconsideration was filed, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration…

Effective leadership starts at the very top of your organization and permeates down through the staff. Attitude reflects leadership. I can walk into a business and know within the first two-to-three minutes what kind of leader that company has. The leader sets the tone for the business and if I walk in the door and am instantly greeted by a smiling associate who says, “Thank you for coming in today, sir. We’ll be right with you!” I know that there must be a pretty effective leader. If you, as the owner or boss, come around the corner and find that…

In the 4th Quarter 2019 issue of Welding & Gases Today, we debuted a new feature called “Search Engine Trends for the Gases & Welding Industry.” This feature is designed to help readers understand the terms and searches that are ranking highly in Google Trends. Part of developing a comprehensive digital marketing campaign is understanding how customers and potential customers are using the Internet to find your products and your website. The graphs and information below all come from Google Trends, which analyzes the popularity of search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The graphs scale “Interest…

By Steve Guglielmo and Brian Beaulieu ITR Economics CEO Brian Beaulieu is GAWDA’s Chief Economist. He and his team of economists produce the ITR Quarterly Report for each issue of Welding & Gases Today. Brian also gives a presentation at the GAWDA Annual Convention each year. ITR produces an annual  webinar describing how to use the data in the ITR Quarterly Report. GAWDA members can access this webinar on the GAWDA.org members section. This year, Brian was kind enough to discuss a wide-ranging of topics with Welding & Gases Today, including his expectation for the economy going forward, his take…

GAWDA’s Spring Management Conference (SMC) will take place April 5-7, 2020, at the JW Marriott Austin in Austin, Texas. This year, the association has opted for a new format that we hope will be more inclusive for management at all levels of the company. As this is the first year of the new format, we have received questions from the membership about the new-look SMC. 2020 GAWDA President Abydee Butler Moore addressed these FAQ’s below. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to GAWDA headquarters or visit gawda.org/spring-management-conference. What was the reason for the change…

Despite calls for a slow first half of the year, GAWDA distributors look ahead to 2020 with confidence. Each year in the 1st Quarter Issue of Welding & Gases Today, we survey the industry to try to determine what can be expected from the economy in the coming year. To do this, we have solicited not only distributor and supplier member expectations, but also spoke with the Chief GAWDA Economists at ITR Economics to hear their perspective (page  68.) These three perspectives, combined with the in-depth ITR Quarterly Report (page 72-83), all help paint a picture of what the economy…

A roundtable discussion with GAWDA Members who find value in the ITR Report By Steve Guglielmo, Mark Raimy, Bob Ewing, Bill Visintainer, Brad Armstrong and Pete Anderson Each issue of Welding & Gases Today contains the ITR Quarterly Report. This issue’s report can be found on page 72. GAWDA members who attend the Annual Convention are very familiar with Brian and Alan Beaulieu, ITR’s CEO and President respectively, who give a presentation each year discussing the economic trends and what GAWDA members can expect going forward. So how should GAWDA members be using the information that the Beaulieus present and…

2020 is a milestone year for GAWDA. It is the year we celebrate our 75th Anniversary. The association has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 1945. And while we celebrate our storied history, GAWDA continues to look forward to ensure that the next 75 years are as successful and prosperous as the first. Much of that success begins with the GAWDA Board of Directors. These association leaders are on the front lines of the industry and are able to take the issues facing our industry and help to craft an effective strategy for the association. Members of…

Consistent with what the GAWDA distributors projected, GAWDA suppliers are also predicting modest growth in store for 2020. While the disparity of answers varied a little bit more widely among the suppliers, the consensus was for continued, albeit slowing growth in store for 2020. Also consistent with the distributors projections was a fear of election year softness and the continued impact of trade barriers and tariffs. However, even with those fears looming over 2020, most suppliers still projected growth ahead. The following are responses from GAWDA suppliers across North America about what they expect to see in 2020. Thank you…

One of GAWDA’s charter members, Purity Cylinder Gases, has built its business on five core values. The evolution and growth of Purity Cylinder Gases (Grand Rapids, MI) is closely aligned with the evolution of GAWDA. Purity was a charter member of the association, attending the first ever National Welding Supply Association (NWSA) meeting at the Hotel Van Cleve on November 13, 1945. However, the genesis of Purity goes back even further than that, when founders Edward Butterfield, Glenn G. Garman and Howard Sweet organized the company in 1938. Purity was incorporated into the state of Michigan in October of that…

The following is from the GAWDA December 2019 Monthly Safety Organizer. Frequently Asked Questions – Electronic Tracking of Lot Numbers Q – I input the medical and food gas lot numbers into my accounting software. Do I also need to have a paper record of the lot number distribution? A – Not necessarily. If you intend to use your accounting/cylinder tracking software to manage your medical/food gas lot number distribution, you need to validate that software. If your software vendor does not have a validation package, contact [email protected]. We have sample procedures that may be able to help. Frequently Asked…

A moderated discussion between Tom Badstubner and Michael Dodd By Tom Badstubner, Michael Dodd and Steve Guglielmo As members close the book on 2019 and look forward to continued success in 2020, GAWDA Consultants Tom Badstubner and Michael Dodd have some advice on annual compliance measures that should be taken during the strategic planning process. GAWDA membership includes access to these consultants at no additional expense. Members should make sure that they’re taking full advantage of that! These consultants are ready and willing to help members be proactive in ensuring they are in compliance so that when federal auditors come…

Signal Hill based Encore Welding Supply has kicked off 2020 with a new name and a newly articulated mission for the future. The company – now called Encore Gas & Supply – has undergone significant growth over the past five years, and the new name is a reflection of Encore’s evolution during that period and the growing number of diverse industries it serves. “When we started this business in 2014, we catered almost exclusively to welding and construction, particularly to those companies serving infrastructure and energy,” said Encore’s co-founder and president, Ben Anderson. “Since then, while our commitment to and…

WestAir Gases & Equipment provides industrial and specialty gases and welding supplies to a wide variety of businesses throughout the southwest and beyond. It has a deep background of combining high quality gases with unmatched customer service since its founding in 1970. The acquisition of Desert Fountain’s assets will further strengthen the company’s capacity to serve customers, new and old, throughout the region. “We’re thrilled about our recent acquisition of Desert Fountain.” said WestAir General Manager, Andy Castiglione. “This new location will not only empower us to provide more and better services to our customers in the Coachella Valley, but…

Holston Gases, Inc. announced that it has opened new distribution facilities in Huntsville, AL and Owensboro, KY. Holston Gases president Robert Anders said, “We are very excited about expanding further into Alabama and Kentucky. Our new store located at 1104 Putman Drive NW, Huntsville, AL 35816 will allow us to better serve the rapidly expanding North Alabama economy. The new Owensboro, KY store located at 7549 Iceland Rd, Maceo, KY 42355 now allows us to distribute product throughout the entire state of KY and southern Indiana. We look forward to being a part of Owensboro’s expanding business community.” Holston Gases…