Year: 2020

Willard C. Starcher, Inc.  was founded by Willard Starcher in 1938. Prior to opening the company, Starcher had worked as a schoolteacher and then as a mechanic fixing generators and refrigerators. He opened Willard C. Starcher in his hometown of Spencer, West Virginia, in a garage behind his house. More than 80 years later, the company continues to operate out of Spencer. “We’re located in rural West Virginia, in a town of 2,600 people,” says John Hill, Starcher’s grandson and current company president. “And it probably had 2,600 people 82 years ago, when the company was started. But it’s our…

By Mike Marks, Managing Partner of Indian River Consulting Group Back in the day, the path to distributor growth was to sell service with excellent people. Sales reps sold themselves first and customers bought from reps that had earned their trust based on their past performance. A key driver in the customer value proposition was their relationship with their own sales rep, not the company. Supply chains were unreliable and heroic recoveries were visible and common. The reps were paid a commission on the gross margin they generated so they could “eat what they killed.” The sales force was self-directed…

This year’s Spring Management Conference was scheduled to take place Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we had to cancel this event. However, we look forward to the GAWDA Convention scheduled to take place September 25-28 in Phoenix, Arizona, which is sure to be three days of non-stop educational opportunities and takeaways. Those opportunities, combined with the unparalleled networking that GAWDA events facilitate, make the SMC and Annual Convention must-attend events for everybody in the gases and welding industry. But between all the professional development, GAWDA members have always known how to have a great time! Here is…

GAWDA Spring Management Conference is cancelled due to the growing COVID-19 threat. The GAWDA Spring Management Conference, which was scheduled to start on April 5th in Austin Texas, has been cancelled over COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic concerns. GAWDA has been monitoring the CDC, World Health Organization and John Hopkins websites for the past few weeks. During this time, we have been in communication with the facilities in Austin to assess what options we were available. Large conferences like the SMC are planned years in advance, with the facilities, as well as careful coordination with the city, after multiple inquires, we learned that…

A Generation X (born 1965-1985) sales rep asked me whether I thought social media was an effective tool for sales prospecting. He found his experience with Facebook, where he spent an inordinate amount of time reading about family and friends, to be counter-productive from a business perspective. As a Baby Boomer (born 1944-1964), I did not grow up with social media but I have grown along with it and could offer the rep some insights. I was recently reminded of social media’s critical importance to marketing when asked by Vicara Books, the publisher of my latest book, how many hits…

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…

This year is a milestone year for GAWDA as we celebrate our 75th Anniversary. Throughout 2020, we will be celebrating our roots, all while looking forward to ensuring that the next 75 years are as productive and impactful as the first. In the 1st Quarter 2020 issue of Welding & Gases Today, we ran a “Trip Down Memory Lane” 75 Years of GAWDA timeline on pages 50 and 51. In this issue, as we preview this year’s new and improved SMC, we look back on fun SMC moments from throughout our history on page 44. We also have made apparel…

Eleet Cryogenics, Inc. is excited to announce that Greg Patterson has joined the Eleet team as General Manager for the Willis, Texas facility. He and his wife Jodi are Ohio natives with two sons and three grandchildren. Greg spent the last sixteen years growing the business of an Ohio-based welding distributor where he served as Service Manager for 12 years, helping to grow the bulk business nearly seven times. Most recently, he served as the Operations Manager for the last four years. Greg is a certified Journeyman Machine Repairmen with extensive mechanical and electrical maintenance experience spending several years installing…

American Welding & Gas, Inc. (“AWG”) is pleased to announce the promotion of Jason Krieger to President and CEO of AWG. Jason joined AWG in March 2017 as Senior Vice President of the Central Region and in late 2018 was promoted to President & COO.  He brings over 25 years of industry experience and has been an invaluable asset to AWG in his role as President and COO. As Jason takes on this new role, AWG recognizes and thanks George Golliday for his superior leadership as President and CEO of AWG.  Since 2014, George’s stewardship of the organization and his…

Lisa A. Davis, a senior executive with more than three decades of leadership experience across energy and manufacturing industries, has joined Air Products’ (NYSE:APD) Board of Directors. Air Products’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Seifi Ghasemi said, “Lisa’s extensive, global experience is very much in line with our strategic focus, particularly world-scale energy and environmental projects. I know she will make significant contributions to our Board as Air Products continues to create value for shareholders by innovating alongside our customers to help make them more sustainable.” From August 2014 to February 2020, Ms. Davis served as a member of the…