Year: 2020

by Sean Coyle, CEO of Sandler Training Our businesses, people, families and lives have experienced unprecedented difficulties in 2020. That is not under debate. How leaders address these difficulties now, and in the future, will forever measure their lasting impact on their organizations. Twenty percent of leaders have tackled their situation head on, attacking the market, focused solely on getting better than they were in March. Twenty percent of leaders have buried their heads in the sand, waiting for things to get back to normal, waiting out the storm. Sixty percent of leaders want to attack, but haven’t yet figured…

By Jay Spielvogel, Venator Sales Group, LLC “I am a face-to-face type of salesperson” “I don’t do well on the phone vs. physically meeting with people” “I like to press the flesh and sell in-person” Sound familiar? These are common responses to management when salespeople are asked why they fail to leverage the phone for selling. As a response to virtual selling during the pandemic, webinars and articles abound, presenting tips and tricks for even the most seasoned salespeople on how to sell in the virtual world. “Be energetic; ask how they are impacted by COVID; use video when engaging…

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 Mike Marks and Dan Horan,  Indian River Consulting Group As practices continue to shift, there are two trends distributors should be paying close attention to in today’s market. One is understanding the role of technology, and the other is attracting and retaining talent. Attracting and Keeping Talent Recruiting qualified talent is no easy task. There is always a generational tension between the way “things used to be” and “how it is today.” The tensions between mature leaders and young professionals remain the same. Distributors must revisit their recruitment strategies to reflect these different perspectives. Training and education opportunities must…

The federal government has updated its extensions of a number of COVID-related waivers.  Many of these affect GAWDA member companies and their commercial motor vehicle drivers. Emergency Declaration. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has further extended its emergency declaration through December 31, 2020; this exempts drivers and carriers from the hours of service regulations and all of 49 CFR Parts 390-399 when transporting certain emergency relief products in response to COVID-19 crisis.  The exemption applies to transporting: medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19; supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and…

The other day, I unpacked a box from storage and came across four old iPhones. I replaced them because the batteries stopped holding a charge, they started running slow, and because I really wanted a better camera and larger screen size. The decision to upgrade my phone was relatively easy; but what about the decision to replace a website? Below are six reasons why you should replace your website. 1. It’s over three years old. As a general rule, a website should be replaced every three years. In that time, the technology available to give your customers and prospects a…

There is a school of thought that COVID-19 has not so much created new business trends and norms, as much as accelerated trends that were already coming. One of those trends is the importance of having a comprehensive digital strategy. With state and local governments across the country shutting down businesses and unnecessary travel, it became paramount for customers to be able to find distributors and buy goods and services online. While not universal, a very common theme among companies who were forced to shut their doors for good was that they did not have a strong and strategic plan…

By Steve Guglielmo, John Ospina, Abydee Butler Moore, Bob Ewing, Gary Halter and Robert Anders We have spent 2020 celebrating GAWDA’s 75th Anniversary. We have shared fun memories, reflected on GAWDA’s founding, its road to independence and everything in between. But 75 years is not the end of GAWDA’s story. Not by a long shot. As we near the end of 2020, we asked GAWDA’s current President Abydee Butler Moore, Executive Director John Ospina, and the next three presidents in line, to answer some questions about GAWDA’s history and what they expect to see as we continue our march forward.…

Oxygen Service Company was founded in 1959 as Wagner Welding. The company was founded by a group of owners including Bill Lund and Bill Huber. In 1965, the ownership group decided to go their separate ways with Lund and Huber taking full ownership of the company and rebranding it as Oxygen Service Company. More than 60 years later, the foundational tenets that Lund and Huber put in place still carry through today. “I think the philosophy that our original owners had has carried through the 60 years of being in business,” says Ryan Diekow, President and CEO of Oxygen Service…

Knowledge management and succession planning are both vital to the continued growth and success of our industry. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one-third of the U.S. science and engineering labor force will turn over in the next 10 years. Coupled with economic growth, that retirement rate is projected to create more than 511,000 job openings in science and engineering fields. While the gases industry represents a small portion of the national figure, those statistics hold true for Compressed Gas Association (CGA) committee participants, as well as our industry at large. As Hector Villarreal, President…

COVID-19 has impacted all of our businesses in some way, shape or form. What lasting impacts will this experience have on our industry and the regulatory agencies that oversee it? By Steve Guglielmo, Tom Badstubner, Marilyn Dempsey, Michael Dodd and Rick Schweitzer As we enter the Fall, it seems like we have lived with COVID-19 for several decades, not six months. We have moved on from this being a novel threat to dealing with the reality of this being a part of our day-to-day lives. As we experience this “New Normal” and continue to work toward getting back to where…

Weldstar Company, headquartered in Aurora, IL, is announcing their newest store in Kenosha, WI. Weldstar Company 5416 46th Street Kenosha, WI 53144 Phone: 262-771-1177 Fax: 262-771-1178

FMCSA Publishes Resources on Driver HOS Changes.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed a new web-based template called Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS) to help motor carriers and drivers understand and comply with the new driver hours of service regulations. According to the webpage, “When drivers and carriers enter their duty statuses into the web-based log below, ETHOS will identify where potential violations of the following rules may have occurred: 11-hour driving limit (property) or 10-hour driving limit (passenger) 14-hour driving window (property) or 15-hour on-duty limit (passenger) 30-minute break (property) Sleeper berth provision.” Drivers may…

Improvements Are Required inCommunications Between Manufacturer, Distributor and the Customer by J. R. (Buzz) Campbell & Ken Thompson In this article, we’ll look at what’s happened in the U.S. economy relative to our Gases and Hardgoods (HG) business, make a quick review of three of the biggest Gas Majors’ first calendar half for 2020 (H1/20) financial reports, review some key products and markets affected by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID), and discuss new challenges in selling and the need for further integration of communications between the manufacturer, distributor and customer in Hardgoods. According to the July 30, 2020, U.S. Bureau of…

Holston Gases recently recognized six of its branches for their work in 2020: Columbia, TN; Somerset, KY; Jasper, AL; Ft. Payne, AL; Louisville, KY; and Tri-Cities, TN. Click here or on the post below for more information.

In its September 30 newsletter, AWISCO announced the grand reopening of its Maspeth Store. Read the full announcement below. AWISCO Maspeth has a brand new look! Stop by our Maspeth location at 55-15 43rd St. Maspeth, NY 11378 on October 15th to check out the new store. Sales and specials will be available all day. Thank you to our generous sponsors of this celebration: Ace Industrial , Bessey Tools, Enerpac, Hougen, MK Morse, Metal Man, Miller Electric, SafTcart, Scotchman, United Abrasives, and Wilton/Jet. All of these vendors will be offering specials on this day. The company also announced the winner of its 2020…

The Morris Gold Award was presented to Nancy Brochu of Air Liquide Canada Inc., during the CGA Canada Annual Meeting Kick-off held virtually on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. The award was presented in recognition of Nancy’s outstanding and long-term contribution and leadership to the compressed gas industry and CGA Canada. Since 2004, Nancy has been participating and actively contributing to many CGA Committees including the Canadian Cylinder Specifications Committee (chair 2017-2019); Cylinder Valve Committee; Cylinder Specifications Committee; Canadian Pressure Vessels and Piping Systems Committee; Canadian Health, Safety, and Environment Committee; Canadian Transportation Committee; Canadian Medical, Food, and Beverage Gases and…

FMCSA Extends Waivers for CDLs, CLPs,  Medical Certificates Through December 31 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a further extension of its waiver of the validity of CDLs, Commercial Learner’s Permits and Driver Medical Certificates that expired on or after March 1, 2020.  The current waiver is now set to expire on December 31, 2020. State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs), CDL holders, CLP holders, and interstate non-CDL CMV drivers are covered under this waiver without further action unless the driver’s privileges have been suspended or withdrawn for traffic offenses. The waiver issued by FMCSA: Extends until December 31,…

She joined the company full time in 2018. Read the full press release below. Butler Gas Products Company (Pittsburgh, PA) announces the promotion of Chelsea Smilak to Customer Service and Cylinder Tracking Manager. Chelsea joined the 3rd generation business full-time in July 2018 after a successful customer service internship following a part-time facilities maintenance position. Chelsea has grown up around Butler Gas. Her father, Joe Wilhelm, is the company’s General Manager of Operations with 28 years tenure. While in school and pursuing a retail sales career, Chelsea worked at Butler Gas part-time helping the company clean its New Brighton location.…