Year: 2020

According to an article from LPGasmagazine.com, American Welding & Gas (AWG), an independently owned producer and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, purchased Medical Gas Supply, which does business as Bestway Welding Supply. “The AWG brand is nationally recognized for excellent customer service, loyalty to employees and, above all else, operating with integrity,” says ​​​​​​​Ernest “Cotton” Speed III, president of Bestway. “I can’t think of a better partner to help Bestway’s employees usher in this next phase of growth.” Speed has participated in the sale of more than a half-dozen operating businesses in the industrial, medical and specialty gases space. After…

Members of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) are global leaders in the production, storage, distribution, and application of hydrogen and other industrial gases. CGA is recognized around the world in forums such as ISO, NFPA, and the United Nations as subject matter experts on industrial gases technical and safety practices. Its standards are frequently adopted by national and international regulatory, code, and standards bodies. In addition to its existing library of hydrogen standards, we are bringing our unique expertise in hydrogen to the development of new standards for emerging applications in the hydrogen-powered transportation space to ensure our members are…

By Jay Spielvogel, Venator Sales Group “The greatest sales call our new reps make is on us during the interview.  Everything goes down-hill once we hire them.” “At best our new sales people are glorified pre-sales relationship managers. They deliver quotes and proposals without any qualifying or critical thinking.” Unfortunately, these are all too common complaints we hear from sales managers across the globe.  In truth, very rarely is the interview a “great” sales call on the part of the sales rep.  More likely it was simply the culmination of a “bad” buying process, where we end up getting exactly…

FMCSA Publishes Pilot Program to Allow Pause in Driver Duty Window.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a notice of pilot program to allow temporary regulatory relief from the agency’s hours-of-service requirement that all driving by drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles be completed within 14 hours after coming on duty. 85 Fed. Reg. 55061 (September 3, 2020). During the pilot program, known as the Split Duty Period Pilot Program, participating CMV drivers would have the option to pause their 14-hour on-duty period (also called a driving window) with one off-duty period of no less than 30 minutes…

Butler Gas Products Company’s Specialty Gas Lab in Pittsburgh recently received Tier 4 accreditation from PurityPlus. Click here or on the post below for more information.

FMCSA Head of Enforcement Discusses New HOS Rule. On an industry webinar held August 27, head of the Federal Moto Carrier Safety Administraiton’s Office of Enforcement Joe Delorenzo discussed the upcoming changes the agency’s driver hours of service rule. The new requirements are scheduled to go into effect on September 29, 2020. Mr. Delorenzo said the FMCSA estimates the new changes will save the industry $270 million per year in compliance costs. Short-haul drivers. The new rules allow a CDL or non-CDL driver to operate within a 150 air-mile radius and return to the work reporting location within 14 hours…

The Compressed Gas Association (CGA) announced on LinkedIn that it is moving its office.

Read the full update from Haun Welding Supply below or on the company’s website. We are excited to announce the relocation of our Batavia store. We are moving into a new facility at 8 Apollo Dr. as of 8/31/2020. This move allows us to have more space to better serve your needs. Stop by any weekday between 8-5 to check it out. Thank you for your continued business. Store info: 8 Apollo Dr. Batavia, NY 14020 PHONE: (585) 343-5729 EMAIL: [email protected]

Weldstar remains open for business. Read the full update below or on the company’s website. Covid-19 Update  Thank you for your continued support of Weldstar and our employees. Weldstar is committed to doing everything we can to keep our employees and customers safe while continuing to serve essential businesses. Over the past several months, we have ramped up our cleaning procedures, provided masks to our employees, and continued to comply with federal, and local guidelines pertaining to the current crisis. We consistently educate and train our staff on the best practices when it comes to reducing the spread of the…

Patten has worked at Red Ball Oxygen since 2000. Read the full press release below. Shreveport, LA— August 19, 2020 — Today, Red Ball Oxygen announced that Mark Patten has been promoted to Vice-President, Technical Gas Services (TGS).  Red Ball TGS manufactures and distributes a full line of specialty gas products, including EPA protocols, calibration standards, high purity gases, medical device mixtures, and Lightning Cal TM transportable cylinders.  Mr. Patten has been with the company since 2000. He helped found Red Ball’s Technical Gas Services division in 2003. Under his leadership the division has experienced rapid growth and has dramatically expanded…

Harris designed a new set of equipment with Camo Regulators and a Special Ammo box. When you purchase the @HarrisProducts Camo Kit, the proceeds will support a veteran through the @workforwarriors program! pic.twitter.com/TsqoSF2dp0 — Atlas Welding Supply (@atlaswsco) July 31, 2020 Other August 15 Connection Items: In Memoriam: James McGarry McKenna Jim O’Connor Retires from Norton Company EspriGas Promotes Schrantz, Expands Role of Sawyer Butler Gas Products Opens New Location Holston Gases Acquires Todays Gases A COVID-19 Update from Haun Welding Supply Airgas Offers Free Welding Classes for Teachers George Ratermann’s Number One Message to Customers CPV Manufacturing Introduces Game…

Read the company’s full press release below. Atlanta, GA, August 4, 2020 – EspriGas, a technology and data-driven medical and industrial gas company, announced today that Lauren Schrantz has been promoted to Director of Supply Chain Network and that Taylor Sawyer’s role has expanded to include additional responsibilities. As Director of Supply Chain Network, Schrantz will be responsible for leading the Supply Chain department and ensuring a high-functioning supply chain network. In this role, she will maintain executive-level relationships with strategic supply partners with a focus on strong joint operational effectiveness to deliver a seamless experience for suppliers and customers…

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of James McGarry McKenna, who passed away on Friday, July 31, 2020, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86. James was the beloved husband for over 62 years of Marie Staab McKenna;  loving father to daughters Linda Smith (husband Gary), Carol Lee Woodley (husband Dan), Mari Beth King (husband Rob), and son Garry McKenna, Jr;  proud grandfather of Tyler King (wife Anna), Courtney Smith Massee (husband Luke), Kara King Brunelle (husband Parker), Colby Woodley (deceased), Kelsey King, Leah Woodley, Morgan Smith, and McKenna Woodley, and proud great-grandfather to…

Butler Gas Products announced the opening of its Morgantown, West Virginia location on Facebook. See the full post below. Other August 15 Connection Items: In Memoriam: James McGarry McKenna Jim O’Connor Retires from Norton Company EspriGas Promotes Schrantz, Expands Role of Sawyer Butler Gas Products Opens New Location Holston Gases Acquires Todays Gases A COVID-19 Update from Haun Welding Supply Airgas Offers Free Welding Classes for Teachers George Ratermann’s Number One Message to Customers CPV Manufacturing Introduces Game Changing Master Valve Norton Saint-Gobain Abrasives New Next Generation Norton BlazeX F970 Fiber and Quick-Change Discs Computers Unlimited Announces it Will Continue…

With the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, the compressed gas industry has faced tremendous challenges and risk. Never before has it been so crucial for all members of the industry to work together to serve the needs of customers, while striving to keep employees, vendors, end users, and all others across our supply chains, safe. To that end, we at the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) are taking ongoing action, coordinating with our members as well as government agencies in the U.S. and Canada, and sharing new resources to aid in our industry’s response to…

GAWDA Members Commemorate Milestone Anniversaries By Steve GuglielmoIt doesn’t seem like there has been much to celebrate in 2020. The year will forever be remembered in history as the year that COVID-19 swept through the world and ground the global economy to a halt. Though most in-person celebrations have been put on hold until it is safe to gather in large numbers, many GAWDA members are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2020. Though the celebrations may be more muted than previous years, we would still like to recognize our members for reaching such important milestones in their history. Though times are…

In times of economic turmoil, GAWDA members have long turned to the association’s Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu and his team at ITR Economics. ITR, which produces a quarterly report for GAWDA members each quarter (this quarter’s can be seen on pages 106-117), hosted a members-only podcast entitled Looking Past the Fear and The Noise: 2020-2022. Alex Chausovsky, ITR’s Director of Speaking Services, hosted the webinar, a recording of which can be found on GAWDA.org’s Member’s Only section in the ITR folder. Alex spent the hour-long recording explaining the impact that the “Dual Black Swan Events” of COVID-19 and the collapse…

By Dan Horan, Senior Associate Consultant at Indian River Consulting Group The need for a strong strategy does not stop because of unprecedented times. If anything, troubling times should highlight the importance of a sound strategy based on customer needs and market realities. Strategy starts from the outside in. That is, strategy starts with your customers, both what they need and what they could do without. It’s not enough to just ask your sales team what they think because they won’t think objectively. They’re focused on selling (which is what you want them to do). Their every interaction with a…

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…

There is a scene from the movie Minority Report where, as Tom Cruise’s character is walking through a mall, he looks into a retinal scanning device and suddenly starts seeing and hearing digital ads personalized to him. Over the buzz of people talking and promotional messages, one digital sign announces “John Anderson, you could use a Guinness right about now.” Pretty cool stuff! Although Minority Report was made in 2002 and set in 2054, much of this technology is becoming reality. That is what this article is about – digital advertising targeting technology. As with most topics in digital advertising…