Year: 2021

FMCSA Extends Emergency Declaration for COVID-19 Relief The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended its Emergency Declaration granting regulatory relief to motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.  The extension is through August 31, 2021. The relief granted is from the driver hours of service regulations and all of 49 CFR Parts 390-399, with certain limitations.  Direct assistance means transportation and other relief services provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to the immediate restoration of essential services (such as medical care) or essential supplies…

GAWDA Announced its GAWDA Giveaway Winners during the Contact Booth Program at the 2021 Spring Management Conference. Congratulations to the following winners, who won a full delegate admission to GAWDA’s 2021 Annual Convention at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Jane Aparicio – Vern Lewis Welding Supply Ryan Diekow – Oxygen Service Company Ryan Craven – General Air Stefanie Berg – Wright Brothers, Inc. Stacey Budae – Flint Welding Supply

American Welding & Gas, Inc. (“AWG”) is pleased to announce that A+ Distributing Inc., headquartered in Strawberry Point, IA, has joined forces with AWG effective immediately. Locally owned and operated by Robert (Bob) and Diane Maker, A+ Distributing Inc. has built a strong reputation for prompt, professional service for its CO2 customers. “After 20 years in the CO2 business, we are pleased to be joining the team of American Welding & Gas, Inc. Together with AWG and our valued customers, this acquisition will broaden the business platform to continue to deliver high-quality product and service to our customers. We are…

Holston Gases completed the acquisition of AG Propane, Inc. with operations headquartered in Franklin, GA. Holston Gases will maintain the current location at 329 Pierce St., Franklin, GA. Holston Gases President Robert Anders said, “We are very pleased to add the propane customers of AG Propane, Inc. to those of Holston Gases. AG Propane, Inc. has a great reputation and loyal customers that we are excited to bring into the Holston Family.” The owners of AG Propane, Inc. agreed that the consolidation of the two companies resources in Northwest Georgia and Eastern Alabama bring added value to the current AG Propane…

According to an article from the Daily American,  Dale Oxygen has opened its new location near Somerset, PA. From the article: Johnstown industrial gas supply company Dale Oxygen will open a new branch this week along Berlin Plank Road near Somerset. President Evan Bennear said this will be the fourth location for the family-owned business. The others are in Johnstown, Indiana and Altoona. “We stock and supply industrial gases, welding supplies, industrial tools and safety equipment,” Bennear said. “Dale Oxygen is a distributor for recognized welding and cutting equipment brands such as Lincoln Electric, Hypertherm and Miller Electric, to name a few.” How many employees? According…

Corina “Cori” Gessford, PHR Joins Cee Kay Supply as Human Resources Manager Cee Kay Supply is pleased to announce the addition of Cori Gessford. She will be taking on the position of Human Resources Manager. Cori comes to Cee Kay with an Undergraduate & Master’s degrees in Communications from Eastern Illinois University. Cori previously held the role of Human Resources Business Partner at TeeTurtle over the past year. Prior to that, she also had 8 years of experience as Human Resources Manager at Gateway Industrial Power. We are excited to have Cori as the newest member of our team at…

According to an article in The Saratogian, Noble Gas Solutions hosted a ribbon cutting event for its third storefront location in South Glens Falls, New York. From the article: Noble Gas Solutions, a family-owned industrial gas and welding supply company that has been a staple in the Capital Region for more than 80 years, officially opened its newest location in South Glens Falls with a ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration. Located at 15 Third St., this facility is the third storefront location for the industrial gas and welding supplier. The 6,000-square-foot area includes a retail site, offices and warehouse space…

Holston Gases announced that they opened new stores in Birmingham, Alabama, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Holston Gases President Robert Anders said, “We are very excited about this latest expansion. These new locations will allow us to provide products and services throughout middle and northern Alabama as well as adjacent markets in Mississippi.” Holston Gases is a regional distributor of industrial, medical and propane gases as well as welding, safety, and industrial supplies. Holston has been in business for 60 years. Its headquarters are in Knoxville. It now has 40 locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina.

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Bruce Leasure, who passed away last year. His obituary can be read in full below, as well as a statement from his colleagues at Middlesex Welding. Bruce P. Leasure died on Monday, August 24, 2020, surrounded by his family, at Saint Mary Medical Center in Langhorne at the age of 66. Born in Lackawanna, NY, son of the late Helen (Whitelaw) and Clyde Leasure, Bruce has been a long time resident of Lower Bucks County. Bruce co-owned Middlesex Welding Sales with his stepbrother, Gregg Pardun. For many years Bruce coached…

by Randy MacLean, President of WayPoint Analytics If you ask your sales reps what customers want, you’ll get a lengthy inventory of needs, whims and wishes, as expressed by customers over the years. More than a decade working in LIPA (Line-Item Profit Analytics) with hundreds of the world’s best distributors has answered this question much more directly. In reality, there’s only five fundamental items that truly influence customer purchasing decisions. Distributors with mastery of these items always lead the market. Moreover, you’ll need either parity or superiority in all five to seize and hold a leadership position. If you fail…

By Mike Marks and Dan Horan, Indian River Consulting Group Customer expectations have been changing for years, and the COVID-19 pandemic simply magnified and accelerated them in 2020. Being on the defensive is only a strategy if you want to lose slower. For distributors who are willing to play offense, there are three major trends to watch and take advantage of in 2021. B2B customer expectations have changed online Customers are no longer happy to only have a basic online buying process; they expect their experience to be as good as the experience in their everyday B2C life. As a…

By Paul Bernier and David O’Guin With many years of experience in the Industrial Gas/Welding supply industry, I have learned that many companies do not truly offer safety services and supplies in their product mix. It is understandable, since the margins are not in line with what we enjoy in gases. But, if you are not providing safety products to your industrial customers, who is? Our main marketing objective is to try and provide as many products as possible to our customers, adding more line items to our invoices, truly striving to be a one-stop provider, as much as possible.…

by Frank Kasnick, IWDC President and CEO I have not met an Independent, whether part of our group or not, who isn’t struggling with their e-commerce strategy. Usually, the discussion starts with “should we sell online?” The prospect is quite tempting – put up a webstore and sit back and take credit card orders. If only it was that simple. That is not to say there isn’t opportunity in the B2C arena. If done correctly, it can lead to some incremental sales with a fairly low fixed cost. Members who are committed to this customer segment are leveraging their existing…

When it comes to a digital presence, the first go-to-market tactic is typically organic search engine optimization (SEO). SEO involves configuring your website to rank at the top of the search engines for free (also called organic). Establishing high rankings is about two things: relevance and authority. In this article, I’ll focus on relevance and provide you four tips and one free gift to help you capture valuable traffic for your website. Tip 1 – Your URL Should Contain Your Target Keyword Let’s say you want to rank for the term “welding training Syracuse, NY.” The first thing you should…

By Deanna Pelligrino Now, more than ever, we rely on the digital world to keep our businesses moving. But with the ever-increasing use of email, social media and other forms of digital communication comes equally increasing concerns about keeping our information safe. Here are a few tips! 1. When in doubt, delete! Follow your gut. If you receive something and wonder, “Why am I getting this?” there’s probably a good reason to be suspicious. Don’t click on links or open attachments from emails or senders that you’re not expecting. The damage that could be done from opening a malicious link…

By Paul Banuski What is the responsibility of a manager when he/she suspects an employee may be struggling with depression, anxiety or other mental health challenges? It’s not an unreasonable question, and it is one that every supervisor should be prepared to answer, considering that 1 in 5 Americans will be diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health issue this year, according to the Center for Disease Control. Whether it’s an anxiety disorder, PTSD, post-partum depression, bipolar or any other number of conditions, mental health issues can be a disruptive part of an employee’s life that can lead to struggles…