Holston Gases Acquires Superior Dry Ice
Holston Gases President, Robert Anders, said, “We are very pleased to add Superior Dry Ice to the Holston family. Combining the customer base and production capability of Superior Dry Ice with the resources of Holston will allow Holston to expand its dry ice distribution into central and south Georgia.”
Superior Dry Ice owner, David Simpson, agreed that the businesses are a great match. “We are very proud to become a part of the larger Holston family. Combining our expertise with Holston’s people and resources will be great for our customers. It was important to us to join with a company that shared our core values and we found that in Holston Gases. Our customers will really benefit from this combination.”
Butler Gas Wins CGA Leonard Parker Pool Safety Award
During the 2023 CGA Annual Meeting, Butler Gas was awarded the prestigious CGA Leonard Parker Pool Safety Award in recognition of the company’s outstanding record of safety. The award was won for 2022 performance in the group of 2 million or fewer employee exposure hours.
What is personally special to the Butlers about this particular award is its namesake, Leonard Pool, the founder of Air Products. On page 28 of Air Products’ history book “Out of Thin Air,” the story is shared how in March 1941, Leonard Pool and John Butler, Dandy, great-grandfather of Butler Gas President and CEO Abydee Butler Moore, purchased oxygen patents together. Dandy fronted the money, actually; $1,625. Pool repaid him in installments and went on to start Air Products. As Abydee concluded her acceptance speech, “I envision Dandy Butler and Leonard Pool raising a glass in heaven tonight, toasting this amazing industry.”
Encore Gas & Supply Opens New Corporate Headquarters and Showroom in Long Beach, CA
Encore Gas & Supply, a Southern California based independent gas and industrial supply distributor, has announced the opening of the company’s new corporate headquarters and showroom in Long Beach, CA.
Adjacent to the 405 freeway, the new facility has 10,000+ square feet of office space, including an 1,800 square foot showroom, a 20,000 square foot warehouse, and a 3/4 acre service yard to accommodate the company’s sizable fleet of specialized delivery vehicles. This is Encore’s third location in the greater Los Angeles area. The company also operates an Inland Empire Branch Store in Ontario, CA and a Specialty and Industrial Gas Facility in Signal Hill, CA.
“Encore has experienced substantial growth every year since the company’s founding in 2014,” said president Ben Anderson. “At our old location, we were constantly bumping into each other,” he quipped, “and this new, larger facility is not only a refreshing change, but also a critically necessary one to support our continued rapid growth.” He added that Encore’s Inland Empire Branch Store, which opened in October 2021 and also serves as a product distribution hub, is currently in the process of doubling its warehouse space and yard capacity.
The new Long Beach showroom, which is open to the public weekdays between 7:00am and 5:00pm, features a large inventory of welding, industrial and safety supplies and equipment from brands such as: Lincoln Electric, Miller Welding, ESAB, Furick, Victor, Harris and many others. Branch Manager Jesse Gomez likens the showroom to, “a highly specialized hardware store catering to people and companies whose projects and operations are ‘mission critical,’” adding that, “their operations are too vital to be disrupted by delays, inaccuracies and interruptions with critical gases, supplies and equipment, so we’re always here to support them.”
Grand Opening Celebration
Encore celebrated their grand opening with a concert, car and chopper show on April 14, which featured live music, hands-on equipment demonstrations and attractions and events benefitting three charitable organizations. Representatives from more than 30 of the welding industry’s most respected brands demonstrated their companies’ newest and most innovative technology, including a rare opportunity for attendees to “test drive” four state-of-the-art“Co-Bot” automated welding machines courtesy of Lincoln Electric, Miller Welding, ESAB and APT Manufacturing.
In addition to one-of-a-kind custom cars and vans, several custom choppers courtesy of Jason Wilson from the Discovery Channel program “Sacred Steel” were be on display, with Jason himself in attendance to speak with guests and answer their questions.
Fundraising activities benefited three charitable organizations: Paws for Purple Hearts, the world’s only service dog organization for wounded Service Members and Veterans; Re-Ignite Hope, which trains students for a career in welding, gets them certified in the welding trade and assists them with job placement at no cost to the student; and The Pink Journey Foundation, which provides no-cost breast screenings and breast care for underserved communities with women who are uninsured or underinsured.
Students and faculty from several notable local trade schools were also in attendance to learn about the latest industry technologies and techniques and networking to advance their burgeoning careers, including: Orange Coast College, Long Beach City College, Summit Vocational College and others.
Other notable organizations exhibiting to promote careers in blue collar trades and welding included The American Welding Society (AWS) and California Welding Institute.
Six live music sets were performed over the course of the day by three local bands: Cover Junkies (’90s & ‘00s cover songs), Joe Wood & the Lonely Ones (“rocking blues” original songs) and headliner Flashback Heart Attack (a well-known ‘80s cover band).
Approximately 1,000 guests attended the grand opening event, and nearly $6,000 was raised for the charity partners.
The Encore Long Beach Headquarters and Showroom is located at 2900 E. 29th Street, Long Beach, CA 90806, and more information is available on the company’s website: https://encoresupply.com.
Middlesex Gases Announces New Dry Ice Manufacturing Capabilities
Dry ice, the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), is an essential refrigeration material for Middlesex Gases customers in the medical, health care, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries. From hospitals to academic research facilities and biotech labs, these organizations are often shipping temperature-sensitive samples, supplies, or materials. Packing these invaluable items in dry ice helps ensure that the cold temperatures they were stored in are maintained during transport.
Over the past few years, customer demand for dry ice had grown substantially. However, the supply of dry ice from third-party sources had become inconsistent. In addition, dry ice prices skyrocketed. Middlesex Gases has been investigating better ways to reliably fulfill its customers’ dry ice requirements—which have topped one million pounds per year—and to do so at a fair price. In June 2022, Middlesex Gases decided the optimal solution was to bring dry ice manufacturing in-house.
Middlesex Gases’ Director of Sales & Marketing, Ron Perry, said, “We are very aware of how vital it is for our customers to have a stable source of dry ice. The recent supply chain issues turned into an exciting opportunity for us to continue to expand our capabilities to meet the ever-changing needs of the labs and facilities we serve. We are proud to now be one of just three gas companies in New England that both manufacture and distribute dry ice.”
Building out its dry ice capabilities did require Middlesex to commit significant resources. The largest investment has gone toward the purchase of an industrial dry ice pelletizer that can manufacture up to 1,700 pounds of product per hour. This highly reliable pelletizer is two dry ice machines in one, so if one unit breaks down, there is always a backup to keep production going.
Another big investment the company had to make was retrofitting the Plainville plant to accommodate a 50-ton CO2 bulk tank. By bringing in one of the largest available bulk tanks in the market, the company is making sure it will have enough product to keep up with not only current demand from customers but future requirements as well.
Middlesex also acquired fully enclosed dry ice delivery trucks to ensure that customers’ products are transported in a protected, clean environment. In addition, the company purchased insulated, sealed containers, with either 200-lb. or 500-lb. capacity, that are specially formulated with high-impact polyethylene. These containers offer much longer hold times than the cardboard boxes typically used by other dry ice suppliers. For example, product delivered in a cardboard box generally lasts about a day at a customer site, while dry ice delivered in the Middlesex containers may hold for as long as two weeks. Containers are barcoded to enable traceability of orders from fill to delivery truck to the customer location.
Perry said, “Now that we are both the manufacturer and the distributor of dry ice for our customers, we have significantly reduced lead times. Instead of waiting several days for a product that has already begun to disintegrate, labs and other facilities are receiving dry ice that just came off the pelletizer a few short hours before. We are very pleased to be able to offer our customers a dependable supply of dry ice that is colder, higher quality, and longer lasting.”
The new dry ice manufacturing equipment is just one example of how Middlesex is constantly improving the way it serves the gas requirements of its customers. The company has also made significant investments in a high-tech specialty gas lab, a state-of-the-art medical CO2 lab, and a fleet of trucks and trailers, including a 10-ton medical CO2 bulk truck, which enables Middlesex to offer gas solutions to a wide range of businesses throughout Southern New England.
National Standard Promotes Chris Pruett to Product Manager
In his new role, Chris will be responsible for overseeing all activities related to researching, designing, and marketing Welding Filler Metals. He will also be responsible for overseeing and managing the product life cycle of the welding filler metals portfolio from beginning to end. Chris formerly served as the District Sales Manager for Industrial Wire for National Standard.
Prior to joining our organization, Chris held management roles in sales with Schlumberger Technology Corporation, Archer Directional Drilling, Evolution Technologies, and Panther Drilling Solutions.
Chris earned his Bachelor of Science in Construction Management Technology from Oklahoma State University.
Chris resides in Edmond, Oklahoma. He can be contacted via email at: cpruett@nationalstandard.com, or via cell phone at (405) 332-3215.
Cameron Welding Celebrates 60th Anniversary in 2023
In a post on the company’s LinkedIn page, Cameron Welding Supply announced that it is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023.
The post reads, “Cameron Welding is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, we want to thank all our employees and their families, our customers, and vendors for helping Cameron Welding get to where we are today. We can’t thank you enough, #anniversarycelebrations
Thank you all for your continuous support, we wouldn’t be here without you! Celebrating 60 years of trust. #buildingtrust”
