Congratulations to all GAWDA Members celebrating anniversaries in 2024
The past several years have represented a dramatic shift in the gases and welding industry. We’ve seen the industry get leaner, as M&A activity continues to shrink the industry, while the internet, and the rise of AI and other technology makes the entire world smaller and more connected. But, in a larger sense, the fundamentals of the business remain the same. This industry remains a relationship business. While the X’s and O’s may look different today than they did 100 years ago, the overall playbook remains very similar. And there’s a reason that GAWDA members continue to persevere year after year, generation after generation. While technology continues to advance, the culture and the infrastructure remain the same. GAWDA members are built on solid bedrock principles, which allow them to continue to thrive, no matter the technology. Congratulations to all those GAWDA members who are celebrating anniversaries in 2024! And if you have a milestone anniversary coming up in 2025 and would like to be featured in this issue next year, please reach out today at steveg@gawdamedia.com.
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25 Years
Association of Independent Welding Distributors (AIWD)
Supplier
Established in 1999, AIWD is a buying group consisting of independent business owners with over 350 individual store locations within the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. AIWD helps the Independent Gas and Welding Distributor navigate our industry and achieve his/her performance goals by combining buying power and fostering mutually rewarding relationships among its members and with key industry supplier partners.
AIWD Members make all major decisions for the group as a whole, including what fellow members they choose to represent the group’s interest on their Board of Directors. Members also hand-select what vendors are official suppliers to the group. Currently, AIWD proudly purchases from over 100 welding and gas suppliers, and at every annual convention (held in the Spring), new vendors are invited to present their program to the Members for consideration as a permanent, approved AIWD supplier.
In 2024, the AIWD unveiled its very own line of professional welding products, “WELDSTRIKE.”
Kelly Horton, the Executive Director of AIWD, shared his insights on this game-changing move. “Our organization has always been committed to providing the best value to our members. By launching WELDSTRIKE, we are empowering our members for sustained growth. Now equipped with an array of products, they can compete more effectively and offer superior solutions to their customers.”
AIWD’s key mission is to provide the greatest freedom and value to independently-owned industrial gas/welding supply distributors and CO2 beverage carbonation service companies possible. AIWD: “The power of a bu
Lisam
Supplier
Michel Hemberg and Thierry Levintoff founded Lisam in 1999 to address challenges in the chemicals and compressed gas industries related to the high cost and complexity of producing compliant regulatory documents required for shipping and using their products. The company developed software to bring efficiency and automation into the creation of compliance documents, primarily Safety Data Sheets and labels, initially focusing on European markets before expanding globally. Lisam then expanded from compliance-related document creation into EHS workplace safety solutions with chemicals management integration. Today, with offices in 20+ countries, Lisam software delivers smart compliance solutions in virtually every commercial market worldwide for both local and global businesses.
“Recognizing the ongoing regulatory changes that continuously imposed new obligations on the industry and often required massive reinvestment, Lisam was an early adopter of software subscription pricing to deliver evolving compliance needs without significant up-front costs,” the company says. “As competitors struggled to evolve with the changing regulatory landscape, Lisam has also grown through acquisitions in Europe and North America, providing smart migration solutions and integrating groups of other client bases into our own software platform. This accelerated the adoption of Lisam’s solutions and significantly boosted our market positioning. Through these efforts, Lisam emerged as the leading global provider of smart compliance and practical sustainability solutions.”
A quarter century since its founding, Lisam employs 350 people in 22 countries. Ten years from now, the company envisions Lisam to continue to be a globally respected thought leader in risk management solutions that integrate core business processes with smart EHS and practical ESG solutions.
“We envision long-term relationships with customers who count on Lisam to anticipate market needs and adapt to changing regulatory landscapes. Whether now or many years from now, we plan to deliver innovative products with a deep commitment to sustainable growth and community development. We see ourselves as globally ambitious while locally sensitive.”
Northeast Pressure Vessel Testing
Northeast Pressure Vessel Testing was founded in 1999 by Frank H. Finn, Jr. Frank had worked under the direction of his father, Frank H. Finn, Sr. (founder of FIBA Technologies, Inc.) for many years, learning about the industry first-hand from this leading global provider of gas containment equipment and services. In 1993, FIBA was the first to receive a DOT exemption to use ultrasonic testing on cylinders.
Frank Jr. spent many years leading up to the approval working closely with the research and development team on this innovative, new technology. FIBA was the pioneer in developing ultrasonic testing to requalify compressed gas cylinders. Originally, Northeast Pressure Vessel Testing (NEPVT) was used as a model site to showcase the equipment and technology, and to provide customer training which led to a full-fledged business, specializing in ultrasonic testing and other requalification services with compressed gas cylinder maintenance. NEPVT is committed to advancements in technology, passing through efficient, precise approved testing methods to its customers.
Recognizing the many advantages that ultrasonic testing could deliver, in 1999, NEPVT was formed to meet a growing need in the region for retesting of compressed gas cylinders using the hydrostatic water jacket testing method and introducing the benefits of using the ultrasonic technology to recertify compressed gas cylinders.
Today, at the Westborough, MA location, NEPVT provides cylinder retest and maintenance for the compressed gas industry, both large industry leaders and small privately owned businesses.
Frank Jr.’s experience at FIBA and exposure to the compressed gas industry has shaped his philosophy, which extends throughout the entire NEPVT team, allowing the company to service its customers through attention to detail, appropriate personnel training and meeting customers’ needs.
Ratermann Manufacturing
Ratermann Manufacturing is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024. The company was founded in 1999 by George Ratermann. Like many in the industry, George grew up in the industry, with his father having worked for Union Carbide, specifically selling the Linde Power Supply line.
Later on, George worked summers at Baker’s Welding Supply, painting cylinders and helping to fix torches in the repair facility. So, he was destined to work in the industry from a young age.
In 1999, Ratermann launched Ratermann Manufacturing, Inc., which was followed later by the launch of Ratermann Cryogenics. The company was founded on the ideals instilled in George through his summers working with his dad and in the shop at Baker’s Welding.
“Our company is based on listening to our customers and doing what our customer needs,” says CEO George Ratermann. “Every single thing we do, all of our processes, are really all geared around a very simple thing. We all have one objective. We do what we need to do for the customer and understand that that’s the reason we are here.”
Ratermann has become a mainstay within GAWDA, known throughout the industry for its reliability. The company’s tagline is “Reliably Ratermann” for good reason. The company’s website says, “At the core of Ratermann are three principles that guide our work every day: reliable people, reliable solutions, and reliable delivery.”
Concludes Ratermann, “We really enjoy the fact that our customers are long-term customers. Gas distributors are in it for the long term, just like we are. So, my message to those customers would be, ‘Thank you so much for all the support that they have given us.’ They have given us the opportunity to come up with the next new products and opportunities in the industry and to be able to bring step-change and mode-change type products to the industry and that all comes from their support and buying products from us.”
As the company enters its next 25 years, it is well-positioned to continue on its massive growth trajectory. It has a wonderful leadership team in place, it continues to expand, and it has a loyal, satisfied customer base. The sky is the limit.
WIKUS Saw Technology, Corp.
In 1999, WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. was founded to mark the beginning of WIKUS Saegenfabrik Gmbh’s presence in the U.S. WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. aims to provide high-quality saw blades and cutting solutions to North American industries.
Over the past quarter century in the U.S., and since its parent company was founded in Germany in 1958, WIKUS has grown through its commitment to innovation, quality, and customer service.
“WIKUS is continually investing in research and development,” says Markus Lusch, Chief Financial and Operations Officer. “We have been able to offer cutting-edge products that meet the evolving needs of our customers. Our strategic partnerships, focus on employee development, and expanding our distribution network have also played critical roles in our growth.”
Today, WIKUS Saw Technology has two center locations across the United States, including its main office in Addison, IL. Globally, WIKUS Saegenfabrik Gmbh has subsidiaries and partners in over 70 countries. WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. employs a dedicated team of professionals whose numbers reflect our commitment to serving our extensive customer base.
In ten years, the company envisions WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. continuing to lead the industry with innovative solutions. “We plan to expand our product offerings, enhance our digital capabilities, and strengthen our global presence. Our focus will remain on delivering superior quality and service to our customers.”
To commemorate the company’s 25th anniversary, WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. will hold a customer-focused celebration in September. It will also promote the milestone through its website, email campaigns and through social media platforms.
Concludes Lusch, “Our 25th anniversary is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, the trust of our customers, and the support of our partners. We are grateful for the journey so far and excited about the future. We remain committed to innovation, quality, and excellence in everything we do.”
20 Years
Everlast Welders
Supplier
Everlast Welders was founded in San Francisco in early 2004 as a family-owned and privately held company with one goal in mind: to be a significant ecommerce player bringing to market inverter-based technology equipment for welding and plasma cutting machines as well as small generators.
“We knew we had to offer state-of-the-art inverter technology, easy to use features, and a great warranty, all at prices everyone could afford,” says Director of Sales Norm Sted, Jr. “This was a time when the Internet was becoming the new shopping location, open 24/7.”
Over the next two decades, Everlast Power Products has evolved into a multi-national company with distributorships in many countries. While the Everlast name isn’t as old as some of the biggest names in the welding industry, it took a huge step forward in 2008 toward being competitive in price, product performance, quality, and service when we began to work on the release of the first generation of “Power” series IGBT platform inverter welders and plasma cutters.
Says Sted, “Our company is quickly heading to a new level of digital, microprocessor-controlled welding product. Many of these products have already hit the market with significant interest and a high rate of sales. Our goal is to have our customers take a detailed look at the full range of products we offer, and make Everlast their next welder, plasma and laser equipment. We will work every day to earn your business with our technology features, performance, warranty, and customer service.”
He continues, “Everyone at Everlast is very proud to be a part of this company and proud of what we have been able to achieve with the help or our distributors. However, we are even more excited about our future together, with our many partners throughout the welding and cutting industries. We are thankful for, and honor our partnerships with AWS, GAWDA, IWDC and AIWD Members, and I-car as they help us bring more of our technology and service to more customers in the years ahead!”
To learn more, read the full-length story on buyersguide.gawdamedia.com.
15 Years
Cryoworks, Inc.
Supplier
Cryoworks, Inc. was founded in 2009 as the classic ideal of a startup. Founder Tim Mast Sr. was working as a salesperson from his home office in the cryogenic piping industry. His wife, co-founder Donna Mast, was also at home and got to see the product and the industry-first hand.
Tim was helping a customer who was having issues with the products and services that his previous employer was providing. “I got off the phone that day and Donna said to me, ‘Why don’t we do this ourselves?’” says Mast. “So, we started planning it and about a month later we were doing it.”
The company began as a reseller, selling piping to customers out of the Masts’ house. A year later, one of the couple’s rental homes became empty and CryoWorks moved its operations next door. Two years later, CryoWorks transitioned from a reseller to manufacturing its own piping. Their company has grown and moved, time and again.
Fifteen years later, Cryoworks has become a major player in the cryogenic piping industry. The company continues to operate on the tenets that the Masts, who have since transitioned out of the day-to-day operations of the company set forth when they started the company in their living room. “Make it Happen, Make it Easy, Make it Fun.” Those tenets have allowed the company to achieve heights that the Masts could only imagine 15 years ago.
In 2024, Cryoworks was acquired by Crane ChemPharma and Energy.
“CryoWorks Inc. is a significant player in the field of vacuum insulated pipe systems, showcasing a steadfast commitment to addressing the challenges within the cryogenics and hydrogen industries,” CP&E said in the statement announcing the acquisition. “Their trusted and reliable brand perfectly complements Crane’s portfolio of highly engineered products. Stay tuned for groundbreaking advancements!”
Tekno Valves North America
Supplier
Tekno Valves North America (TVNA) was formed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2009 by Jim Guitreau and Greg Leumas. At the time, the company was founded to market Tekno Valves to the Chlorine industry for water and wastewater treatment. However, it became immediately apparent that, in addition to the chlorine marketplace, there was significant opportunity to market a high-quality cylinder valve to the compressed gas industry through both independent and major gas companies.
“Our evolution and growth have been mainly driven by two things,” says Justin Guitreau, Executive Vice President. “Our people, and the passing of the baton to the next generation. TVNA has a group of dedicated team members who collectively buy into the mission of the company, ‘To market a cylinder valve of the highest quality with customer service and expertise that is unrivaled.’ In addition, the next generation has brought energy and new ideas into the business that will help it evolve and grow for years to come.”
TVNA operates on four core values that have allowed it to thrive for 15 years and will drive it forward in the future: unrivaled customer service, prompt delivery, technical expertise, and competitive pricing.
“Through these pillars, we strive every day to be the best partner for our customers,” Guitreau concludes.
10 Years
DDS (Distributor Data Solutions)
In 2014, Dale P. Holt owned a $350 million electrical distributorship called Codale Electrical Supply, Inc. Matt Christensen was the head of IT for Codale, which was one of the first distributors in the industry to launch an e-commerce website.
“After spending nearly a year integrating to our ERP, designing, creating copy and adding products, we launched. Our customers immediately complained that they couldn’t find anything due to the fact that the product information was almost non-existent,” says Christensen, now President of DDS (Distributor Data Solutions). “A small percentage of the products had images, most had poor descriptions, and there were nearly no valuable attributes. There were no sources of ecommerce data back then, so we hired a guy to manually copy and paste product data into Excel and upload them to the website. It took him a year to create 11k products. This seems like a lot, but the problem was that we sold over 300,000 products, and we wanted them all online. This was our ‘ah-ha!’ moment of the importance not only of product data, but that there had to be a better way.”
Holt and Christensen realized that there had to be a better way. The two decided to launch DDS to solve the many ecommerce product data challenges that distributors and manufacturers faced and continue to face today.
“The early years were quite a challenge, as there were not that many distributors who were selling online,” says Christensen. “We initially built our product delivery around our API, thinking that distributors would easily be able to connect, and they wouldn’t have to store terabytes of documents, images and videos, plus the data would always be up to date. We later found that the ecommerce platform providers were unwilling to spend the time and resources to integrate with our API, so we were forced into exporting our data in all kinds of crazy custom formats. This actually ended up being a key differentiator for us. We now have over 300 unique integrations that feed data into all different types of ERPs, PIMs and E-commerce platforms.”
Today, DDS has expanded into seven industries. The company is headquartered in Salt Lake City and continues to operate with less than 30 employees.
Says Christensen, “We want to continue as the leader in product data in each of the industries that we serve. We don’t want to just be the source of the data, we want to continue making the exchange of the data between manufacturers, distributors, software companies and end users faster and easier. We have recently launched our new platform, Acadia, and are now launching our Acadia AI products to help solve all kinds of data challenges that manufacturers and distributors face, through the use of AI. The future of our company is our new platform. This will give our customers more transparency and control over the data that they need most.”
He concludes, “We greatly appreciate the support of GAWDA and all of friends, partners and customers in the gas & welding industry.”
Gulf Gases & Technology
Distributor
In 2014, brothers Chuck and Mike Wilson started Gulf Gases & Technology as a small specialty gas laboratory. Unfortunately, in 2019, Chuck Wilson passed away from heart complications, leaving Mike Wilson in sole control of the company. But in January of 2021, Clayton Bowman left Praxair after 15 years to partner with Mike in order to help “create a modern, expanding business.”
“We’ve focused on slow, concentrated growth and specialty gas development,” says Bowman, who today serves as President of Gulf Gases & Technology. “Our aim is to remain a regional technical resource for our customers, including independent distributors that like to dabble in specialty gas sales. Our customers have a direct line to the laboratory, meaning there’s no waiting for someone to call back with answers. It’s been a winning strategy for us, so we’ll continue to operate this way.”
Ten years since the company was founded, Gulf Gases now has six employees. And with the way that technology continues to rapidly expand, it’s a safe bet that ten years from now, the company will continue to look different.
“Technology keeps advancing rapidly, and that makes it easy for a company with ample cash to get into the specialty gas manufacturing business. We have to work harder to retain our custom gas blending chemists, luckily we’re happy to do it,” says Bowman. “Ten years from now, it’s likely we’ll have a new location since we are on-track to outgrow our space in a few years. There are a few markets we are entering soon, so that’s exciting.”
He concludes, “We come to work with honest and respectful hearts every day. It’s about family and friends working together to build each other up. Shout out to all our vendors and organizations that have helped along the way. We are very blessed and excited for what the future holds.”
5 Years
Industrial Gas Consultants
Rudy De La Fuente founded Industrial Gas Consultants in 2019 as a part time venture to take care of one client. That client, Foro Energy, remains a client to this day.
“Thanks to them, and a whole lot of other people in the industrial gas sector, I continue to enjoy my job and it is not a part time venture anymore,” says De La Fuente. “IGC was really started after the severe freeze Texas a few years back. We were out of power in San Antonio for four days. I had so many calls from people looking for help with industrial gas supply. It really gave me the confidence to move forward with the concept of IGC. I will admit that when I first named this company, I thought I would be doing more consulting. Turns out the clients would prefer for me to take it off their hands and just get the gas to their site. Now clients include industrial gas majors, large regional distributors and large end users.”
De La Fuente credits his large network for IGC’s success over its first five years. He specifically credits God, his wife, Steve Castiglione, and Air Products as “key players.” But, he continues, “Growth has been due to many people within my network, those that that know I have helped them in the past and continue to call for added support. In the short history of IGC, I feel the biggest differentiator is the ease of doing business with us. So much red tape exists with the large distributors that makes them slow to respond. IGC can make a decision and propose a solution in a matter of hours and not days.”
The industry trend toward hydrogen and nitrogen has been a major boon for IGC, and one that De La Fuente credits for his company’s early success.
“The industry, in my opinion, hasn’t changed much in the last five years, with the exception of the interest in hydrogen and CO2,” he says. “I noticed this trend happening about three years ago and I started to study the market back then to prepare for the oncoming tsunami we are seeing now. I am glad I was able to see the signs of market change back then because I feel that we are way ahead of most when it comes to hydrogen and carbon capture. Covid enabled me to succeed, because when everyone was focused on oxygen, it opened so many doors on the nitrogen and argon side for us. Since many of the majors were allocating all their resources for oxygen, I was able to flourish on the nitrogen and argon side.”
