THE QUESTION
As the industry and technology within the industry continue to grow and evolve, what do you think the innovation (either here already or coming soon) will be that will shape the next couple of decades for our industry, as GAWDA continues its march towards 100 years, and why?
President, Eric Wood
O.E. Meyer Company
I believe the innovations that will most shape our industry over the coming decades are rooted in artificial intelligence and automation. AI is already emerging as a powerful tool to help us forecast customer needs, route trucks more efficiently, and better manage inventory. In our businesses, these are areas that have historically relied on manual oversight and reactive decision-making. By using predictive analytics and real-time data, we’ll be able to anticipate demand before customers even place an order, helping to minimize runouts and optimize deliveries for both cost and service.
Looking further ahead, I see autonomous trucks becoming part of our industry. While adoption may not happen overnight, the technology is advancing quickly, and when paired with AI-driven routing and scheduling, it has the potential to dramatically reshape how bulk gases, cylinder gases, and welding supplies are delivered. Autonomous trucks, combined with AI-driven routing and scheduling, will improve safety, provide greater route efficiency, and a better customer experience.
As GAWDA marches toward its 100th anniversary, these technologies won’t just improve efficiency; they’ll redefine the customer experience and help ensure that our industry continues to thrive in a faster, smarter, and more connected future.
President-Elect, Allison Earlbeck
Earlbeck Gases & Technologies
At the risk of not sounding very creative, I’d say AI. Early on, we saw some very obvious use cases, but as the technology and its knowledge base continue to grow, I believe it will shape our world in ways we can’t even imagine over the next decade. We’ll all be faced with some tough ethical choices, like how far to push automation and where that line crosses into displacing workers.
At the same time, human strengths such as building trust, conflict resolution, and understanding the nuance of emotion will only grow in value. AI will also force many organizations to rethink their go-to-market strategies, as some of the “value-add” benefits that once set them apart may no longer be relevant in an AI-driven landscape.
First Vice President, Kevin Falconer
Minneapolis Oxygen
For me, it’s largely about utilizing current AI advancements (and keeping up with the rapid change) and current tech available to us. I don’t think the next 10–20 years are about abandoning our current models. It’s more about augmenting them. The gases will diversify, customer processes will digitize, logistics will get predictive, and safety/sustainability will drive choices. If we continue to embrace tech where it adds reliability, efficiency, or customer stickiness, we’ll be well positioned to retain our current customer base and grow at the same time. I hope all of our GAWDA members are able to do the same, which will be great for us as an organization
Vice President, Brad Dunn
CK Supply
My faOne of the most impactful innovations shaping the next few decades of the gases and welding industry will be the further integration of automation and digitalization into core operations for better and faster decision-making. We continue to see opportunities to introduce robotics and software solutions across our business units and our customers that can improve safety, efficiency, and traceability. It is also going to be exciting to see how our raw material product supply chain evolves around CO2, atmospheric gases, Helium, and others with new and non-traditional sources beginning to emerge. At the same time, any further global push toward clean energy will allow our industry to play a central role in production, storage, and distribution during and after this transition. The future will always hold uncertainty, but the responsibility of leadership requires looking over the horizon and preparing for what’s next. One thing that won’t change is relationships and customer service remaining the bedrock of our industry, just as they have for GAWDA’s first century!
Vice President, Justin Johnson
Keen Compressed Gas Company
The easy answer is Artificial Intelligence (AI), as we see it already starting to change our industry and every other industry worldwide. Leadership within the GAWDA network have the daunting task of trying to figure out how to utilize AI within our businesses while keeping a close eye on critical systems. Our industry is staring at a pivotal moment, as we explore enhanced technologies and see a generational transition that will help us with some of these new technologies. While we embrace new technologies such as AI, we must be ever more careful toward security, data protection, and non-disclosure arrangements. I honestly feel like the future of the next 20 years is at our fingertips, and those that invest, embrace, and educate themselves the best on these inevitable changes will come out on top.
Vice President, Jason Kirby
Central McGowan, Inc.
I believe Artificial Intelligence is poised to transform how we conduct business over the next several decades, in profound ways:
- Operational Efficiencies: AI-Driven automation is streamlining workflows, reducing manual tasks, and enabling faster decision-making. One example is intelligent document processing in finance.
- Customer Experience: AI is enhancing personalization at scale. Through advanced data analytics and natural language processing.
- Strategic Decision Making: With AI-powered insights, leaders can make more informed decisions. Machine learning models can identify patterns and trends that might be missed by traditional analysis.
- Innovation Acceleration: AI is enabling the creation of entirely new business models.
- Workforce: AI will automate certain roles. I believe the future workforce will be augmented between AI agents that will collaborate between humans and intelligent systems.
As we look at implementing AI to drive our business forward and provide the best customer experience, it will be important for us to adopt it responsibly ensuring transparency, fairness, and alignment with our organizational values. AI is exciting and a little scary at the same time, but I believe organizations that embrace AI strategically will gain a competitive edge.
Vice President, John Hill
Willard C. Starcher
I suspect I’m the oldest member of the GAWDA Board. That means, at my age, I’m not always fond of progress or change. Innovation and improvements in technology will come to GAWDA whether I like it or not.
A few weeks ago, I received several fraud alerts from a major bank that I had no relationship with. For several hours, I attempted to contact their Fraud Alert phone number, the Corporate Headquarters, and a local Branch office. I never did get to talk to a human. Progress should not be “Press 1, listen to recorded music for 30 minutes, and then be disconnected.”
I hope, in our future, when “Joe the welder” calls for a box of electrodes, that he can still talk to a salesperson. People will still buy from people.
