The purpose of Ask Your Board is to ask common business questions that all GAWDA members might be dealing with and to see how GAWDA’s Board of Directors are dealing with these issues within their own companies. To submit a question for GAWDA’s Board Members to consider, please email [email protected]
THE QUESTION: This year’s GAWDA Theme is “The Human Advantage in the Digital Age.” How have you adopted/utilized AI tools within your company? What does “The Human Advantage” mean to you and how does it differentiate GAWDA Members?
Allison Earlbeck
President, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies
We are using AI to capture and preserve industry know-how. This has been especially helpful, as tenured employees are nearing retirement, so we can capture those decades of experience to train our current team and future employees.
The Human Advantage is just that…the things that only humans can do. AI can write a sales script, but you still have to deliver it. AI can coach you through an employee issue, but you’re the one who has to lead.
This year’s theme is about leaning into what makes us human and celebrating the heart of our industry that is built on relationships, trust, and integrity.
KEVIN FALCONER
President-Elect, CM2 Supply
We have utilized AI lightly, both departmentally and individually, thus far. We have a strategy moving forward on how we’d like to use it more seamlessly across the organization, but we aren’t there yet. We’ve identified some possible partners we’re comfortable working with to help guide us to where we’d like to be. That process is ongoing at the moment, though.
The human advantage, when I think of it in relation to AI, is our ability to contextualize and understand nuance in different situations. But, as humans making our way in the world, it’s our ability to connect with people and create relationships. That’s really the essence of GAWDA and what makes it such a powerful association for members who choose to be active participants.
NICOLE KISSLER
First Vice President, Norco
At Norco, we’ve begun integrating AI in meaningful, practical ways—one application is our new Employee Owner Assistant, which supports internal communication, and through major productivity improvements within our medical revenue cycle. These tools help us work smarter, but they don’t replace what truly sets us apart. To me, the Human Advantage is all about heart, personal connection, and the desire to serve others—qualities no digital tool can replicate. And, in my experience, GAWDA embodies that spirit; this association has always been rooted in building real relationships, the kind that only humans can create and sustain.
JUSTIN JOHNSON
Second Vice President, Keen Compressed Gas Company
Keen is slowly adopting the concept and functionality of using AI for day-to-day tasks. While AI does not take away the “human advantage” in most cases, we are finding it helpful in tasks related to reporting, information gathering, meeting summaries, document drafting, and other similar tasks. I think that as our company grows and becomes more comfortable with the chosen platforms of AI, we will find more use points in the future.
ERIC WOOD
First Past President, O.E. Meyer Co.
At O.E. Meyer, we’ve begun embracing AI as a tool to enhance, not replace the way we operate. We’re using it to support logistics planning, forecast customer demand, streamline communications, and improve internal processes. That said, AI is only as effective as the people behind it.
To me, “The Human Advantage” is what separates our industry from others. It’s the relationships, experience, and ability to solve real-world problems in real time. It’s a driver recognizing a change in a customer’s needs before systems or historical data can predict it, a salesperson identifying process improvements on the shop floor, or a technician doing what it takes to keep a customer’s equipment up and running. Our members provide more than products, we deliver expertise, service, and trust. AI can support that, but it cannot replicate it.
The real opportunity isn’t choosing between technology and people, it’s combining them. We are committed to embracing technology to make us better, but our people will always remain our most important and effective means of serving the customer. That is the Human Advantage.
BEN BLACK
Vice President, Butler Gas Products
We are using AI in a practical way- to make our team faster and more effective, not to replace them. It helps us become safer, build better strategies, and make better decisions. It’s a tool that sharpens how we operate.
But in our business, relationships still win. AI can’t walk into a customer plant, solve a problem on the spot, or build trust over time. Our people do that. To me, “The Human Advantage” is combining technology with experience, instinct, and accountability. AI provides insight- but people create value. That’s what separates GAWDA members. We are local, responsive, and hands-on. In an increasingly digital world, that human element isn’t going away- it’s becoming the differentiator.
JOSH DAVIDHIZAR
Vice President, Indiana Oxygen Company
At Indiana Oxygen, we have intentionally delayed widespread AI implementation to allow us to learn how and which AI technologies are being implemented across multiple companies to better understand what we want out of these technologies. As we all know, technology and the various AI platforms are constantly changing so we have chosen to enlist the help of an AI consultant to narrow down the applications and potential uses. This consultant will also help us solidify our AI strategy and will work with us to implement specific tools to address pain points and areas of optimization within the business.
In thinking about how we were going to utilize AI within our business, we first addressed with our employees the “why” behind any potential AI adoption. Our employees had a healthy amount of anxiousness when talking about AI tools; however, we made it very clear from the beginning we were not looking to replace our knowledgeable employee base with AI but rather leverage technology to eliminate repetitious tasks to allow our employees more time to utilize their minds to handle bigger issues and improve the ease of doing business with Indiana Oxygen. To me, this is the spirit of “The Human Advantage.” AI is a great tool; however, our employees have the experience, perspective, and the emotional intelligence to best utilize the outputs to drive positive, value-driven interactions with our customers and vendors.
Additionally, our industry has and will continue to rely heavily on people—automation cannot drive a route truck, roll a cylinder, or fill a bulk tank…yet, at least. Based on the regulations around the products we deliver and how we deliver them, our drivers provide daily hands-on service for our customers. We are uniquely positioned in executing tasks, many of our customers don’t have the knowledge or credentials that make us as an industry extremely valuable. In my opinion, these factors, among others, are the strength and driving force behind our differentiation, positively positioning us as an industry in setting the standard for delivering excellence.
TIMM EVANS
Vice President, CK Supply, Inc.
At CK Supply, we view AI as a practical tool that enhances efficiency, consistency, and overall execution across our business. We’ve integrated AI into several areas, particularly to streamline administrative tasks such as contract reviews and internal processes, allowing our team to focus more on customer-facing activities.
A key example is within our procurement department, where we’ve implemented NETSTOCK AI to better align sales demand with inventory levels. By leveraging this technology, we are more accurately forecasting what products are needed when, and ensuring we have the right inventory, in the right quantities, to support our customers. This has led to measurable improvements, including higher order fulfillment rates and a reduction in back orders. The result is stronger customer service, less administrative burden on both sides, and a more seamless overall experience. Ultimately, while AI is helping us operate smarter, it is our team’s ability to apply that insight and deliver for the customer that drives real value.
The Human Advantage is where CK Supply—and GAWDA members as a whole—truly stand apart. While AI helps us make faster and more informed decisions, it is our PEOPLE who build relationships, and deliver solutions tailored to each customer’s operation. Our team understands the urgency behind each delivery, the importance of uptime, knows what it takes for each customer’s business requirements in a way technology alone cannot.
ERICH HAUN
Vice President, Haun Welding Supply
At Haun Welding Supply, we’ve embraced AI tools like Conversight to help us analyze data more efficiently, but we’ve never lost sight of what truly drives our success — our people. The Human Advantage, to us, means that no algorithm or automation can replace employees who genuinely embody the Haun Values: Helpful, Humble, Honest and Heart Driven. Culture, integrity, and relationships are things you can’t code. We view AI simply as a tool — one that helps us work smarter, keep back-end costs in check, and free our team to focus on what they do best: serving customers and building lasting partnerships. In an industry built on trust, GAWDA members who invest in the right people will always have an edge that technology alone can never replicate.
DAVE LAMBERT
Vice President, Miller Electric
At a very high level, functional teams within our organization are exploring and implementing tools that either provide specific benefit to our customers, drive internal efficiencies, support growth, or a combination of the above by allowing our teams to focus their energy on the most impactful elements of their roles. This obviously looks very different from accounting to marketing to engineering to customer service, but the lens remains the same.
To me, the Human Advantage is about combining the curiosity, creativity, and judgment of people with technologies that amplify those strengths. I started my career in accounting and still value the discipline of data, but I’ve learned that the biggest wins come from working with people where ideas are challenged, relationships are built, and better outcomes emerge. In many ways, technology is like the playbook, but people are the players… execution, trust, and teamwork are what ultimately win the game. That’s what differentiates ITW Welding and GAWDA members: we pair technical solutions with human insight and partnership to create real value for our customers. In a digital age, that combination is what sets us apart.
