Author: Diane Stirling

GAWDA distributor and supplier members generally know their stuff. They know their customers, they’re aware of the newest models of goods on the market and they understand the ins and outs and operational necessities of the gases and welding distribution business. Because they’re so involved with the day-to-day, though, they may not be as up-to-date as they’d like on the myriad issues that envelope the industry. Still, there are legal, safety and regulatory requirements and demands that are integral to their business functions and are an essential part of their operations. Those matters frequently change or have updates. That’s where…

GAWDA’s quarterly membership magazine, Welding & Gases Today, has been recognized with a regional award for magazine redesign in the annual competition of the American Society of Business Publication Editors organization. W&GT earned a bronze “Azbee” award for excellence in the society’s Northeast-New England regional competition. The redesign of the magazine was developed by GAWDA Media’s Creative Director Robin (Turk) Barnes. She retooled the magazine’s overall graphic presentation with a new magazine logo, a new look for the cover, new cohesive interior page elements and colorations, and an overall presentation that modernized and solidified the GAWDA brand and image as…

For business owners with a succession gap or otherwise at a transitional crossroads, creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) structure is a business option with work-culture appeal and operating advantages. Restructuring as an ESOP can create a win-win-win solution for the company as well as its stockholders and employees, ESOP advocates say. Owners who aren’t turning the keys over to a next generation, or selling to an outside buyer, discover that ESOPs may let them “pay it forward.” The format can be the means to continue the company legacy, maintain its culture, secure the jobs of loyal employees and…

And what happens on the sales floor can be fully contingent on the kind of greeting received, the availability of the sought-after merchandise, the conditions of the showroom floor, the expertise of the salespeople who serve, the competitiveness of pricing and an array of other factors, including the fickleness of customers, as distributors well know. Some of those elements have a direct effect on the sale; other times, not so much. Buying decisions can be impulsive rather than carefully considered. Now and then, the elements that fuel a purchase are more esoteric in nature, hinging on the strength of a…