Author: GAWDA MEDIA

Nearly 650 members and guests of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association came together on May 4 – 6 to enjoy great speakers, collect industry information, network and reconnect with friends and colleagues from all over the country at the GAWDA Spring Management Conference in Minneapolis. As has become custom at GAWDA events, the 2019 SMC offered attendees indispensable value and information that could be brought back to their companies and applied at all levels of the operation. President Brad Peterson was able to combine insightful educational sessions with opportunities to network with like-minded professionals from across the industry in…

GAWDA members celebrate milestone anniversaries and share lessons learned during their years of service to the industry by Steve Guglielmo GAWDA has marked 2019 “The Year of Service.” For this issue, Welding & Gases Today interviewed those GAWDA members who were celebrating milestone anniversaries about their history of service to the gases and welding industry. Learn about how these members have helped shape our industry and how they will apply the lessons learned from the past to continue to serve the industry in the future. 220 Years PFERD, Inc. 115 Years ESAB Welding & Cutting Read More Federated Insurance Read…

While Tekno Valves North America incorporated in 2009, Greg Leumas and Jim Guitreau actually began selling Tekno Valves products in North America four years earlier. Guitreau and Leumas were working together at another company that sold chlorine valves when they met a Tekno Valves representative at a Chlorine Institute Meeting. “We started talking to them about representing their product in North America,” says Leumas, president of Tekno Valves North America. “We began selling the product in 2005.” Four years later, the company that they had been working for was being sold and Leumas and Guitreau decided to strike out on…

Global Calibration Gases Managing Partner Ray Borzio started a consulting business called Special Gas Systems and Technology (now Special Gas Services Inc.) in 1993 to serve the needs of the independent gases and welding supplies distributors desiring entrance into specialty gases manufacturing. . A small training lab was set up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and interest grew rapidly. In 2004, the school was moved to Fort Myers, FL at the then corporate headquarters of CryoVation LLC. This gave Special Gas a forum to teach high end production techniques with hands-on lab demonstrations. In March of 2009 Global Calibration Gases was formed…

CryoWorks, Inc. began ten years ago after an idea from Donna Mast. Tim Mast, CEO and owner of CryoWorks, was working as a salesperson from his home office.  Since Donna was also home with their children, the entire family was gaining first-hand experience in the cryogenic piping industry. 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…

American Gas Products is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2019. However, the company’s roots trace back to 1978, when Louis D’Auria purchased a local welding supply distributor and started American Gas Products. Together with his son, Mike D’Auria, Louis grew the company until 1999, when it was sold to BOC gases. “After we sold to BOC, I became the New England business manager for BOC,” says Mike D’Auria, president of AGP Helium. “I worked in that position for five years until 2004.” In 2004, American Gas products was reformed as a partnership between Louis, Mike and Jim Hermetet. “The original…

The core division of Ratermann Manufacturing is celebrating their 20th anniversary. Founded by George Ratermann out of the shed of his house, the company has now grown thanks to the support of customers and employees. Ratermann manufacturing opened its doors with two parts to sell and now houses over 20,000 individual parts and supplies for cryogenic and high-pressure gases. George reflects back on Ratermann’s growth, “It is hard to believe we are 20 years old. The only way this was able to happen is from the relationships and support of our great customers and the dedication from our employees that…

Hydrostat, Inc. was founded by Stacy Schraut in 1999 with three employees, a straight truck and approximately 7,000 sq. ft. of leased warehouse space. “The original employees were invaluable in the startup, as was the mentoring I received from my former employers, partners and the support of my family,” says Schraut. From the very beginning, Hydrostat has been careful to make sure that it has maintained a manageable growth plan. In the last two decades, the company has grown through expanding its territory and diversification. In 2008, Hydrostat expanded into an adjacent building, adding 20,000 sq. ft. of space to…

The Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC) was officially formed on January 1, 1994. However, the IWDC’s story goes back much further than that, to the formation of the Independent Welding Distributors Association, which was formed in 1948. The I.W.D.A. was a buying group which, by the early 1980’s, became the largest unified welding distributor organization in the western United States, Mexico and Canada. At the 1992 annual meeting, the main topic focused on defining what I.W.D.A. needed to do to be most effective for its Members. A steering committee reported on the concept of forming a “Cooperative,” and a unanimous…

Trendex Inc. was started by Soumitra Mukherjee in 1984. Within a few months of the company’s founding, Soumitra’s brother, Bob Mukherjee, joined the company and the two began developing software for the wholesale distribution industry. Shortly afterwards, in 1985, they were asked to develop a system for the welding industry by several welding supply distributors who knew Soumitra. They decided to develop the software for the welding industry also. Unfortunately, in 1991, Bob passed away in a car accident. “We were just starting to expand into the U.S. with our software for the welding industry, Gastrend, and had to put that on hold…