Author: GAWDA MEDIA

85 Year anniversary for Purity Cylinder Gases In 1938, Edward Butterfield, Glenn G. Garman and Howard Sweet organized Purity Cylinder Gases. The company was incorporated into the state of Michigan in October of that year, and the first ever store was opened at 721 S. Division Avenue in Grand Rapids. In the mid-1960s, three of the distributor’s employees became new officers within the company. GlennDeVries, Ken Nyhuis, and Don Wyngarden purchased the company from the original founders. These three officers began to build onto the solid foundation left by Butterfield, Garman and Sweet. “The second generation really started that growth process,” says Doug Nyhuis, President…

West Penn Laco Celebrates 95 Years West Penn Laco was founded by Andrew Seibert in 1928 in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty Section. Originally founded as West Penn Lacquer Company, the company was a supplier of automotive lacquer coatings to the Pittsburgh Market. Even 95 years later, automotive refinish products remain a significant component of West Penn Laco’s business. In 1947, Alex MacKay, Andrew Seibert’s son-in-law, and Bill Richards purchased the controlling interest in the company. Ever since, the business has remained in the family, with Alex’s son, Howard MacKay serving as President today, while his grandson, Scott MacKay serves as General…

Sutton-Garten Co. Sutton-Garten Company is celebrating its 105th anniversary in 2023. The company began in 1918 when Charles Sutton and Ray Garten, two Union Carbide employees, were given the right to establish a Prest-O-Lite distributorship for the state of Indiana in Indianapolis. Aside from selling small acetylene cylinders and gas equipment, Sutton-Garten also installed gas lighting systems on cars and trucks and maintained a welding repair shop. “We have been able to grow and evolve the company by embracing the changes in our market,” says President Pat Garten. “Both new products from our vendors and changes in our customer needs.…

ILMO Products Company 110 Year Anniversary Like most companies that have lasted for 110 years, ILMO Products Company bears little resemblance to the company founded in 1913. When D.O. Floreth and his father, Henry Floreth, decided to open their doors, the company was a wholesaler of automobile accessories called Illinois Tire and Vulcanizing Company. Later, as the company evolved, it began going by Illinois Tire & Battery. It was through the automobile industry that today’s ILMO Products entered the gas business.  “[ILMO] got into the gas business through the carbide acetylene headlights for automobiles,” says Executive Vice President Liz Standley. “We…

GAWDA Members Commemorate Milestone Anniversaries in 2023 Congratulations to all GAWDA members celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2023. GAWDA members represent the best-of-the-best companies in the gases and welding industries. Each year in the Summer issue, we recognize those GAWDA Members celebrating milestone anniversaries. In the Q3 issue’s President’s Column, GAWDA President Robert Anders explored the three C’s of longevity. We want to add a fourth C for this column: Congratulations to all those GAWDA members celebrating anniversaries this year! And if you have a milestone anniversary coming up in 2024 and would like to be featured in this column next…

Norton Abrasives In 1858, Franklin Norton and his older cousin, Frederick Hancock opened a pottery shop in Worcester, Massachusetts, called the Water Street Pottery Shop. In 1873, one of the employees of the shop invented a grinding wheel that would set in motion the next century and a half of history. In 1885, seven Worcester entrepreneurs bought the patent for the grinding wheel as well as the company name and so, Norton Company was born. The founders purchased land in the city’s Greendale section, which was then farmland, and built their first grinding wheel plant. Norton has occupied that land…

The 2023 GAWDA Annual Convention Gala Photobooth Sponsored by Astaras

GAWDA’s Board and Volunteer Committees Meet Ahead of the AC The GAWDA Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Committee chairs arrived early for a full day of planning meetings ahead of the official start of this year’s Annual Convention. The Board and Committees continue to work relentlessly on behalf of GAWDA members to ensure that you receive the maximum benefit and value for your GAWDA membership. This meeting saw John Tapley named as the co-chair of the Member Services Committee, while Liz Letke was named co-chair of the industry’s insurance committee.

Business of Convention Begins with Full Day of Networking Following a wildly successful welcome, the business of the 2023 GAWDA Annual Convention kicked off with the return of the Networking 360 event. The event featured 150 GAWDA members (100 suppliers and 50 distributors) meeting in a “speed dating” format, as members met in 5-minute sessions. The event took place in the Haleakala Pre-Function area, just outside the Ballroom, as members were able to soak up some of the beautiful Hawaiian sunshine while meeting new potential partners. Then, the networking kept on rolling right into the Contact Booth Program, which took…