Author: Steve Guglielmo

A-OX Welding Supply owners The Elliott Family were honored as the 2022 Boyd Hopkins Sr. Excellence in Family Business Award by the Prairie Family Business Association. The award will be presented on November 15th. Prairie Family Business Association is an outreach center of the Beacom School of Business at the University of South Dakota. The Boyd Hopkins Sr. Excellence in Family Business Award in Sioux Falls that has been presented for 19 years to a Sioux Falls area family business. The Boyd Hopkins Sr. Excellence in Family Business Award was established in 2003 to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of…

Coastal Welding Supply is providing its client, Gulk Copper and Manufacturing, bulk oxygen as part of its historic renovation of the Battleship Texas. Click here to see a video about the restoration. The Battleship Texas was the first battleship to be declared a U.S. National Historial Landmark. It is currently dry docked in Galveston, Texas, for repairs and restoration.

According to an article from the IWDC, Jim Earlbeck was honored with the Bob Jackson Memorial Award at IWDC’s November 2-4 Owners’ Meeting in Park City, Utah. Bob Jackson played an integral part in the formation of the Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC). The honor is bestowed annually upon a Member who has “gone above and beyond” in their support of the organization. The Bob Jackson is considered the preeminent award of the IWDC. Criteria for the award includes strong volunteer spirit, supportive of independents, viewed internal and externally as a respected leader, engaged in our industry, community, and family…

Thank you to all the GAWDA Members who attended the Fall Professional Compliance Webinar and Seminar at Weldcoa’s Innovation Center from October 18-20, 2022. For the first time, the event was held in-person with a simulcast option via GoToMeeting Webinar. Attendees were treated to the latest certified DOT Function Specific Training, FDA Food/Drug CGMP and critical OSHA Training. More than 2/3rds of this year’s registrants were new attendees to this year’s event. “How exciting to see so many new participants at this fall’s Hybrid GAWDA Professional Compliance Seminar. And a large portion of this new crowd is young and emerging…

Effective October 24th, AWG is pleased to welcome Vanjia (Vanya) Thomas to her new role as Vice President of Human Resources at American Welding & Gas, Inc. Vanjia has extensive human resources experience, holding regional and global roles at a publicly held company in the industrial gas industry. She brings a wide range of knowledge in organizational development, team building, talent management, talent recruiting, and benefits administration to AWG.  She also has experience as an outside sales representative selling packaged gas and welding supplies.  Vanjia will report directly to our CEO, Jason Krieger. Vanjia and her husband, Michael will be…

According to an article from the IWDC: The Cryo Group, LLC was recently formed after the principles of VS Carbonics, Inc., Florida’s largest distributor of liquid nitrogen, acquired the assets of InCryo Systems, Inc creating InCryo LLC, and Cryo Asset Management, LLC. This monumental acquisition makes The Cryo Group, LLC, the first vertically integrated cryogenic solutions provider in the Southeastern United States. CEO Diosdado Vazquez’ vision is to develop The Cryo Group into the country’s leading cryogenic solutions provider by making it easier and less complicated to do cryogenic business. The Cryo Group offers cryogenic solutions to a diverse portfolio…

According to an article from Modern Distribution Management, Linde Gas & Equipment has agreed to acquire Memphis, Tennessee-based nexAir, according to a report from Memphis-based news outlet The Daily Memphian. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to close later this year pending approval from the Federal Trade Commission and Linde’s board of directors, according to the report. Bill Proctor, nexAir president, said he didn’t expect the deal to result in layoffs because “Linde doesn’t have a strong presence in the region,” according to the report. NexAir CEO Kevin McEniry, however, told The Daily Memphian he will…

AWG announced that it is pleased to welcome the team from the industrial gas portion of F&M Mafco, Inc. to American Welding & Gas, Inc. (“AWG”).  AWG is one of the nation’s largest independently owned producer and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases. F&M MAFCO, Inc. (“F&M”) provides site services internationally for capital construction projects including tooling, equipment, tool management rental, sales and service. “Today we are pleased to welcome the teammates and customers of F&M MAFCO’s industrial gas business in Harrison, OH to our AWG team.  Since 1945, F&M has provided an extensive array of products and services…

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Joseph H. Abrams, who passed away on Sunday, September 25th.  Joe was a leader in the Industrial Gas industry, and LifeGuard Technologies, as you know it today, would not exist without his ingenuity and dedication to making a safer industry for all. Joe’s contribution to our industry-first began with Joe’s work in cryogenics in 1958, and today the LifeGuard Safety Hoses have become a standard worldwide in all industries and applications. In 1986, Joe owned and sold one of the largest industrial gas companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Woodland…

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Lawrence “Larry” Vogel, who passed away peacefully at the age of 79. Larry worked for Norris Cylinder for 35 years until his retirement in 2014. Read his full obituary below: Lawrence “Larry” Vogel, age 79, died peacefully at home in North Plainfield, NJ with his family by his side. He had lived in North Plainfield for 48 years. Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, he graduated from St. Albans High School and continued his education at Western Kentucky University, where he received his BA in Business Administration and Marketing.…