Author: Steve Guglielmo

F&M MAFCO, a leading international supplier of tools and equipment rental, sales, and service programs, announced a strategic partnership with OptiCrib, LLC to provide high-tech inventory management solutions to its NextSTEP and StrikeForce tool management programs. OptiCrib is a completely automated inventory management system for a company’s storeroom, warehouse, outdoor trailer, or supply closet that uses machine learning algorithms, computer vision cameras, and other proprietary sensors to track every item taken from its shelves. This transformative technology allows employees to “grab and go.” There is no scanning, no entering item numbers, no written forms, no RFID tags, and no direct…

Butler Gas Products appeared on the television show “World’s Greatest!…” on Bloomberg TV. View the Butler Gas Segment below:

Minneapolis Oxygen was founded in 1946 by Henry Sahley. Henry was a former salesperson for National Cylinder Gas who decided to venture out on his own with one location and three employees. At the same time that Henry was getting Minneapolis Oxygen off the ground, about 100 miles south, Sid Falconer was beginning his career at Huber Welding Supply in Iowa. Eventually, Sid decided to move to Minneapolis, so, after a brief detour at a propane company in the Twin Cities, Sid eventually began to work with Henry Sahley and Minneapolis Oxygen. Three generations later, the Falconers are still involved…

Tulsa Gas & Gear was founded ten years ago, “with the idea of providing customers with high quality products and outstanding service at a competitive price.” The company’s founders, Steve Stobaugh, Lloyd Hyle, Johnny Stamps, Don Stobaugh, John Scott, Scott Row, and John Wallace had worked in the welding supply business and decided to stake out on their own. “We started with an empty building and no guarantee of any vendors or customers following us,” says Managing Member Steve Stobaugh. “Over time, TGG has earned a reputation for being the premier full-service welding supplier in the Tulsa area. Our service…

Alfred Boehm began his career in 1976 as a research chemist for Messer Griesheim Industries in Germany. In 1991, Boehm was relocated to the United States to continue his research and development in various areas of specialty gas, including internal cylinder treatment for reactive gases. “After spending 25 years with Messer Griesheim, it was time to move and explore a new chapter of the American dream,” Boehm says. “Specgas, Inc. was opened in 2001 by me and my son, Marco Boehm. Given the economic hardships of that year, it was a bold move to start a small specialty gas company.…

O2 Plus was started in 1996 by two brothers. Rodger Miles was a pharmacist who began the company with his brother, Harold Miles, who owned a heavy equipment rental company at the time. Company President Shane Miles, Rodger’s grandson, joined the company in 1998 while he was attending college. “I joined the company by accident,” Shane says. “I was in college, and I had a CDL from having worked for my uncle.” Eight years after joining the company by accident, Shane became President of O2 Plus in 2006. The company has since grown by adding a second branch in 2011…

Weld Plus was founded in 1991 by Jack Schroeder and Paul Rensing in the basement of Jack’s home. The company set out as a welding gas and consumable supplier offering “same day delivery” to their customer base. This meant hand delivering day or night to keep their promise and win the loyalty of their customers, most of whom are still with the company today! Throughout the years Weld Plus has adapted to sell, rent, service and refurbish new and used welding equipment. In 2001, after 10 years in business and three locations later, a new 44,000 square foot warehouse and…

In 1990, Tim Robb, President of Torco Supply Co., Inc. was attending Shippensburg University and serving in the Navy Seabees as a reservist. His unit was set to be activated for Desert Storm, so Robb took a leave of absence from school for the fall semester, when his deployment was canceled. However, Tim’s father, Tom Robb, who was working as a Certainium Alloys representative and was a Navy Corpsman Chief in the Reserves, was activated to go to Norway to take the place of a unit that was heading to Desert Storm. “My father was going to be gone for…

Complete Welders Supply was founded in Sonoma in 1991 by Mike and Melissa Kowaleski with Carl Watkins and a few dedicated employees. Together, the group built the company and expanded it services and expanded to the company’s Napa location that today serves as Complete Welders Supply’s headquarters. “It was the focus on building relationships and meeting the customers’ needs that propelled us to our future success,” says President and Owner Mike Kowaleski. “We have been able to grow by developing quality relationships and providing the services that our customers need to be successful in their business. We focus our efforts…

Roberts Oxygen Company, Inc. was founded on July 1, 1966, by Bill Roberts and his wife, Peg Roberts. Bill began his career following in the footsteps of his father, who had worked for National Cylinder Gas and Air Reduction while Bill was growing up. Bill worked in sales for Air Reduction for a few years until World War II. Serving in the Army Corps of Engineers, Bill rose to the rank of Major before leaving the Army after WWII from his last posting in Washington, D.C. Bill then went to work in sales for Southern Oxygen, a regional gas manufacturer…