Author: Steve Guglielmo

Oxygen Service Company was founded in 1959 as Wagner Welding. The company was founded by a group of owners including Bill Lund and Bill Huber. In 1965, the ownership group decided to go their separate ways with Lund and Huber taking full ownership of the company and rebranding it as Oxygen Service Company. More than 60 years later, the foundational tenets that Lund and Huber put in place still carry through today. “I think the philosophy that our original owners had has carried through the 60 years of being in business,” says Ryan Diekow, President and CEO of Oxygen Service…

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FMCSA Publishes Resources on Driver HOS Changes.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed a new web-based template called Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS) to help motor carriers and drivers understand and comply with the new driver hours of service regulations. According to the webpage, “When drivers and carriers enter their duty statuses into the web-based log below, ETHOS will identify where potential violations of the following rules may have occurred: 11-hour driving limit (property) or 10-hour driving limit (passenger) 14-hour driving window (property) or 15-hour on-duty limit (passenger) 30-minute break (property) Sleeper berth provision.” Drivers may…

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The Morris Gold Award was presented to Nancy Brochu of Air Liquide Canada Inc., during the CGA Canada Annual Meeting Kick-off held virtually on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. The award was presented in recognition of Nancy’s outstanding and long-term contribution and leadership to the compressed gas industry and CGA Canada. Since 2004, Nancy has been participating and actively contributing to many CGA Committees including the Canadian Cylinder Specifications Committee (chair 2017-2019); Cylinder Valve Committee; Cylinder Specifications Committee; Canadian Pressure Vessels and Piping Systems Committee; Canadian Health, Safety, and Environment Committee; Canadian Transportation Committee; Canadian Medical, Food, and Beverage Gases and…

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FMCSA Extends Waivers for CDLs, CLPs,  Medical Certificates Through December 31 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a further extension of its waiver of the validity of CDLs, Commercial Learner’s Permits and Driver Medical Certificates that expired on or after March 1, 2020.  The current waiver is now set to expire on December 31, 2020. State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs), CDL holders, CLP holders, and interstate non-CDL CMV drivers are covered under this waiver without further action unless the driver’s privileges have been suspended or withdrawn for traffic offenses. The waiver issued by FMCSA: Extends until December 31,…

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According to an article from LPGasmagazine.com, American Welding & Gas (AWG), an independently owned producer and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, purchased Medical Gas Supply, which does business as Bestway Welding Supply. “The AWG brand is nationally recognized for excellent customer service, loyalty to employees and, above all else, operating with integrity,” says ​​​​​​​Ernest “Cotton” Speed III, president of Bestway. “I can’t think of a better partner to help Bestway’s employees usher in this next phase of growth.” Speed has participated in the sale of more than a half-dozen operating businesses in the industrial, medical and specialty gases space. After…

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Members of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) are global leaders in the production, storage, distribution, and application of hydrogen and other industrial gases. CGA is recognized around the world in forums such as ISO, NFPA, and the United Nations as subject matter experts on industrial gases technical and safety practices. Its standards are frequently adopted by national and international regulatory, code, and standards bodies. In addition to its existing library of hydrogen standards, we are bringing our unique expertise in hydrogen to the development of new standards for emerging applications in the hydrogen-powered transportation space to ensure our members are…

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By Jay Spielvogel, Venator Sales Group “The greatest sales call our new reps make is on us during the interview.  Everything goes down-hill once we hire them.” “At best our new sales people are glorified pre-sales relationship managers. They deliver quotes and proposals without any qualifying or critical thinking.” Unfortunately, these are all too common complaints we hear from sales managers across the globe.  In truth, very rarely is the interview a “great” sales call on the part of the sales rep.  More likely it was simply the culmination of a “bad” buying process, where we end up getting exactly…

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FMCSA Publishes Pilot Program to Allow Pause in Driver Duty Window.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a notice of pilot program to allow temporary regulatory relief from the agency’s hours-of-service requirement that all driving by drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles be completed within 14 hours after coming on duty. 85 Fed. Reg. 55061 (September 3, 2020). During the pilot program, known as the Split Duty Period Pilot Program, participating CMV drivers would have the option to pause their 14-hour on-duty period (also called a driving window) with one off-duty period of no less than 30 minutes…

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