Author: Steve Guglielmo

The American Welding Society’s (AWS) Board of Directors have announced that Gary Konarska II is named the organization’s new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 6, 2020. Konarska succeeds Ray Shook, who held the position for 15 years and has agreed to remain as Executive Director Emeritus for an interim period to ensure a seamless and successful transition. “We are very excited to welcome Gary to the American Welding Society taking on the role of Executive Director and CEO. Gary brings an exceptional combination of industry knowledge, energy, and proven leadership that make him the ideal leader…

According to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 5,250 workers died on the job in 2018, an average of more than 14 deaths every day. It is a tragedy that nobody wants to think about. But a good company must be prepared for how to respond when tragedy strikes. Tragedy, of course, can take many forms. It does not necessarily need to be a worksite death, as cited above. It could be a non-fatal accident (2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported in 2018), or a natural disaster like a fire, earthquake, hurricane,…

How to stay in compliance with employee training By Steve Guglielmo, Marilyn Dempsey, Michael Dodd and Tom Badstubner Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization. In order to ensure that they can do their jobs correctly and safely, it’s vital to provide continuous training. But this can be a daunting and time-consuming task. How often does this training need to be done? When does it need to be recertified? How can the training be presented in a way where the employee can retain it? And how can this training be continually reinforced each and every day? Welding & Gases…

Willard C. Starcher, Inc.  was founded by Willard Starcher in 1938. Prior to opening the company, Starcher had worked as a schoolteacher and then as a mechanic fixing generators and refrigerators. He opened Willard C. Starcher in his hometown of Spencer, West Virginia, in a garage behind his house. More than 80 years later, the company continues to operate out of Spencer. “We’re located in rural West Virginia, in a town of 2,600 people,” says John Hill, Starcher’s grandson and current company president. “And it probably had 2,600 people 82 years ago, when the company was started. But it’s our…

In the 4th Quarter 2019 issue of Welding & Gases Today, we debuted a new feature called “Search Engine Trends for the Gases & Welding Industry.” This feature is designed to help readers understand the terms and searches that are ranking highly in Google Trends. Part of developing a comprehensive digital marketing campaign is understanding how customers and potential customers are using the Internet to find your products and your website. The graphs and information below all come from Google Trends, which analyzes the popularity of search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The graphs scale “Interest…

This year is a milestone year for GAWDA as we celebrate our 75th Anniversary. Throughout 2020, we will be celebrating our roots, all while looking forward to ensuring that the next 75 years are as productive and impactful as the first. In the 1st Quarter 2020 issue of Welding & Gases Today, we ran a “Trip Down Memory Lane” 75 Years of GAWDA timeline on pages 50 and 51. In this issue, as we preview this year’s new and improved SMC, we look back on fun SMC moments from throughout our history on page 44. We also have made apparel…

Eleet Cryogenics, Inc. is excited to announce that Greg Patterson has joined the Eleet team as General Manager for the Willis, Texas facility. He and his wife Jodi are Ohio natives with two sons and three grandchildren. Greg spent the last sixteen years growing the business of an Ohio-based welding distributor where he served as Service Manager for 12 years, helping to grow the bulk business nearly seven times. Most recently, he served as the Operations Manager for the last four years. Greg is a certified Journeyman Machine Repairmen with extensive mechanical and electrical maintenance experience spending several years installing…

American Welding & Gas, Inc. (“AWG”) is pleased to announce the promotion of Jason Krieger to President and CEO of AWG. Jason joined AWG in March 2017 as Senior Vice President of the Central Region and in late 2018 was promoted to President & COO.  He brings over 25 years of industry experience and has been an invaluable asset to AWG in his role as President and COO. As Jason takes on this new role, AWG recognizes and thanks George Golliday for his superior leadership as President and CEO of AWG.  Since 2014, George’s stewardship of the organization and his…

Lisa A. Davis, a senior executive with more than three decades of leadership experience across energy and manufacturing industries, has joined Air Products’ (NYSE:APD) Board of Directors. Air Products’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Seifi Ghasemi said, “Lisa’s extensive, global experience is very much in line with our strategic focus, particularly world-scale energy and environmental projects. I know she will make significant contributions to our Board as Air Products continues to create value for shareholders by innovating alongside our customers to help make them more sustainable.” From August 2014 to February 2020, Ms. Davis served as a member of the…

TSA Shares Resources on COVID-19 Virus.  In a conference call this week with industry stakeholders, the Transportation Security Administration shared information on steps companies may take to address the threat of the COVID-19 virus. The resources include EPA guidance on disinfectants to use when cleaning rolling stock, guidance for businesses from the CDC website that may be useful when addressing this outbreak, and information on risk management from the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  FMCSA Final Rule on Hours of Service Heads to OMB.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s draft final rule to amend the driver hours of service regulations has been sent to the Office of…