Author: Steve Guglielmo

Controlled Efficiencies has moved to a new location. It is now located at: 107A Flex Ave. Portland, TN 37138 The phone number remains the same. Please update your records accordingly. Other December 15 Connection News: Registration is Open for the 2020 PurityPlus Annual Meeting Controlled Efficiencies Moves to New Location Atlas Welding Supply Hosts 75th Anniversary Open House Kaplan Industries Adds Two New Bulk Hydrocarbon Tanks Butler Gas Partners with the Brashear Association Weiler Abrasives Group Raises $100,000 to Support Pocono Mountains United Way Airweld Announces E-Commerce Site Open to All Customers

The Annual PurityPlus Meeting will be held at the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, SC, February 4 – February 6, 2020. Topics will include: • Handling global product constraints • Developing expertise in emerging markets • Advances in technology • PurityPlus Initiatives • PurityPlus Committee Meetings Vendor Relations, Marketing, Operations, and Training. Tuesday’s group outing will be a Bourbon, Beer and BBQ Tasting Tour. All IWDC Members are encouraged to attend. “As always, whether you are currently involved in PurityPlus now, considering joining the program, becoming a distributor, or simply interested in new markets, we encourage your attendance…

Editor’s Note: This article is a follow-up to the Welding & Gases Today article “Riches in the Niches: Compressed Gas Cylinder Maintenance.”  “Doing the absolute bare minimum testing will not extend the lifespan of a cylinder,” says Jonathan Balbi, COO of Airgenics, Inc. “To keep asset bases as healthy as possible, simple and cost-effective options are available from the larger cylinder requalification companies across the country. These ‘extras’ beyond the requalification test are situationally optional but can mean the difference between replacing six percent of your asset base and two percent of your asset base.” According to U.S. Tank and…

Each year, Google publishes a year-in-review report discussing the year’s search engine trends. The report discusses not only what the most searched terms on the search engine were (world cup, Avicii, Mac Miller) but also how people are using Google. In 2018, Google reported a 500% growth in “near me” mobile searches that contain a variant of “can I buy” or “to buy.” To Google, this suggests that people are no longer using the “near me” function in Google to simply find places nearby. They’re using it to search for specific items, in a specific area. Part of developing a…

A moderated discussion between Tom Badstubner and Michael Dodd by tom badstubner, michael dodd and steve guglielmo It can be scary when a federal agency shows up to your business unannounced for an audit. You can feel blindsided. But the reason that GAWDA employs consultants that specialize in dealing with these federal agencies is for exactly this moment. Your GAWDA membership includes access to these consultants at no additional expense. Make sure that you’re taking advantage of that! Companies that are proactive in working with the GAWDA Consultants are better prepared for when auditors knock on the door and will…

In the United States, everybody loves coffee. That’s not much of an exaggeration. According to a study from the National Coffee Association (NCA), 64% of Americans consume coffee every single day. An average American drinks 3.1 cups per day and, cumulatively, Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee every day. So how does this impact the gases and welding industry? Over the past several years, a new trend in coffee has emerged. One that appears to be more than a passing fad. That is the rise of nitro brewed coffee. “The market for cold brew and nitro cold brew coffee…

The “skills gap” is an issue that all companies in our industry, as well as many of our customers, face every day. The nation-wide shortage of qualified welders and fabricators is certainly not a new phenomenon. We discussed what many GAWDA members are doing to address this issue in the spring issue of Welding & Gases Today, in an article entitled “Attacking the Skills Gap.” Today, a high school in Syracuse, New York, is doing its part to prepare students to fill that gap. Corcoran High School last year introduced a welding program as part of its 27 Career and…

Holston Gases, Inc. (Knoxville, Tennessee) was originally founded as the Holston Oxygen Company in 1958. Pat Baxter and Bob Walsh had worked together at National Cylinder Gas (NCG) and decided to strike out on their own to start the Holston Oxygen Company in Knoxville. Baxter and Walsh grew the business one account at a time, as customers were attracted to the personal attention and superior effort that the company made to satisfy their needs. In 1976, Baxter bought out Walsh’s interest in the company to become the sole-owner of Holston. What had started as a two-man operation began to grow…

Kaplan Industries is increasing its capacity to service their growing distributor base and has just installed two new 11,000-gallon bulk tanks at their Ohio facility. These new tanks will go alongside their existing instrument grade N-Butane tank at its state-of-the-art, filling and cylinder cleaning facility. The tanks will contain Instrument Grade Propane and Isobutane at a purity above 99.5%. With the addition of the 2 tanks, Kaplan will be better able to continue providing distributors with premium packaged gas for the expanding Industrial Hemp and Cannabis markets. “It’s an exciting time here at Kaplan Industries,” says Devon Goodman, Specialty Gas…

Flame Technologies presented Samantha Farr, founder and CEO of Women Who Weld, a check for $4,000 during FABTECH. The proceeds were raised from the sale of Women Who Weld branded merchandise. Flame Technologies President Shawn Toops was on hand to present the check. After the check presentation, Farr stayed at the Flame Technologies booth to take part in an interview on the Arc Junkies podcast with influential Instagram welder Rae Ripple. Flame Technologies initially announced their support for Women Who Weld in December 2018, and have been selling tee shirts through their FTMerch.com to raise money for the worthy cause.…