Author: Steve Guglielmo

National Standard Company announced the addition of Steve Coker to its Sales team. As District Sales Manager for Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, Steve will manage distributors and end users for National Standard’s welding wire portfolio. Steve brings a strong background with experience in welding wire and welding product sales. Most recently, he was a territory manager for Lampton Welding Supply and has held sales positions with Fastenal Company, Cone Solvent and Praxair. Steve resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He can be contacted via email at: [email protected], or via cell phone at (405) 332-3132. National Standard is backed by the global…

Senate Bill Would Increase Maximum Fines for Hazmat Violations.  As a result of the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Congress is considering increases to the maximum civil penalties for violations of the Hazardous Materials Regulations.  This would affect all modes of transportation, including trucks. 576, the Railway Safety Act of 2023, has been introduced in the Senate.  The bill has a number of rail safety provisions, but it would also increase the maximum civil fine for HMR violations from the current $96,624 to the greater of $750,000 or 0.5% of the company’s annual income or annual operating income. …

GAWDA Media Vice President of Sales Tim Hudson recently visited two GAWDA Distributors as he drove back to New York from South Carolina. He recounts his story and visits below: Driving up I-95 from South Carolina headed back from a family vacation, I made a half-way stop in Virginia. On a whim, I stopped at Arc3 Gases to check out their Richmond, VA, location, 1 of 55 locations for Arc3. After a friendly greeting from the counter staff, I asked if Paul Dillard was there and, by chance, he was. I had a chance to sit down for a few minutes…

The Welding & Gases CFO Club hosted its third successful meeting. This round we covered a wide variety of topics within the topics: Price Increases Philosophies on how often, opportunity to differentiate from competitors, salesforce pushback and the potential to inflate the negative impact they could cause, different strategies for covering cost or also covering profit (note:  intentionally avoided specifics on pricing due to anti-trust concerns), supplier diversification impact, customer tolerance for increases, maintaining healthy margins, inventory management (dead stock, meeting customer demand vs carrying cost), supply chain loosening for certain items (cylinders, trucks and tankers not included), concept of…

GAWDA Consultants Tom Badstubner, Marilyn Dempsey and Mike Dodd conducted a Professional Compliance Seminar (PCS) on March 20-22, at Chart Industries’ Theodore, Alabama, location. In-person attendees were welcomed by Chart with good food and an extensive tour of the Theodore facility where liquid hydrogen trailers and micro-bulk containers are manufactured. Three years ago, the consultants switched the seminar from in-person to online due to COVID. The seminar is now offered as a hybrid of in-person and online, allowing even more GAWDA members to increase their knowledge of FDA, OSHA, DHS and DOT inspections. This is the 14th year the Consultants…

AWISCO announced that it had added ASCO to the AWISCO Family. The acquistition expands AWISCO’s presence into Woodbridge Township, NJ, and allows the company to enhance its product offerings and services in the area. The new branch is located at: 475 US-9 Woodbridge Township, NJ 07095 View this post on Instagram A post shared by AWISCO (@awisco_welding)

FABTECH, North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event, has announced new event dates and locations for 2024 and 2026. The event will be held in Orlando, Florida, at the Orange County Convention Center from October 15-17, 2024, and in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Convention Center from October 21-23, 2026. The decision to relocate FABTECH to Orlando in 2024 was made due to the city of Las Vegas hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix Race during the same time frame in November. This announcement deviates from FABTECH’s regular rotation of Chicago, Las Vegas, and Atlanta,…

In a post on the company’s LinkedIn page, Mississippi Welders Supply Co. (MWSCO) announced that it had, for the second consecutive year, won the Lincoln Electric Chairman’s Award. “Thank you for recognizing MWSCO’s outstanding sales performance for 2022. We look forward to what’s to come for 2023!”

The Beaumont Enterprise recently interviewed Coastal Welding Supply President Chuck Mazoch for a feature that they call “7 Questions With…”. The article touched on important topics including Coastal Welding’s 60th Anniversary, which it will celebrate in December 2023, the LNG economy in Southern Texas and Coastal’s role in that important industry, its transport of hazardous materials and gases, and Coastal’s important work providing oxygen tanks for local hospitals and clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. To read the full interview, click here. Coastal Welding was also profiled in the Q4 2022 Issue of Welding & Gases Today. Click here to read the full…

General Air Service & Supply was named one of the Top Workplaces in the USA for 2023 according to the prestigious company Top Work Places. The company said, “We’re thrilled to be recognized for our commitment to creating a positive and supportive work environment for our employees.” To read more about General Air’s Mission, Vision, and Values, read the full write-up on topworkplaces.com by clicking here.