Inside Phoenix Welding Supply’s Next Chapter
Right in the heart of America’s fifth-largest city sits a company that has been a part of Arizona’s gas and welding industry for more than 70 years.
Phoenix Welding Supply’s headquarters is directly across the street from Chase Field, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a baseball fan, that was one of the first things that caught my attention when I visited.
But after spending time with Managing Director Fred Clark and the Phoenix team, I quickly realized there was a much bigger story here.
Phoenix Welding Supply has built an infrastructure and manufacturing footprint that is difficult to replicate in Arizona. Having recently joined forces with Air Water America, coupled with the population and industrial economy around it continuing to expand, the company appears well positioned for its next stage of growth.
FROM ONE MAN AND ONE TRUCK
Phoenix Welding Supply’s story starts with the Dye family and its roots in the industrial gas business. Gilbert Dye Sr. started Dye Oxygen in 1940. Then, in 1953, second-generation Gilbert Dye Jr. launched Phoenix Welding Supply.
And he truly started it from the ground up.
One location. One truck. One employee, by himself.
Gilbert Jr. worked at the store, made the deliveries and did whatever else was needed to grow the business at the time. Over the following decades, the family expanded into beverage gases and in 1985 the related operations were brought together with Phoenix Welding Supply.
What started as a one-man operation has grown into one of Arizona’s largest welding and gas distributorships, with six locations serving customers across the state.
A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS
In 2023, Phoenix Welding Supply was acquired by Air Water America, marking another major chapter for the business. Air Water America acquired the company on April 28th, 2023, as part of its strategy to expand its industrial gas distribution presence in North America.
Phoenix joined fellow distributor Noble Gas Solutions and later adding American Gas Products to form what is today the packaged gas division of Air Water America. Air Water also owns cryogenic equipment companies TOMCO Systems and Taylor-Wharton, creating some interesting opportunities between its distribution and equipment businesses.
I was able to see those opportunities firsthand.
In late 2025, Phoenix installed a 50-ton TOMCO bulk CO2 tank to support its growing CO2 business. It’s a great example of what access to a larger organization can mean at a local level.
Phoenix already had the locations, customers, delivery infrastructure and local market knowledge. Now, it also has access to equipment, technology and resources that can help the company invest in areas where it sees the greatest opportunity.
GROWING ALONG WITH ARIZONA
One reason those opportunities are so significant is simply the market Phoenix Welding Supply has around it.
Phoenix is already one of the biggest cities in the country and the surrounding valley keeps growing. More people, more businesses and more development continue to create new opportunities for companies like Phoenix Welding Supply.
Construction requires welding equipment and industrial gases. Manufacturing and fabrication require gases and consumables. Restaurants, breweries and hospitality businesses need beverage CO2. Laboratories and hospitals require specialty gases and temperature-controlled dry-ice shipping.
Phoenix Welding Supply is positioned to participate in all those markets.
For a gas and welding distributor with manufacturing capabilities already in place, that is an attractive market to be growing alongside.
GETTING MORE FROM WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE
One theme that also came up throughout my visit was operating smarter.
The team described a more structured approach to evaluating expenses, investments and opportunities. That does not necessarily mean changing what made Phoenix successful.
In many cases, it means getting more out of what is already there.
AZ Air Boutique is a good example.
Customers previously visited a separate location in Phoenix to fill helium tanks. Instead of maintaining the overhead of another facility in the same market, Phoenix brought that business into its main location.
Now a customer coming in for helium can also discover propane, dry ice, industrial gases and a full showroom of welding equipment.
For distributors, that’s an interesting lesson. Growth does not always require another branch. Sometimes it really comes from creating more opportunities with customers already walking through your doors.
AN ACETYLENE ADVANTAGE
One major asset Phoenix Welding Supply has that sets it apart from other distributors in the region is its acetylene plant.
In fact, Phoenix is one of the largest producers of acetylene in the Southwest and the only producer of acetylene in Arizona. They supply not only their own customers but also some of their competitors with acetylene. Phoenix’s current location and headquarters continue to operate the state’s only acetylene manufacturing facility.
Other assets include its fill plant, which allows the company to fill CO2, industrial and specialty gases. Phoenix also has a strong fleet of trucks, including palletized flatbeds and micro-bulk trucks, along with bulk tanks, micro-bulk tanks, a huge cylinder inventory and a prime location in the heart of Phoenix.
This infrastructure also supports an impressive geographic footprint. Phoenix serves markets throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Tucson, Flagstaff and Sierra Vista while continuing to look at growth opportunities in areas such as the booming East Valley.
But one of the newest pieces of that structure may also be one of its most interesting growth opportunities.
BRINGING DRY ICE PRODUCTION TO PHOENIX
When I visited Phoenix Welding Supply, another major project taking shape was the company’s investment in on-site dry ice manufacturing.
At the time, the operation was still being built out. Today, it is up and running.
Phoenix Welding Supply is now manufacturing dry ice at its Phoenix fill plant, adding an entirely new locally produced product to its portfolio.
And there is an important distinction here: Phoenix Welding Supply is the only dry ice manufacturer in Arizona. That gives the company an opportunity that goes well beyond simply adding another product for customers.
Dry ice is a particularly interesting product in a state like Arizona, where extreme heat is just part of doing business for much of the year, there is always a need to keep food, medical products and other temperature-sensitive materials cold. That creates a “no-brainer” market for dry ice.
It has the potential to become a significant new revenue stream in a market where keeping things cold is a constant need.
BUILT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTE
What impressed me most about Phoenix Welding Supply was the combination of old and new.
The company has more than seven decades of customer relationships, infrastructure and experience behind it.
And the assets already in place are substantial.
Add in a Phoenix metropolitan market that continues to add people, businesses and industrial investment, and there is plenty of room for the company to continue growing.
From one man, one truck and one location in 1953 to six locations, acetylene manufacturing, dry ice production, beverage gases, bulk capabilities and statewide distribution today, Phoenix Welding Supply has certainly grown.
After walking through the operation and meeting the people of Phoenix Welding Supply the thought that keeps coming to mind is that these guys are sitting pretty in their market. They have all the tools. Perfect setup, ideal market and experienced team to take this distributorship to the next level.
