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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…

Rooted in the magnificent Pacific Northwest, OXARC is a leading U.S. industrial gas distributorship with over 360 staff members and 22 locations serving the tri-state area of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Founded by Jerry Walmsley, the company began with his purchase of Northwest Oxygen Company in Spokane, Washington, in 1968. From that first shop with 15 employees, Jerry and his team developed one of the largest industrial gas distributorships in the nation. Jerry remains active in the business as chairman of the board, and his daughter, Jana Nelson, who has been with the company since 1975, serves as OXARC’s president.…

Over a hundred years ago, two entrepreneurial brothers, Walter and John Brant, recognized the need for a gas supplier to serve the state of Indiana and neighboring communities. Together they founded Indiana Oxygen Company (IOC) in 1915, which initially supplied products to the local automotive industry including the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. According to Wally Brant, chief executive officer and grandson of founder Walter Brant, Indiana Oxygen was not only the first oxygen manufacturer (through electrolysis) and distributor in Indiana, it remains the oldest surviving gas and welding supply distributor in the nation. Being the first in the state, Indiana…

What are the odds of a business reaching its 100th operational anniversary? According to Yale University Professor Richard Foster, they’re not high. He finds the current average lifespan of a company listed in the S&P 500 index of leading U.S. companies is just 15 years — and that rate is falling.1 Defying these statistics is the O.E. Meyer Company, a Sandusky, Ohio, industrial/medical gases, welding products and specialty medical products distributor, now celebrating its centennial. The company’s secrets to longevity include a commitment to and investment in its employees, strong working relationships with partners and the community, quality leadership and…