Welding and Gases Today Q4 2016

Fourth Quarter 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING How Growing Skills Can Cultivate ROI

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COVER STORY

contents Fourth Quarter • Fall 2016 • Volume 15, No. 4

D E PA R T M E N T S PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE 6

Reflections on My Year as GAWDA President

By William Visintainer

60

DIRECTOR’S DESK 10 Across the Years, More Assistance For More Members

By John Ospina

EDITOR’S NOTES 13 What I Learned – and Didn’t – From NewEmployee Orientation

By Diane Stirling

CONSULTANT CORNER 20 New Labor Overtime Rules Take Effect in December

By Richard P. Schweitzer, Esq.

25 B ack to Basics: Training and Drug Testing

By Michael Dodd

28 Do Food/Beverage Gases Need Labeling for GMOs?

30

30

GAINING FROM TRAINING 30 Growing Others’ Skills Can Cultivate Your Own ROI Welding Training Programs: They’re Differentiators, Force Multipliers and Profit Centers for Distributors

By Diane Stirling

50 Employee Training Boosts Bottom Lines, Raises Retention

By Charles McChesney

60 Onboarding: Why It’s All-Important How to Make Sure Your New Hires Don’t Feel ‘Buyer’s Remorse’

66 Ongoing Training and Education Find Information and Funding from GAWDA and other Industry Sources

By Thomas L. Badstubner

F E AT U R E S

HEADQUARTERS NEWS 114 GAWDA Membership Promo Videos

MEMBER PROFILE 14 DeLille Oxygen Company: Expanding Capabilities and Geography

By Charles McChesney

WONDERS OF WELDING 72 High-in-the-Sky: L.A.’s Wilshire Grand Center

By Charles McChesney

2

72 Fall 2016

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F E AT U R E S

contents Fourth Quarter • Fall 2016 • Volume 15, No. 4

D E PA R T M E N T S 112 Welcome New Members!

GAWDA GUEST VIEWS 78 WGW: Promoting More Women in Our Industry

By Linda Smith

80 Are You Ready? The Generational Shift is On

By Austin Romesberg

114 Industry Calendar

HERE’S WHAT’S APP-ENING

115 Mergers & Acquisitions

82 Apps to Bundle, Absorb, Summarize, Scan and More

116 Industry News 118 In Memoriam 122 New Products, Services & Technologies 124 Advertisers Index

THE TEAM

87 60 2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION PREVIEW

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

84 Guest Speakers

John Ospina

87 Schedule of Events

954-367-7728 x 240 jospina@gawda.org

SENIOR EDITORS Diane Stirling 315-445-2347 x 120 dianes@datakey.org

Charles McChesney 315-445-2347 x 101 charles@datakey.org

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Carole Jesiolowski Natasha Alexis

DESIGN Robin Turk

SALES AND MARKETING Tim Hudson 315-445-2347 x 114 timh@datakey.org

ON THE WEB FOLLOW WELDING & GASES TODAY ON

www.WeldingAndGasesToday.org

88 GAWDA Gives Back – Maui Charities 98 Exhibitors Guide

ON THE EDGE 96 Think Channel Adaptation, Not Disintermediation

By Rick Wilson Welding & Gases Today (USPS 22-975) is published quarterly: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, with additional publications in Spring and Summer. • Non-member subscription rate is $195 per year. • GAWDA members (key contacts and branch locations) receive the magazine as part of their dues. • GAWDA members can order additional yearly subscriptions (4 issues) for $40. • Welding & Gases Today is published by Data Key Communications, Inc. on behalf of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association. • Periodicals postage paid at Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and at additional mailing offices (ISSN 1558-5344). • Editorial correspondence should be sent to Editors, c/o editor@WeldingAndGasesToday.org. Advertising correspondence and materials should be sent to William Brod, Data Key Communications, Inc., 1415 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13204; telephone (315) 445-2347, fax (315) 422-1721. • Postmaster: Send address changes to Welding & Gases Today, Gases and Welding Distributors Association, One Oakwood Blvd, Suite 195, Hollywood, FL 33020 • Welding & Gases Today is the official journal of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) and carries news and announcements concerning GAWDA. • It is not responsible for contents or opinions other than association activities. • Contents are copyright ©2016 Data Key Communications, Inc. • All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. • Questions and comments can be sent via e-mail to Editors, c/o editor@WeldingAnd GasesToday.org. • Data Key Communications, Inc. reserves the right to print portions of or all of any correspondence mailed to the editors without liability on its part and no such correspondence will be returned. • Visit Welding & Gases Today Online at www.WeldingAndGasesToday. org. Statement of Ownership Publication Title Welding & Gases Today. publication number 1558-5344. filing date 10/2016. issue frequency quarterly + 2 special issues. # of issues published annually: 6. subscription price part of member dues. mailing address of known office of publication and headquarters: One Oakwood Boulevard, Suite 195, Hollywood, FL 33020. headquarters address same. Publisher: William Brod, Data Key Communications, 1415 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13204. Editor: John C. Ospina, GAWDA Executive Director, One Oakwood Boulevard, Suite 195, Hollywood, FL 33020. Managing editors: Diane Stirling and Charles McChesney, Data Key Communications, 1415 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13204. Owner: GAWDA, One Oakwood Boulevard, Suite 195, Hollywood, FL 33020. average net press run 1795/2500. outside county paid/ requested mail subscriptions 1461/1775. in-county paid/requested mail subscriptions 0/0. sales through dealers and carriers 0/0. requested copies by other mail classes 0/0. total paid and or requested circulation 1461/1775. outside county nonrequested copies 64/40. in-county nonrequested copies 0/0. nonrequested copies distributed through USPS by other classes 20/30. nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail 158/600. total nonrequested distribution 242/670. total distribution 1703/2445. copies not distributed 91/55. total 1795/2500. percent paid and/or requested circulation 81/73.

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President’s Perspective

Reflections on My Fast, Enjoyable Year as GAWDA President by william visintainer

T 2015-16 GAWDA President W.A. Visintainer is president of Atlas Welding Supply Co. in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and online at www.atlaswsco.com. He can be reached at BVisintainer@ atlaswsco.com and at 205-345-6903.

he last 12 months have gone by very quickly and very enjoyably, just as other past presidents advised me that they would.

As I look back at the year’s accomplishments and what lies ahead for our association and its members, I remain very positive regarding our long-term prospects.

Though this has been a period of significant industry disruption, these challenges have not softened the resolve our members. In contrast, we are responding by being more engaged and finding new and better ways of doing things in our welding and gases businesses.

GAWDA has made important operational and mission-vision strides this past year. Through an online survey, members told us much more about how to best serve their needs and address their interests. Their candid feedback provided extra insights that allowed us to act immediately to improve some services and offerings.

6

GAWDA is a wonderful organization and the most pertinent and significant source of collective expertise and experience this industry has to offer. So use and enjoy its resources, tools and opportunities to the utmost.

We developed an electronic registration system for events, and its annual convention rollout is providing a much easier, more accurate and convenient system that also enhances pre-conference networking opportunities and member-to-member connections.

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President’s Perspective inventiveness of fellow association members and the benefits they can gain from these resources. They emphasized that they prefer to hear from each other about new ways to create opportunity, meet threats and deliver successes than to hear from speakers outside our industry on other topics.

We launched a customer satisfaction survey that is available to all members. This tool will provide direct feedback from your customers regarding your specific strengths, weaknesses, and competitive advantages, something every member can act on for gain. This survey tool is continually available on the GAWDA website for member use and your cost to participate is already included in your annual dues.

We reemphasized the wealth of informational resources provided to our members through the Compressed Gas Association. This is an online, on-call resource where the instantly applicable material is only a mouse click away anytime members need it.

And we learned more about GAWDA’s make-up through a detailed look at our demographics. Awareness that more than half our members are at the $5 million-and-under range in annual revenues has helped us target more ways to offer expertise, enhance networking, provide resources, deliver value and generate greater impact for all categories of membership, regardless of size.

As I’ve participated on committees, attended regional meetings, helped plan conferences and talked with members this past year, I’ve been extremely impressed by the caliber of knowledge and the base of expertise this organization rep-

resents. I’ve been awed, humbled and inspired by our members’ individual and collective abilities, integrity and character, all while enjoying many wonderful venues and interactions.

I’ve been extremely impressed by the caliber of knowledge and the base of expertise this organization represents.

I’ve been awed, humbled and inspired by our members’ individual and collective abilities, integrity and character.

My parting suggestion is that each member take part in all that GAWDA offers. Engage with fellow members every chance you can. Use association resources. Tap others’ ideas and experiences. Attend functions. Offer your own expertise. Assume a leadership role. Speak on a panel. Write a guest column.

GAWDA is a wonderful organization and the most pertinent and significant source of collective expertise and experience this industry has to offer. So use and enjoy its resources, tools and opportunities to the utmost. Embrace GAWDA and leverage it for every nugget of information you can identify. Access its value for all it is worth and make it even better through what you can contribute to our collective success.

Thank you for the wonderful times, the chance to get to know so many of you better, the opportunity to engage more often and for the honor to serve as your president.

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Director’s Desk

Goals Set, Met: More Useful Assistance Provided for Members by john ospina

W John Ospina is GAWDA’s executive director. He can be reached at GAWDA Headquarters in Hollywood, Fla., via telephone at 844-251-3219 or via email at jospina@gawda.org.

elcome back to the Grand Wailea.

The last time we held our annual convention here was in 2010.

A lot has changed since then, but the drive to improve the offerings of the Association remains strong. GAWDA continues to have a vibrant and active leadership and volunteer base.

Their involvement and dedication continues to drive GAWDA forward for the benefit of all our members.

One of the goals this year was to improve communication between the Association, its members and prospective members in the industry. A number of committees stepped up to address this challenge. The Management Information Committee and the Young Professionals Committee first brought up the importance of social media to the membership more than two years ago.

Many of our members began to utilize Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media channels as part of their marketing efforts. With the creation of this year’s Social Media Advisory Committee, GAWDA made great strides in using these mediums to engage the membership and to stimulate online conversations. GAWDA Media also became more active in the use of social media channels to promote our industry and our Association.

The Membership Committee actively employs social media to get the word out about GAWDA to non-members. Committee members are working on improving GAWDA’s industry recruitment collateral. They’ve created consultantand member-based testimonial videos that now appear on our web pages. The committee also has challenged our current members to help recruit

10

new members. The new Member-Get-A-Member program is designed to recognize and reward active members that help in this important effort.

The Safety Committee continues to keep members updated on timely safety, compliance and human resources issues through our GAWDA consultants and through the monthly electronic Safety Bulletin. Committee members also have begun introducing consultant-led webinars that discuss the benefits of GAWDA programs. This past August, they developed a seminar that covered the value of our CGA Subscription program.

These webinars are recorded and are available to members through our member-only portal.

Keep an eye out for more webinars like this in the near future.

Our Regional Meeting chairs also have added more take-home value to their programs, and this has resulted in larger and better-attended meetings.

In 2017, all regional meetings will begin using the new registration system to ensure that members have a dependable and consistent experience when registering for any GAWDA meeting.

GAWDA leadership continues to evaluate current practices and systems to identify where improvements can be made, what services can be added and how these benefits can more effectively be communicated to the membership. Their focus continues to be not only on creating a better and more valuable benefit package, but also on how to ensure that those excellent benefits are utilized by as many members as possible.

On behalf of the GAWDA leadership, volunteers, consultants and staff, thank you for your continued membership in GAWDA and for your support of our industry.

Fall 2016

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Editor’s Notes

What I Learned – and Didn’t – From New-Employee Orientation by diane stirling

T

hree stories in this issue hit home with me, and I think you’ll find them impactful, too.

The article about creating high-quality new-hire orientations and the piece where distributors describe their employee and customer training programs prompted vivid reminders of my own onboarding and training experiences.

Many in this industry have built careers working in the family business, but I’ve never had a family-business option. So for me, a new job meant that, in addition to taking on a new role and new work responsibilities, I also was taking on an unfamiliar situation with a new workplace culture and new people. Each new position required adapting, adjusting, and beginning the learning curve again.

In reflection, maybe a third of my onboarding experiences (what we used to call new-employee orientation) were what I’d call “high quality.” As for the other two-thirds, I remember the feelings of doubt and concern during those unsettling first days, and some nagging questions. Did I choose wisely? Is that a red flag? Did they really mean to hire me? Should I run for the hills?

The unsatisfactory orientations were lacking for a variety of reasons. None of those reasons, I eventually came to recognize, were personally directed (an always-grouchy trainer; pre-existing workplace tensions; co-workers too harried to dedicate time to me.) While I would have liked smoother starts, I managed to transition successfully each time. The trouble is that those situations detracted from a more positive initial experience for me and from the employer having a more stable, satisfactory, and uplifting style of

orientation program. However, in working with Dr. Talya Bauer, an expert on new-employee onboarding, in preparing the article that begins on page 60, I learned that the kind of orientation program experiences I’d had were actually fairly common.

Much time, thought and effort goes into creating high-quality onboarding programs, Bauer describes, and many positives can be achieved when that activity is well done. That’s why I offer a “hats off” to GAWDA members who make the effort to create thoughtful welcome-aboard programs for their new hires, and who offer continuing opportunities for learning on the job for those employees who stay with them. Research clearly shows that good programs make a world of difference to employee satisfaction and retention, and ultimately to a business’s degree of success.

There are opportunities to learn everywhere, every day, for everyone, and that certainly applies to the places where we work. I’m learning every day here, and we make it our primary goal to ensure that every issue of Welding & Gases Today provides relevant, valuable, high-quality information. That’s why we’re asking you to tell us what you think. If you like the content, let us know. If you don’t, let us know that, too, and give us suggestions for what else you’d rather see. Our phone numbers and emails are listed in the table of contents, and our ears and minds are always open. Please drop us a line or stop any member of our team when you see us at the Annual Convention. We look forward to learning from you!

Fall 2016

Diane Stirling is a senior editor at Welding and Gases Today. A career journalist, public relations practitioner, communications strategist and web/social media content creator, she is part of the GAWDA Media team. Get in touch with her at dianes@datakey. org and 315-445-2347.

13

GAWDA Member Profile

Delille Oxygen Company Adding Capabilities, Expanding Beyond the Buckeye State by charles mcchesney, senior editor

L

ike Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio was created to be a capital. In 1812, when it consisted of just wooded hunting grounds, the legislature selected the spot to be the state capital because of its central location and its access to rivers which, in those days, were major transportation routes.

A central location and access to transportation have been assets for Delille Oxygen Company, founded in Columbus in 1924.

The company’s earliest history is a bit of a mystery, says Josh Weinman, Delille’s vice president. He says a man named Delille began the company and, about a decade later, during the Great Depression, sold it to the Smith family. That Smith family owned the company until the early 1960s when it was sold to J.R. Smith, who shared the family’s surname but was not related. J.R. Smith has retired and his son Tom Smith now serves as chairman of the board. Tom Gambill is president. Weinman and Controller Kathy Morell round out the company’s top management.

store and the branch in New Boston. Over the years, Delille has seen a shift in its product mix and today Weinman estimates the company’s sales are about 60 percent gas and 40 percent hardgoods.

While the main plant in Columbus fills every type of gas, the branches have facilities that fill basic industrial oxygen, nitrogen or argon, Weinman says. Having gases produced

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BRANCHES FORM NETWORK

From its location on Columbus’ south side, Delille has grown across much of Ohio, adding facilities in Lancaster, Marion, New Boston, Springfield, Zanesville, Wilmington and, in 2008, Lima. The branches, typically staffed by three people, are not just storefronts, but form a network of fill plants to service gas needs across the entire statewide footprint.

“All of our branches fill at least one particular item,” Weinman says.

Delille’s stores provide the range of products for welders and other gas users.

Medical gases are handled by the Columbus

Akron

Marion

Springfield

Columbus

Dayton

Middletown

Lancaster

Zanesville

Wilmington

Cincinnati

14

New Boston

Above: Delille Oxygen Company has its headquarters in Columbus and branches covering much of the rest of the Buckeye State.

Fall 2016

Heading

The Delille fleet (partly shown here) transports gases to customers across Ohio and to distributors across the Eastern United States.

at multiple sites improves service for customers who need high-demand gases, he says, because they don’t have to wait for a shuttle from the main fill plant in Columbus. “And it provides backup. If we have a pump go down in Columbus we can get customers the gas from another plant.”

MAKING OXYGEN AND HYDROGEN

Delille crowned its network of gas filling plants in 2012 when it installed a multi-million-dollar electrolytic generator that uses direct current to split molecules of water into purified oxygen and purified hydrogen, gases for which the company’s customers were creating a growing demand.

Nearly a year of planning took place before work began on adding the new equipment. To help executives and others visualize the final result, Tom Smith’s children created scaled cardboard cut-outs of various parts of the plant. The cut-outs were moved around to see what would fit best where. Creating the infrastructure, including bulk tanks, concrete slabs and other features necessary to incorporate the electrolytic generator took time and investment. “Infrastructure started racking up really quickly,” Weinman says.

FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE MISSISSIPPI

Adding the facility allows Delille to provide purity 6.0 hydrogen and purity 5.0 oxygen, a level of purity that is suitable for laboratories and high-tech manufacturing. The additions have led to a new period of growth for Delille.

With the new plant, Delille can produce enough scientific-grade oxygen and hydrogen for its own customers, as well Fall 2016

as being able to ship gases to distributors across the Eastern United States. Now, the company’s specialty gases market is “basically from the East Coast to the Mississippi, and all the way from the Dakotas to Texas,” Weinman explains. The company has added trucks specifically to circulate product throughout the Eastern half of the United States.

Before offering these gases to other distributors, Delille spent more than a year making sure the plant was working as expected. “We wanted to be very cautious,” Weinman says.

The company now has been serving distributors from the new plant for about two years, and the revenue results have been dramatic. The new offerings have driven overall sales up about 20 percent, Weinman says. “The hydrogen and oxygen travel very well.”

In addition to offering distributors the high-purity oxygen and hydrogen created by electrolysis, the company also can deliver niche gases that most independents don’t produce on their own, Weinman says. That includes sulfur hexafluoride and AA grade acetylene, gases used in high-tech manufacturing plants. “Scientific grade hydrogen and oxygen are used in those markets as well. Typically, you are delivering to the same customer who takes all three,” Weinman says.

BEYOND OHIO

As Weinman explains it, beyond Ohio’s borders, Delille chooses to sell to distributors rather than directly to end users.

Like many in GAWDA, Delille puts a premium on customer service. Weinman says providing customer service at the level the company expects would be difficult outside of Ohio. “We 15

Member Profile: Delille Oxygen Company

feel it is best to work with other distributors,” he says. “The only direct customers we have are in Ohio. We know we can do it in Ohio and do it well.”

Delille has moved to deliver its gases in high-pressure containers. Hydrogen goes out up to 6,000 psi and oxygen up to 3,500 psi, he says. That allows the gases – usually delivered in cylinders by pallet trucks – to be cascaded into other containers more efficiently. “It’s more bang for the buck for the customer,” Weinman says.

DISTRIBUTORS AS CUSTOMERS

So, after nine decades of serving direct users, what’s it like serving distributors? “It’s a little different,” Weinman says. “Distributors know what they want and it is pretty clean cut.” Typically, distributors will be very specific, telling him something like, “I need this gas with these specifications,” he recounts. In contrast, end-user customers often come to Delille a little less certain about their needs. They turn to the company for some problem-solving help with technical matters. For those customers, DeLille staff members, who Weinman calls “welding or specialty gas technicians,” provide the know-how.

Finding customers among fellow distributors hasn’t required Delille to alter operations very much, according to Weinman.

The company attends annual and regional GAWDA conferences and other industry trade shows to network with distributors.

Since the industry is “kind of tight knit,” many distributors have learned about Delille from other distributors, he says.

“It’s pretty much always word of mouth.”

Growth can take some time to digest and Weinman says Delille has paused a couple of times in recent years to make 16

Top: Delille Oxygen Company traces its roots to W.C. DeLille & Company, seen in this undated photo. Ninety-two years after its founding, the company remains at the same address in Columbus, Ohio.

Bottom: Delille Vice President Josh Weinman at the Columbus facility.

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sure its operation, and ability to service customers, doesn’t fall behind its ability to grow.

“We’ve always grown. The past three years have been pretty intense. We had to take a breath and realize you can grow too fast because it’s all about customer service,” Weinman says. “We had to kind of take a deep breath and get our legs under us before we kept going.”

So, salespeople stopped reaching out for new customers as the company focused on serving current customers. The breather was about personnel development, notes Weinman. While you can buy equipment and supplies as quickly as you want, he says, “you can’t develop people as fast as you can buy goods. It just takes time to develop your people.” That’s where we are at now. That’s the most important part of the business, the people.”

Left: The addition of an electrolytic generator and related equipment, visible in the photo at the top of the page, has changed the look of Delille’s yard from before the work, as seen in the vintage photo at left.

18

Fall 2016

Delille Oxygen Company’s recent expansion includes the ability to produce scientific grade oxygen and hydrogen.

ADJUSTING TO RAPID GROWTH

To adjust, the hiring process at Delille has become little bit more intense, he says. “You’ve got to really try to find a good employee from the gate.” And, along with the technical training necessary for the person to do the job, “we started doing more to develop them as a person so they can apply what they’ve learned technically. That’s what we’ve really focused on lately.”

Now, Delille is focused on sending employees to programs such as Dale Carnegie Training and Larry Halt International Training so they can develop their interpersonal skills. “The goal is for employees to be that person the customer wants to talk to about technical issues,” Weinman says.

“And that takes time,” Weinman adds, noting that such training has to be paced to avoid overloading or burning out employees. “We realize people aren’t plug and play. It’s been a major hurdle but I think we’re on a good path to do that.”

Delille has made other preparations for that path to lead to continued growth at the company. While automation has kept employee count from rising dramatically —at 70 employees, staffing has risen less than 10 percent as sales climbed 20 percent in recent years — the company has dramatically expanded its transportation fleet and number and variety of tanks.

From a single semitrailer in 2006, Delille has added four more semis, two bulk liquid tankers, microbulk trucks and tube trailers. It has more than 100 microbulk tanks as well as Fall 2016

ISO containers that can be used to ship gas products by rail.

The 92-year-old company in the 204-year-old state capital was planning on future growth even as company leaders were just laying out plans for the electrolytic generator. “We kind of hugged our existing building so we would have room — tons of room — on the other side. The whole purpose of that was to make it so we can keep growing — and we envision that to happen.”

With decades of experience with welding and gases, Delille’s leadership recognized that continued consolidation in the industry would create opportunities for the company to deliver scientific-grade gases to independent distributors, Weinman says. “We didn’t necessarily have the clientele, but we knew we could get it.”

“It’s not a knock against the big companies, but independent distributors would rather work with another independent distributor they know they’ll never have to compete against,” he says.

With that in mind and having built up its ability to produce and ship scientific-grade gases to distributors, Delille now is eyeing West Coast distributors, specifically those in California with its tech-leading Silicon Valley. “The electronic market is out there; it’s a market you want to be there for when you get the call,” Weinman says.

All photos courtesy of Delille Oxygen Company 19

GAWDA’s Consultant Corner

Government Affairs & Human Resources

Labor Department Raises Salary Threshold for Overtime Exemption New Rules Are Effective December 1; Here Are the Tests That Must Be Met by richard p. schweitzer, esq.

I GAWDA’s Government Affairs and Human Resources Legal Consultant Rick Schweitzer is president of Richard P. Schweitzer, PLLC in Washington, D.C. He is also GAWDA’s general counsel. Members can reach him at 202-223-3040 and rpschweitzer@rpslegal.com.

n a final rule published May 23, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has raised the salary threshold for executive, administrative and professional employees to be exempt from overtime requirements. The new salary threshold goes into effect December 1, and is expected to make an additional 4 million workers eligible for overtime pay. This will be the first change in the overtime threshold since 2004.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay overtime (at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular pay rate) for each hour an employee works beyond 40 hours per week.

Certain employees are exempt from this overtime requirement, however. To be considered exempt, employees must meet certain minimum requirements related to their primary job duties and, in most instances, must be paid on a salary basis at not less than the minimum amounts specified in the regulations.

The current standards for exempting executive, administrative and professional employees from the overtime rules, as set out by the Wage and Hour Division, are as follows.

EXECUTIVE EXEMPTION

To qualify for the executive employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met: • The employee must be compensated on a salary basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week • The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise • The employee must customarily and reg20

•

ularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent; and The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.

ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTIONS

To qualify for the administrative employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met: • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week • The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and • The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

PROFESSIONAL EXEMPTION

To qualify for the learned professional employee exemption, all of the following tests must be met.

• The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week • The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is preFall 2016

Government Affairs & Human Resources dominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment • The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and • The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Effective December 1, the salary threshold for each of these exemptions will increase to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. To be exempt from overtime pay rules, an employee must make at least $913 per week and also meet the other tests for an executive, administrative or professional employee.

Otherwise, the employee must receive overtime pay for any hours worked beyond 40 hours per week.

In addition, the final rule will further adjust the salary threshold for inflation every three years beginning January 1, 2020.

The final rule is actually better than the Labor Department’s proposal, which would have increased the overtime salary threshold to $50,440. The final rule reduced the amount to $47,476 annually after some 30,000 comments were received in the rulemaking docket; most of the comments opposed the new threshold.

The new salary limit is expected to hurt smaller businesses and businesses in rural areas where salaries are generally lower. Some economists have predicted that the new rule will limit workplace flexibility without actually improving pay because employers will take steps to avoid the effects of the new overtime rule.

TWO OPTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS In general, employers have two options in addressing the impact of the new U.S. Labor Department overtime rule.

For salaried employees who receive annual compensation close to, but under the new threshold of $47,476: •

The employer could increase the employee’s salary to a level at or above the new threshold amount and avoid the impact of overtime rates on any hours worked above 40 per week.

•

The employer would have the additional expense of the higher salary but would not have to incur the administrative costs of tracking the employee’s hours each week and paying overtime rates when the employee’s hours exceed 40 per work week.

For salaried employees making substantially less than the new threshold of $47,476: •

Employers have the option of switching those employees to an hourly compensation basis. The hourly employee would be eligible for overtime pay, of course, but would be paid only for those hours actually worked each week.

•

The employer would have to track the employee’s hours each week, but would not have to worry about meeting the Department of Labor standards for exempt employees. If an employee making a salary of $30,000

22

is going to be eligible for overtime under the new rules, some employers might want to switch that employee to an hourly pay structure to give the employer the flexibility to pay only for actual hours worked.

Moving employees from salary to hourly compensation would mean an increased administrative burden to account for all hours worked and to pay overtime rates when earned. Also, some employees might see moving to hourly pay as a demotion, even if their annual pay rates will remain the same. And some employees might not like to see their weekly pay fluctuate based on their hours worked (an employer may not average hours over two or more weeks to avoid paying overtime).

– Richard P. Schweitzer, Esq.

Fall 2016

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GAWDA’s Consultant Corner

DOT, Security, OSHA & EPA

Getting Back to the Basics: Training and Drug Testing by michael dodd

H

ere is a recap on a few topics that many of us may tend to take for granted. As I talk to members on the phone, by email, and through on-site visits, I find that these issues are not always fully understood and sometimes are being carried out inappropriately. These are a few key points you need to know. (Numbers in parentheses are citations from the Code of Federal Regulations.)

TRAINING

Hazmat General Awareness, Safety, and Security Awareness Training (172.704) • Function-Specific Training Requirements (172.704) • Cylinder filling • Cylinder requalification • Special Permits (This one has been a hot button for the past year or so. You must have trained and documented all employees affected by any cylinder special permit that you use or handle.)

• Security, in-depth training (172.704) must include company security objectives, specific security procedures, employee responsibilities, actions to take in the event of a security breach and organizational security structure.

Be sure to cover all five components listed in 172.704 in-depth training.

• Driver Training (177. 816) says that the driver must receive training on the safe operation of the motor vehicle that will be transporting hazardous materials.

Please note: 177. 816 (c) states: The driver training requirements may be satisfied by compliance with the current requirements for a Commercial •

Driver’s License (CDL) with a tank vehicle or hazardous materials endorsement.

RECORD OF TRAINING (172.704 – D)

A record of current training, inclusive of the preceding three years, must be created and retained by each hazmat employer for each hazmat employee. The record must be kept for as long as that particular employee is working for the employer as a hazmat employee, and for 90 days thereafter.

The record must include: • Hazmat employee’s name • Most recent training completion date of the hazmat employee’s training • Description, copy or the location of the training materials used to meet the training requirements • Name and address of the person providing the training; and • Certification that the hazmat employee has been trained and tested.

GAWDA DOT, Security, OSHA, & EPA Consultant Michael Dodd is president of MLD Safety Associates, LLC in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Members can reach him at MLDSafety@hotmail.com and at 573-718-2887.

REASONABLE SUSPICION TRAINING FOR DRIVER SUPERVISORS (382.603)

This item covers training for driver supervisors.

It states that each employer shall ensure that all persons designated to supervise drivers receive training on alcohol misuse and controlled substances use. The training will be used by the supervisors to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to require a driver to undergo testing under 382.307 (reasonable suspicion testing). The training shall include the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances.

Fall 2016

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DOT, Security, OSHA & EPA

TRAINING FREQUENCY

The hazmat (general awareness, safety, function specific, and security awareness) must be done at least every three years.

The training for supervisors regarding drug and alcohol awareness is only a onetime training, but I highly recommend reviewing this with the driver supervisors every two or three years.

PLASMA

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A record of current training must be created and retained by each hazmat employer for each hazmat employee … and kept for as long as that particular employee is working for the employer as a hazmat employee and for 90 days thereafter.

DRUG TESTING

OXY-FUEL

Please make sure that you have all of your company’s CDL drivers enrolled into a DOT random drug and alcohol testing program.

The current CDL minimum testing rate is 25 percent for drugs and 10 percent for alcohol, but you may test at any rate above that minimum rate.

Be sure you are getting and maintaining your annual testing summaries for five years.

You can test non-CDL employees based on your state regulations. Please note that and they must be in a separate testing pool.

TIG

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GAWDA’s Consultant Corner

FDA & Medical Gases

Genetically Modified Organisms in Gases?

Here’s How to Handle GMO Requests by thomas l. badstubner

G GAWDA’s FDA & Medical Gases Consultant Thomas L. Badstubner is president of AsteRisk LLC in Lewisville, Texas. Members can reach him at 508-883-0927 and tom@asteriskllc.com.

enetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are estimated to be in 75 to 80 percent of our food supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that GMOs are safe. Some consumer rights organizations question this assessment and have lobbied for increased labeling for foods containing GMOs. Under an extreme activist position, food/beverage gases produced from ethanol and GMO corn theoretically could have required a GMO label.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

Earlier this year, Vermont passed its version of a GMO labeling bill. The Vermont bill went into effect on July 1, and the labels were to be applied by the end of the year.

This summer, President Obama signed a GMO labeling bill that superseded the Vermont legislation and made future GMO initiatives by states more difficult. (See www.congress. gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/764/text for the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.) For years, Europe also has implemented GMO labeling requirements. (Directive 2001/18/ EC, Deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and European Regulation No. 1829/2003, Genetically modified food and feed.)

GMO LABELING FOR FOOD/ BEVERAGE GASES?

The Food Gas Committee of the Compressed Gas Association recently published a position statement (CGA PS-50) on Food Gases and Genetically Modified Organisms. PS-50 is available to download from CGA’s website at: www.

28

cganet.com/member/Publication/Details.aspx?id=PS-50. Of course, this publication is free to GAWDA members who participate in the CGA/ GAWDA Safety Program.

CGA PS-50 answers the following question: Do food gases in high pressure or liquid containers contain genetically modified organisms at a level exceeding the food industry accepted threshold maximum level of 0.9 percent (w/w) as identified by some government bodies, which would invoke a requirement for labeling regarding the GMO material content?

The answer is: No; food/beverage gases do not require GMO labeling.

Food and beverage gases do not contain measurable amounts of protein, even if produced from genetically modified corn and the fermentation process. We encourage you to download the position statement from CGAnet.com for a full description of the rationale and resources.

Some large customers, especially multinational food manufacturers, have requested GMO declarations from GAWDA members for food and beverage gases. In cooperation with GAWDA members, we have developed a sample GMO declaration document. This could help you define your own GMO declaration when asked by a customer about your food/beverage gas status.

The sample GMO declaration is being added to the GAWDA Sample Food Procedures. It can be downloaded from the Food Procedures Dropbox.

It also is available as a stand-alone document.

If you would like a copy of the sample GMO declaration or have other questions about Food/ Beverage Gases, please contact GAWDA Medical Gas Consultant Tom Badstubner.

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GAINING FROM TRAINING Distributors Tell How Their Welding Training Programs Are Differentiators, Force Multipliers And, Yes, Profit Centers

BY DIANE STIRLING, SENIOR EDITOR

Whether it’s for the love of the profession, to interest others in the industry, as a means to augment revenue or a mode of competitive differentiation, welding training appears to provide a little bit of business heaven for a number of GAWDA distributors.

30

Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

T

raining programs comprise an investment of effort and resources that distributors say helps them gain ground in many ways. The business initiatives widen knowledge, add skills, satisfy customer needs, augment credibility, create reputation and generate profits, GAWDA members who conduct them report.

At Keen Compressed Gas Company, in Wilmington, Del., welder training started in the late 1970s at the suggestion of an Airco rep, recalls Will Keen, vice president of sales and marketing. Then, the company trained customers for no charge, but about 1982 they decided to start a school. It’s been a going concern ever since.

“As a profit center, it’s probably a break-even, but the wins are when it comes to selling equipment and the gas. The wins are certainly very, very strong,” Keen reports of the 35-year endeavor. “It shows credibility and capability, and we’re going to keep on doing it.” The company believes so much in the program’s viability that it recently purchased a weld shop next door to convert into a training center. That coincides with plans for a new plant, with a groundbreaking set for 2017, featuring a school component with modern surroundings and more high-tech features. Keen says the expansion will allow growth in training capacity beyond the current handful of slots.

Keen Compressed also conducts Saturday programs, bringing in supplier Miller Electric and other vendors to offer stainless steel and aluminum seminars. There’s room for 30 people to go through the paces of what Keen calls a “one-day, rock ‘em sock ‘em event that offers lots of information and lots of fun.” Sometimes, the company hosts longer programs, like the three-day training for 90 customers and 10 Keen employees that’s planned this fall at Miller’s Swedesboro, N.J., facility.

Will Keen VP, Marketing & Sales Keen Compressed Gas

The company charges modest fees for classes in basic, intermediate and advanced levels of welding. Its Pro MIG and Pro TIG welding classes are two-day programs, limited to five participants per class per day, led by one instructor, so students are assured highly personalized attention. “When they leave here after 16 hours and two days, they have mastered that particular segment and they are ready to go on. We can take them to certification – another step above the norm. That’s our claim to fame,” asserts Keen.

The value of those offerings is clear to the customer, Keen believes. “It’s something we do and no one else in this Fall 2016

Machinery and Welder Corp. President Joseph Campbell (right) administers a 6G pipe test for GTAW on aluminum for ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code compliance.

area does,” he says. In addition, at Keen, learning is the sole emphasis. “We do not make it a selling forum. We use all the equipment in the school that we sell, and there is literature they can pick up if they want. The teacher isn’t a salesperson, he’s an educator. We try not to cross that line,” Keen notes.

Though he heads sales efforts, Keen recognizes, “We are one of the few full-line gases and supply distributors that believe the service is what we need to do. We don’t run out to get the contract and never see the customer again.”

SPARKS IN THE BLOOD

At Machinery and Welder Corp. in West Allis, Wisc., it’s President Joseph E. Campbell who is usually at the head of the classroom or side-by-side in the training booth. An American Welding Society (AWS) certified welding educator, senior CWI certified robotic arc weld technician and an executive with a string of other industry credentials, he simply seems to have sparks in his blood.

“The first time I welded I was probably 9 or 10. I’ve been in the welding industry since high school, working part-time repairing torches, going through school taking metallurgy courses,” he explains. In the last few years, Campbell has been Joseph E. Campbell President Machinery and Welder Corp.

31

Bob Page, center left, leads a lesson for Master’s Apprentice students at the General Air training facility.

involved with American Welding Society committees. “I like the industry and I want to be able to contribute to making it better,” he says of the face-to-face and teleconference meetings he attends several times a year.

Machinery and Welder Corp. has provided training services since the late 1980s, Campbell says, “because we were just kind of responding to what the customer needed. They weren’t getting what they needed from some of the local schools. So everything we do is pretty much custom. We sit with them, look at their product, see what they are doing, and develop the curriculum based on what they truly need.”

It is not uncommon to find time, materials and cost savings for customers of $20,000 per year and above.

Campbell and his staff even take teaching to the customer’s site. They work a little in classroom mode, then become more hands-on, focusing on processes, inspection, safety matters and welding code compliance. The company services small shops with one or two employees up to bigger places where trainers work with 20 or more people at a time. They also work with large companies such as Caterpillar Inc., Campbell says, getting corporate trainers at those companies “up to speed.”

He notes that Machinery and Welder Corp. has received an AWS award for its training excellence.

Their know-how is in high demand. “Customers keep calling for it, so I know they are happy with what they are getting,” Campbell says. He views their programs as a commodity, “a 32

value-added service that can either help us keep an account or get us in the door where we can do some other work.” Since the company doesn’t distribute gases, “we need to have other things to keep us in the door, and this is one of them. Manufacturing is down right now and you’ve got everybody fighting over the same scraps. This is one of our differentiators,” the president adds.

GETTING GAME ON

Saturday mornings are like game day at General Air Service and Supply Company. That’s when the company conducts training sessions at its Colorado locations in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Greeley. The four-hour classes are geared toward first-time welders and hobbyists. Sessions accommodate 10 to 12 eager learners, and they’re full most of the time, says Steve Duren, General Air’s engineered solutions education manager. Word of mouth brings in 500-600 students a year in Denver and another 200 per year at each of the two other sites, and there’s a waiting list. The company charges a small fee for the training, or it’s free if a customer buys a machine.

Everyone walks away with tangible skills and knowledge from those sessions, Duren says.

The distributor also holds Saturday afternoon classes teaching stick welding, basic and advanced MIG, basic and advanced TIG, plasma and oxy fuel welding. Business customers also are offered a productivity enhancement program where training is developed to match their unique needs. Bob Steve Duren Engineered Solutions Manager General Air Service and Supply Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING Page, welding applications sales manager, will go in and evaluate a company’s welding processes to assess if there are better ways to do things. Then he’ll go back to the company and train employees to help them adjust their processes. The assessments are done for customers from fab shops to large production facilities. Recommendations come through General Air’s sales force, and some 30 customized programs a year are conducted at customers’ sites.

That service is a distinguishing factor for General Air, and usually a profitable one for the customer, according to Duren.

“It is not uncommon for Bob to go in and find time, materials and cost savings for customers of $20,000 per year and above,” he notes. “Customers’ overall response is very positive,” Duren says. “In some cases, customers even want us to go beyond our territory to other locations. While we have some limitations, it gives us a feel for how positive their response is.”

Company management encourages the program, Duren adds. “It’s something they hold dear. This is one of those things that you can really develop and ingrain yourself in the community. It is a contributor to the business bottom line because as students come in and look and get a feel for the machines, they always want to know the latest and greatest of what’s out there. Whether it’s an auto darkening hood or a certain pair of gloves, they can certainly come to our stores and see those things.”

BIG BUILDING, BIG FOCUS

The fully outfitted, 30,000-square-foot technical center at Cee Kay Supply, Inc. is a testament to the commitment the St. Louis company makes to training programs as a central part of its business. Stocked with 10 Lincoln machines, 12 Miller Electric machines, and a couple of other varieties, the tech center is always outfitted with the latest products on the market, the company says. “It’s our showcase, and it backs up what we say we are,” says Timm Evans, Cee Kay’s vice president of sales. “We’ve got a lot invested in it. We use this investment not only as a sales tool but also an indication of our expertise.”

The facility is both classroom and question-answer central.

Classes are hosted every week with six to 10 students being trained at any time. The training is free to customers who buy a welder, and anyone from beginners to the most experienced are welcome. If a customer desires more extensive

Cee Kay’s training facilities include a virtual welding machine.

Timm Evans Vice President, Sales Cee Kay Supply, Inc.

assistance, Cee Kay will develop custom training and will charge for that service.

Three certified welding instructors and certified welding educators are on hand from 6 a.m. through 5 p.m. Their services are promoted by the sales team through talk about the latest equipment, which is available at the training center for real-time testing. If a customer’s site is large enough, Cee Kay takes the equipment to the shop to provide hands-on time at a convenient level. The company is always updating and adding new atrractions, Evans says; the most recent is a robotic cell to teach automation.

About 100 Cee Kay business customers of all sizes take advantage of the training center’s availability. It’s an attractive amenity, Evans says. “It gives them a chance to try out new equipment that’s We don’t want to come to the customer on the market without having to purchase and do a lot of R&D or trial and error at their it first.” It’s also the factor that maintains Cee Kay’s differentiating edge, he adds. facility, but come to them with a pre-solution.

Fall 2016

33

GAINING FROM TRAINING

An expanse of welding machines lines the walls at Cee Kay’s Hill Bax Training Center.

“Customers love the fact that the expertise is here locally, that they have the availability to call in with their questions and use our guys for that.” The center also is good for the company’s own bottom line. Evans estimates that it comprises about five percent of total sales.

Being cutting-edge provides reputational impact that Cee Kay finds invaluable, too. “Getting the customer into the corporate office and over to the tech center just backs up our expertise. It shows that we’re the experts in the industry; the experts in our territory,” Evans says. “When they can call in and can get expertise, it works all the way around.”

THINKING SOLUTIONS

At Red Ball Oxygen Company, Inc., Joel Armstrong, the company’s sales engineer and a senior certified welding instructor, is always thinking in terms of solutions. He heads an engineering group team that includes five other CWIs. They spend workdays looking at problems, thinking ahead, straightening the kinks out of processes, designing training solutions and considering how new and improved equipment might impact results.

It’s a proactive approach that has served Red Ball customers well across the Shreveport, La., headquarters and 18 other branches in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, Armstrong says. “We don’t want to come to the customer and do a lot of R&D or trial and error at their facility, but come to them with a pre-solution,” he explains. “We do all the trial and error ahead of time, mock the part up, weld it, record the time, then

go to their facility and see how they do it. We compare and contrast, look at all the aspects of production, introduce best processes, then go into their facility to train their welder or operator,” he says of their 360-degree methodology.

At Red Ball, service underscores sales, Armstrong notes, because many times, the company will train a customer’s welders at no charge. “That’s the value of doing business with Red Ball. Our philosophy is that if we can help you make more money, that keeps you in business longer, and we become your solution provider, building a lot of good will with that relationship. That’s how we go to market,” Armstrong says.

Bob Ewing President Red Ball Oxygen Company, Inc.

The company’s training services sealed the deal in negotiations with a large account in the Houston area, Armstrong recounts. They told us, ‘As soon as the contract is signed, we want your guys in here training our folks on this type of equipment. We’ve got these three projects where we want to increase our productivity,’” Armstrong adds. “So training has definitely enhanced our ability to go after certain accounts. It differentiates us in our market. We don’t necessarily look at this as a stand-alone profit center; it’s more of a force multiplier.”

While Red Ball also offers courses for the general public and it advertises as an accredited AWS testing facility, most of the training demand is generated by customers’ Training … differentiates us in our market. regional managers or location sales We don’t necessarily look at this as a stand-alone teams. Red Ball can help customprofit center; it’s more of a force multiplier. ers create welding procedures and

34

Fall 2016

Increased Purity, Accuracy and Consistency for one of Missouri’s Largest Independent Distributors Cee Kay Supply’s history with automated cylinder filling dates back to 1997, when the St. Louis, MO, independent gas and welding-equipment supplier installed its first fill plant. Fast forward to 2014 and that semi-automatic island, updated with an equipment retrofit in 2005, had lost much its ability to perform reliably and consistently. Quality control had become an ongoing challenge, cross contamination a pesky, daily hurdle.

Something had to change.

“Being customer-driven and known for our quick response to customer requirements, we believed it was time to invest in a new, state-of-the-art automated fill island. Now, our completely modernized fill operations have optimized consistency, accuracy and purity for our customers.”

- Kevin Kimker; Director of Gas Operations at Cee Kay The modernization came early in 2015 when Cee Kay partnered with Weldcoa to develop a customized 87-ft.-long automated fill island, one of the largest Weldcoa has ever designed and built. “We can fill 20 cylinders on each of six fill heads,” explains Cee Kay production manager Russell Stokes. “The island also has six oxygen banks and eight inert-gas banks.”

“We set the bar very high when we specified the fill island’s performance requirements,” adds Kimker, “and Weldcoa came through. I doubt we’ll ever face production-capacity issues again, at least for the foreseeable future.”

Technical Acumen, Installation Efficiency Within a three-day period, the old fill island was dismantled and the new island was installed and ready to go. Stokes, in particular, appreciates how well Weldcoa’s installation crew jelled with the Cee Kay team, to minimize any disruption to its business. “By day four of the project,” recalls Stokes, “we were running production at 60 percent of our normal load. And, the very first product we filled, 75 Ar-25 CO2, came out well within our accuracy specifications.”

“We’ve found that it’s not just one or two people at Weldcoa that are ready and able to support us. Instead, we’ve found that the technical expertise runs deep at Weldcoa, so we’re not reliant on just one or two people being available. The depth of the expertise is a big reason we chose Weldcoa for this project, and continues to be a reason for the success of the installation.”

- Russell Stokes, Cee Kay’s Production Manager

Easier to Operate, Easier to Train

From the operations perspective, Kimker and his team can’t say enough about the ease and speed at which Weldcoa got its operators up and running on the new equipment.

“Using the old island, we felt like we needed highly trained experts to fill cylinders. Now we can train inexperienced operators to run the computer-controlled island in a day or two. We’ve already trained four people to run it, and expect to train a fifth operator in 2016. They can even fill medical gases and our UHP products, where before only two ‘expert’ operators were able to do so using the old equipment.”

One person trained on the new island, who also ran the previous island, is Allen Stokes.

Serving as Cee Kay’s lead Cylinder Filling Technician, Allen says there’s much to like about the new fill equipment. “With the old island the fill heads were heavy, awkward and difficult to move. The weight distribution was poor. Now I can move the new heads literally with one finger. And, the programmability of the new island couldn’t be simpler; I can add new programs quickly and easily at any time. Before, we’d typically have to call a software-support person to add new programs.”

New Growth Potential

“Bank filling has been a real area of growth for us,” Kimker explains. “For example, one of our newer customers, in the refrigeration industry, orders a lot of mixed gases filled in 12-cylinder cradles. We fill these at least twice per week. Before the Weldcoa system came in, our bank filling was more of an add-on section to the old island. It was slow and labor-intensive.”

Now, bank filling at Cee Kay is computer-controlled in a two-fill-head extension to the fill island. Weldcoa custom-designed the bank-filling setup, and now it promises to provide real growth opportunities for the company.

“Last year, we more than doubled our bank filling operations,” Kimker says, “and we expect to grow that part of our business by at least 10 percent per year.”

To learn more about the advantages of automation, call Weldcoa at 630.806.2000. Visit Weldcoa.com

GAINING FROM TRAINING develop welding qualification records.

“They know they need to qualify their welders but may not know how to do that, or what the process is,” Armstrong says. “We’re able to walk in and walk them through that process and help them.”

The idea of helping customers improve business performance is a natural one for the company, says company President Bob Ewing. “Our No. 1 philosophy is to listen to our customers.

They were telling us they were having a difficult time finding skilled labor, that they did not have internal assets to do the technical welding work, that they didn’t have engineering resources on their own on staff. If we can solve those problems for them, working shoulder to shoulder, we feel like they may grow faster and they’ll take us along with them.”

Adds Armstrong: “We’ve proven ourselves as solution providers. We find that a lot of people are very interested in wanting to have that valued partnership.”

We’re trying to instill in people that there are hands-on trades that make good money. If they’re not a college person, this is a good thing to learn to do.

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A training partnership with the area technical college has proven fruitful for Hartman Brothers, Inc., a 112-year-old company in Montrose, Colo.

Hartman started a school in 2008 working with Delta Montrose Technical College. The college takes care of program administration and advertising and pays to rent Hartman’s facility. The distributor provides the expertise and training, and sells all of the product used in the school.

The company’s training facility has 12 machines – four TIG, six MIG, and two for stick; plus a plasma machine, a pipe beveler and a track torch. In the past six years, 450 students have gone through the program, six students to a class, says Bart Disher, of Hartman’s sales department. Students take safety courses first, then move on to beginning, intermediate, and advanced welding. The program attracts a lot of veterans who are

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retraining for welding careers, Disher notes. The distributor offers a farm and hobby class, too; the 16-hour program runs twice a month. The school has provided some 17,000 hours of training to date, Disher says. Hartman conducts certification testing at its facilities, too, and the company continues to partner with local businesses and customers to provide services that meet and exceed their expectations, adds Ray Carrell, general manager/industrial. “Our classes have supplemented the training for various commercial concerns as well, keeping their employees up to date in their processes.”

Students sometimes become customers, and the company extends discounts on products and machinery to those who take classes. More than concern about maintaining students as customers, the company has a strong belief that its efforts are helping to preserve welder skills and filling an avalanche of coming needs. “Our school systems all seemed to have turned kids towards college. We’re trying to fill a void with this to help people realize there are other jobs than being a computer person,” Disher explains. “I just don’t think our trade companies have realized that all of a sudden, there’ll be 100,000 welders a year retiring, and those jobs aren’t getting filled. Some are getting replaced by automation, but there’s a call for welders all over the country. We’re trying to instill in people that there are hands-on trades that make good money. If they’re not a college person, this is a good thing to learn to do,” adds Disher.

PAYBACK IN KIND

High-value training is a highly desired commodity that AWISCO, a distributorship in the New York City metro/ TriState region, finds pays back in kind, according to company President Lloyd Robinson.

That’s the basis for the company’s formal launch of AWISCO University at its trade show this year. The branded training program is a formalized extension of the training services the company has long provided its customers, welding students, and union schools. Director of Safety and Training Coordination Tom Allen manages all aspects of the initiative

It definitely ties us to our customer better and creates a relationship that’s different than a buysell relationship.

Lloyd Robinson President AWISCO

Participants in AWISCO University training get a lesson from Miller Electric’s Sue Anderson at the NYC-metro facility.

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Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

Showing off their program completion certificates are participants in the AWISCO University group-training session.

for the Maspeth, N.Y., company. Both in-house instructors and outside experts are used to provide training.

“As the supplier’s relationship with the end user changes, suppliers don’t have the resources they used to have for training,” Robinson contends. “It gives us a leg up that we are able to provide training to our customers. There’s a void in the marketplace from suppliers that don’t do this anymore, and I think the distributors who get this right and understand how important it is will be able to reap the rewards of it,” he continues. “We think it’s a competitive advantage. It definitely ties us to our customer better and creates a relationship with our customer that’s different than a buy-sell relationship. It’s more of what we want it to be, and that’s a partnership.”

Tom Allen Director of Safety and Training Coordination, AWISCO Fall 2016

The company plans to continue the initiative at its annual May trade show, Robinson adds. This year, 117 show attendees participated in classes in torch safety taught by Bob Gulas of ESAB; welding fume management by Sue Anderson of Miller Electric; and hazardous material storage by Steve Wyjadka of ORS-Nasco. Attendees received certificates of completion, an important element of ongoing training, says Felim O’Malley, AWISCO executive vice president. “Most customers require regular safety and process training as part of their own programs,” he notes. “AWISCO University classes assist them and encourage them to give employees time to attend these events, and that eases their burden.”

3, TO 6, TO 15 BOOTHS X 2

In the Northwest, distributor Oxarc, Inc. pairs large, active training schools in Spokane and Pasco, Wash., with a booming business in welding inspection.

People come from as far as Colorado and Texas for Oxarc’s training, says Tim Shatto, CWI, ICC Special Inspector of Structural Steel, Level II MT, PT, UT. He began the company’s 39

GAINING FROM TRAINING New courses start every Monday. There are three full-time instructors, two in Spokane and one in Pasco. Courses consist of 150 hours, or about five and a half weeks’ time. Students put in eight-hour days Monday through Thursday and half a day on Friday. The training is 90 percent hands-on, Shatto says, and its focus is to make students employable. “In five to 10 weeks, the school can get them back to work,” he says.

The schools are registered with the state of Washington and the Veterans OXARC’s training program is registered with the State of Washington and the Administration, both of whom will pay Veteran’s Administration. This is the Spokane facility. Photo: Ron VanDyke for training; or students may pay their inspecting and testing division in 2001 and oversees those functions, own way. All three courses offer the chance for certificaincluding 13 employees in its certified welding inspector division. tion. Many of the attendees are high school graduates who When the Alaskan North Slope was going big time in 2009, the may not have a career plan in mind, displaced workers and school was processing welder certifications like wildfire, he recalls. people with disabilities (such as the hearing impaired) and “They’d come in Monday to Thursday to do all these tests, and if veterans working toward new careers. The Pasco school, they passed certification they had a plane located near the Hanford nuclear site, focuses on the high ticket on Friday.” demand for pipe welders in that region. The training What was three booths in Spokane centers also serve as walk-in welding certification centers in 2004 became six in 2008, and a year for AWS ASME certifications and the Washington State later, 15. Now, both weld schools have 15 Washington Association of Building Officials (WABO), booths and training is offered as curricuShatto notes. With five large fabricators in Spokane doing lums for beginner, structural steel for the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii, intermediate and “they are hiring people out of our schools all the time,” Tim Shatto OXARC, Inc. advanced welding. he says, citing a job-placement rate of about 80 percent.

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When we offer the training, we certainly see the customer tend to open up to us more, and we have a much stronger dialogue with what’s happening in their business.

Scott Berg Marketing and Product Manager Purity Cylinder Gases, Inc.

The firm also conducts a Boy Scouts of America merit badge program once a year for a full day on a Saturday.

“It’s a big benefit for Oxarc that when they come to school here, they leave knowing we sell gases and welding supplies.

But those people go out and say the school’s good, and they’ve also become foremen and superintendents of jobs, and they’re recommending that their hires come back to school here or go to our stores for their welding supplies,” Shatto illustrates.

The company’s inspection services for buildings, bridges and dams in the Northwest are done out of both school locations and are highly profitable, Shatto says. Oxarc staff have performed visual and particle ultrasonic inspections for the largest projects in that part of the country. They include Amazon’s warehouses in Seattle, the Grand Coolee Dam, and “every dam on the Columbia,” Shatto adds. It’s really good business for the company, he says. “The work just comes in the door. We’ve developed a very good name.”

minutes long and they’re structured “to respect [customers’] time schedules, so they are not intrusive on their work day,” Berg says. “We don’t charge a customer to to do it. So other than the commitment of their time, it’s strictly a bonus to them.”

Purity follows up with safety posters, tool box magnets and giveaways that reinforce the lessons.

Customer feedback “is usually a huge win-win, since there’s a surprise on the customer’s part of how good an opportunity it is,” Berg reports. Sales may or may not occur immediately after a session, but that’s not even the focus, he says. “It’s more building goodwill. We feel that if we’re going to work with a customer and support their business, then we need to collaborate on what objectives they are trying to meet and support that. That sales-free atmosphere is reflected in customers’ reactions, Berg says. “When we offer the training and go to a session, we certainly see the customer tend to open up to us more, and we have a much stronger dialogue with what’s happening in their business.”

The program sets Purity apart, according to Berg. “When you try to differentiate between competitors, if you’re all selling the same product at relatively the same price, what’s going to keep customers choosing you over anyone else? When you create value, that’s one of the easiest ways we can do that and one of the most beneficial.”

LUNCH-AND-LEARNS

Purity Cylinder Gases, Inc. provides training programs for many of its customers across its 14 branches in Michigan and Indiana.

Purity does 50 or so lunch-and-learn training sessions a year, two or three per each of its 23 sales representatives. They are targeted to each rep’s top-10 accounts, usually fab shops and production facilities. There’s class time, then information modules are presented. Topics include welding consumables, new welding equipment, welding and cutting safety, abrasives safety, power tool safety and personal protection. Some 15 to 30 end users typically attend a program, including floor personnel, floor supervisors, management employees and owners. About half the time, a supplier joins the distributor on-site, according to Scott Berg, Purity Cylinder marketing and product manager.

The sessions, called “Training Bites,” are usually 30-60 42

A group of aspiring welders gathers around for a lesson at Mahany Welding Supply’s Arc + Flame Center in Rochester, N.Y. Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

Top: As customer outreach and service, Purity Gas conducted a tool and abrasives safety training for employees of the Industrial Arts Institute in Onaway, Mich. The firm also recently hosted an abrasives safety seminar at Robert Sintos Corp. for about 50 employees, and an aluminum welding seminar at an open house at its Elkhart, Ind., branch, partnering with Hobart Welding School.

Bottom: Purity Cylinder holds a lunch-and-learn “Training Bites” program at a customer’s location.

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BIG IDEA, BIG RESULTS

I wanted to make welding something sexy that everybody wanted to do, not just have something for welding supply customers.

Michael Krupnicki President Mahany Welding Supply Co., Inc.

Top: An Oxarc employee offers a lesson to a local Boy Scout troop member, part of the company’s community service program. Photo: Ron VanDyke Bottom: Purity Gas customers Mark Duimstra and Darwin Korf are trained on Scotchman Iron Worker capabilities for metal fabrication by Scotchman’s Greg Davis.

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When Mahany Welding Supply Co., Inc. President Michael Krupnicki got the idea to add a welding training center to his retail distributor showroom 15 years ago, he recognized the risk. But his big idea paid off big time, “even for a tiny little distributor in a tiny little market like Rochester, N.Y.,” he concedes.

What began as “weekend warrior” classes is now the comprehensive Arc + Flame Center, perhaps one of the most out-of-the-box and upscale welding training facilities in the U.S. Initially, the distributor set up a teaching area in his retail showroom, “so people could come in and, literally in moments, be trying before buying with anything we sold.” After nine years and 3,500 students, the operation was too big and too busy to stay put. “With everything we were offering, I said, ‘I can’t do it in my welding distributorship anymore.

There’s way too much distraction and way too many people coming in,’” Krupnicki remembers.

So, he kicked it up a notch, starting a separate business entity “with the mentality that I wanted to make it as high-volume training as I possibly could.

I wanted to make welding something sexy that everybody wanted to do, not just have something for welding supply customers.”

Now, the facility is adjacent to the store and it’s outfitted with 16 booths and 16 sets of tables and chairs. Classes of all types take place weekdays, weeknights and weekends.

First were full-day Saturday workshops, offered “so curiosity seekers can give welding a try without too much of a time or cost commitment.” Vo-tech continuing education-style night classes came next, “because none of the high schools do it anymore.” Mahany also partnered with local colleges. The center hosts Monroe Community College courses Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

Students of all ages attend classes in welding, blacksmithing and glassblowing at Mahany Welding Supply’s Arc + Flame Center in Rochester, N.Y. In addition to hosting welding training, the center hosts corporate events and even date nights.

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GAINING FROM TRAINING

Earlbeck Gases & Technologies Training Center in Baltimore is outfitted with 18 welding booth slots.

for HVAC and machining students and Rochester Institute of Technology mechanical engineering, industrial design and metal sculpture and metal arts students. The “crown jewel,” Krupnicki says, is Monroe’s 360-hour college certificate program. It has an 85 percent placement rate and 120 employers ready to hire the students. Krupnicki proudly estimates that the program’s 302 graduates have added $8 million to the area economy through payroll dollars and buying power.

In summer, when the colleges aren’t as busy, the center is filled with DOT worker trainings and sessions for inner-city youth doing career exploration programs. Recently, Mahany began “taking welding mainstream,” adding metalsmithing, blacksmithing and glassblowing classes at the center. They’re popular with artists, jewelry makers and hobbyists, and they make creative family get-togethers, corporate team-building events and even date nights, Krupnicki says. About 1,500 people a year attend those sessions. As a community service, the distributorship also works with six Boy Scout troops helping Scouts earn welding merit badges.

The business charges fees for every class, “so it’s definitely a for-profit venue,” Krupnicki says. “We’re in it full-time as a dedicated business for training. But then we tell the students, after they’re done, that if you ever need to come back and bone up, you can come back and do that anytime at no charge.”

VALUED GUESTS

All who visit the training center are treated like valued guests, according to Krupnicki. “We have a phrase here: ‘show the love.’ We’re grateful they’re here; we know there are other places they can spend their time and money. It’s my passion to deliver a fabulous experience whatever reason you’re coming in for,” he adds.

That philosophy is business-smart as well as naturally infused in the company’s DNA, the owner says. “In this day 46

and age of super-competition, we have all had to find a niche, whether that’s bulk gases, medical gases, hardware supplies, or fab shops. Training was the niche I carved out to help buffer that really rough competition,” Krupnicki acknowledges. “And it’s no secret, students who take a class might likely become a Mahany customer.”

TESTING AND TRAINING

In Baltimore, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies runs a testing shop/training facility as a separate profit center from its welding supply and gases distributorship. “And for us, it is a profit center,” says Jim Earlbeck, company president.

Welder training began years ago when a salesperson saw an opportunity to train customers’ maintenance department employees. First came five booths, then 12. Now, the facility has 18 booths plus eight more in a mobile lab. The school targets students who need career training, who aren’t doing vocational education or college degrees. It has a deal with Anne Arundel Community College and the Community College of Baltimore to conduct the colleges’ welder education programs.

The firm also contracts to train business-customer employees. Upon expanding to Pennsylvania with a branch store in York, the company made sure to include enough space for a second weld school there. While awaiting state educational accreditation, they do B2B contract training.

Sales Manager Joe Vincent notes that the company also offers welding certification and specialized engineering services. It is an accredited American Welding Society testing facility, one of Joe Vincent Sales Manager Earlbeck Gases & Technologies Fall 2016

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only about 80 in the country with that designation. The firm has been doing certifications since the mid-1960s and now couples that with engineering services, drawing interpretation, first-article testing, process development and failure analysis of welds. Two full-time staff members plus a part-time engineer are on staff. The testing, training and engineering services account for about 10 percent of company business activity, according to Earlbeck.

That diversity of expertise is a calling card, Earlbeck says.

“It enhances our offerings to our customers. It’s a differentiator between us and other people who are just moving boxes. It’s cradle-to-grave. It takes it to a different level.”

Believing that it’s important to cross-fertilize welding and engineering capabilities, Earlbeck began pro-bono welder training for engineering students. Several Saturdays each year, he hosts groups of students from the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, University of Delaware, the U.S. Naval Academy and Morgan University at the school, and personally joins in teaching them.

The company has delved into the welding-as-entertainment arena, too. Earlbeck’s daughter, Allison, who works in the business, developed a “Sparks and Spirits” event. It sold out in three days, drawing 24 people for a three-hour Saturday evening welding class and project time, followed by drinks and hors d’oeuvres. There are plans to repeat it and add other types of social programming.

Reputationally, training schools are a good thing, Earlbeck contends. “It brings back the business, it helps me grow the business, it creates the differentiator I’m always looking for because we don’t want to become the Wal-Mart of the welding business. We want to be looked at as the professionals, not the people who’ll tell you something just to make a sale. It creates some stickiness, and keeps customers coming back.”

Are training schools smart business extensions for distributorships?

Earlbeck believes so, “if your company is technically aligned. Then I think it makes sense and it’s easy to do. If you’re a logistics company with a cash register, it’s going to be alien to your culture. You need people on staff that are passionate about welding and cutting. If you don’t have those and you’re not willing to hire them, you should maybe stay out of it,” he adds.

“Just because you have a school doesn’t mean your students will become your distribution customers,” Earlbeck says. “Personally, I like to see people grow and raise their value to the community. I get enjoyment out of that, saying I helped that person earn a better wage and maybe get a larger slice of the happiness pie.”

Fall 2016

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Investing in Employee Training

It’s Got Bottom-Line and Employee-Retention Benefits by charles mcchesney, senior editor

N

obody is born knowing how to distribute gases and welding supplies. But at thousands of facilities across the country and around the world, gases get safely delivered and hardgoods get sold every single day. This happens because, along the way, the people who do the work at distributorships have been trained in every aspect of their jobs.

For many employed in the business, their training took place on the job, as they learned, position by position, what it takes to properly handle and correctly fill cylinders, to work at the counter at a retail location or to drive a truck and deliver gases to customers. For some, the lessons continued onto inside sales, then outside sales, and perhaps in time to positions of leadership and even in the executive ranks.

Many GAWDA member firms have created formalized or semi-formal programs to provide training to their employees.

These programs give workers insight not just into their current job, but positions they may aspire to in the future. Other companies are cross-training employees so they can cover for each other if someone is out of work. Still others are developing programs to ensure everyone in the business — including those in back-office operations — has a clearer idea of what’s involved in welding and gases overall, so they are better able to communicate when they work with customers.

Companies also invest in sales training, which can focus on teaching techniques to sales people or familiarizing sales people with the features and benefits of the products they sell.

(See sidebar, page 54.)

SAFETY = FUNDAMENTAL

Safety training is fundamental at many distributorships. At General Distributing Company, in Great Falls, Mont., each week begins with a safety meeting and every new hire goes through hazardous material general awareness training. It is part of their onboarding process, says Michele Covino, General Distributing’s human resource manager and compliance officer.

Those who work in General Distributing’s fill plant and all the company’s drivers are also required to have hazmat security instruction. “Part of our ongoing training is that we 50

retest all employees for the hazmat awareness every three years,” Covino says. The test is done online and Covino can see how well each employee did on the test and how long it took them to complete the work. To keep safety consistent across General Distributing’s branches throughout Montana — no small feat in the fourth largest state in the Union — branch store new hires are required to complete safety training within three months of joining the company.

At Butler Gas Products, in Pittsburgh, Penn., safety meetings are held monthly. The meetings are done in different sessions so that the entire work force can participate without bringing the business to a standstill. “We prioritize without hurting customer service,” Butler Executive Vice President Abydee Butler Moore says of the meetings.

Brady Bush Vice President and General Manager A-L Compressed Gases

Some distributors turn to vendors for help with training, particularly basic technical lessons. “We rely on our vendors a lot,” says Brady Bush, vice president and general manager of A-L Compressed Gases of Spokane, in Spokane, Wash. The second Wednesday of each quarter, Bush gathers the company’s 12 outside sales people for a training meeting. “We’ll discuss what we’re seeing out there and how we can help each other,” Brady says of the meeting’s first hour.

After that, vendors make hour-long presentations, bringing A-L’s people up to speed on the latest equipment or trends. In the third quarter, the employees heard from the maker of Michele Covino Human Resources Manager General Distributing Company Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING automated welding and cutting products, a representative of an abrasive company and another rep from a company that makes helmets, tapes, safety products and adhesives.

Some A-L branches are hours away from the Spokane office, so Bush sets the schedule a year in advance so everyone can block the time and plan to attend.

Every couple of years, A-L sends people more than 1,500 miles to a session with a major supplier for more in-depth training.

Teresa Moore handles operations at Koehler Welding Supply. She came to the company with knowledge from a previous employer in the industry and used that experience to show others at Koehler how to operate new machinery. In time, she says, Koehler sent two workers to formal training with the manufacturer of the gas-moving equipment, and they have been sharing what they learned since returning from the two-day class.

But what if we train our employees and they leave?

What if we don’t – and they stay?

U.S. WORKSHOPS

Pferd, the Germany-based maker of abrasives, has an extensive training program for its distributors and their customers, explains John Thompson, the company’s national technical sales manager.

Twelve times a year Pferd hosts twoday workshops at its U.S. headquarters in Milwaukee. The firm conducts the training to improve distributor employees’ understanding of the company’s products and what the products can do for end users. Sessions include classroom work, but are mostly handson. After the program concludes, even people with decades in the business have expressed surprise at what they didn’t know, Thompson says. Pferd also offers safety training to final users at the request of distributors. Those who take the classes can earn safety certificates. It’s a program that helps build the relationship between distributor and

To train or not to train? This cartoon depicts a popularly-reported quandary some employers may face in considering employee training. customer, Thompson says, and can come in handy when a customer is pushing for a discount.

Weldcoa’s Precision University is another training alternative. The maker of gas filling equipment uses a functioning specialty John Thompson gas filling facility in National Technical Sales Manager Aurora, Ill., to offer Pferd Inc. training in specialty

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When employee growth is on the right track, I believe we’re on the right track.

Joe Vincent Sales Manager Earlbeck Gases & Technologies

gas mixing, gas chromatography and process instrumentation.

Participants receive certification in the processes they learn.

Other vendors provide training at their facilities or at distributorships, depending on demand.

At General Air Service and Supply Company, in Denver, Steven Duren has an unusual title: engineered solutions education manager. He is focused on getting more employees to a higher level of technical knowledge. “I just thought it would be a good idea to start teaching everyone the basics,” he explains.

Duren conducts small classes of two or three employees, and sometimes a single employee at a time, to encourage questions and avoid intimidation. He typically spends two-and-a-half

52

days with those who are learning about welding, including flux core and TIG. “It’s been working pretty well,” Duren says. So far, 50 employees have been through the course. That’s just under a third of all General Air employees. Duren says the company uses the customer experience and subsequent sales measures as metrics for determining the effectiveness of its training programs. He notes that the company is pleased to see that, even though there has been something of an industry decline, sales levels are staying at satisfactory levels.

Jim Bonestell has launched a similar program at Noble Gas Solutions in Albany, N.Y., with a slightly broader goal.

Bonestell has set out to train everyone in the business so they know a little something about welding and gases — even people in accounting and other operations — where striking a spark isn’t part of the daily grind. The program started with some counter staff and sales people receiving simple instructions on oxy fuel, plus some book training and online training using websites hosted by vendors. Then came the hands-on training. Bonestell says the goal is that, while “I don’t expect them to be phenomenal welders, I do expect them to understand the theory and the components.”

Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING EVERYONE’S IN SALES

Since “Everyone who works here is a salesperson,” according to James Earlbeck, president of Earlbeck Gases & Technologies, everyone gets a chance at training.

During a recent week, 10 of Earlbeck’s 36 employees learned about plasma cutting. They came from customer service, shipping and receiving and operations, and arrived a half hour ahead of opening in order to fit in training time.

“The more they know, the more competent they will be in their positions,” Earlbeck says. Sales Manager Joe Vincent agrees that training benefits the employee, and ultimately, the customer, too. “When their employee growth is on the right

track, I believe we’re on the right track,” he says.

Providing training also is a way to reach out to the next generation, Earlbeck says. “One common thread is millennials want to be taught. They want to keep growing. So why not feed that desire?”

The role that training can play in transferring skills and knowledge from the current generation of workers to the next is underscored in research conducted by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Its research found that “younger workers want opportunities for development and self-improvement, even if that means searching for employment outside their current organization.”

As huge numbers of baby boomers prepare for and enter into retirement, organizations are at huge risk of a brain drain and a massive loss of intellectual capital.

Society for Human Resource Management report

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Fall 2016

53

GAINING FROM TRAINING

FIVE ESSENTIAL STEPS OF SALES TRAINING The ability to communicate with customers and would-be customers for the purpose of driving sales is a focus of training for many GAWDA members.

Earl Honeycutt, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Elon University in central North Carolina, has researched sales training and has taught it to M.B.A. students for years. He offers five basic steps that he believes should be part of any sales training program.

1. ASSESS NEEDS: If people you count on to sell your products need

more technical skills, focus on that. If they need to learn how to better handle customer questions, that should be the concern for the training sessions. Perhaps a sales manager is traveling, trying to watch and coach and learn why some in sales aren’t meeting their goals. It could be because they haven’t been able to handle buyers’ objections, or they don’t ask questions, or they don’t follow up, Honeycutt says.

Sales software might uncover weaknesses there, according to the professor. It may show that some in the sales team need to call on a customer 10 times to make a sale, or perhaps that they don’t make as many calls as they might. Sales software sometimes can uncover patterns and provide “something to measure.”

2. SET AN OBJECTIVE: This might be learning how to respond to

objections or getting more efficient about selling. A more specific objective might be “increasing valid open-ended questions by 50 percent.”

3. PLAN THE PROGRAM: This includes deciding whether the training

will take place as a lecture or as role playing, mock presentations, or some other means.

It also includes deciding who will do the training (the sales manager or a consultant). While some companies may immediately decide to save expenses by having sales managers run training, the preparation and actual training sessions will take managers away from their chief responsibilities. Additional considerations include the training location, setting and meals.

4. CONDUCT THE TRAINING: Follow the plan for what, who, when and where.

5. EVALUATE HOW THINGS WORKED: This isn’t always easy to

measure due to variables outside the company that can’t be controlled. For instance, the training may have gone very well, but your competitor just cut prices 10 percent.

Some metrics can be compared, such as the number of calls made in a day that lead to customer requests for samples.

According to Professor Honeycutt, sales training is always important.

“It cuts down on turnover, helps performance and makes the sales manager’s job easier,” he says. It also helps employees become more knowledgeable about what they are selling. And it is not optional, he adds, but really is part of the management’s job to provide.

He shares a lesson he taught to M.B.A. students in his marketing classes. Honeycutt asks those involved in marketing to raise their hands. A few do. Others say they are engineers or accountants or hold some other role. Then he informs them of the reality of their work environment: “You’re all in marketing.”

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That is a diplomatic way of saying millennials will quit if they aren’t getting enough opportunities for self-improvement. It’s a reality that can’t be brushed off in some sort of inter-generational pique, because the welding and gases industry, like other industries in North America, needs an influx of new blood.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that by 2022 more than one-quarter of the U.S. labor force will be in the 55-plus age category, compared with roughly one-fifth of it only 10 years earlier, in 2012.

That reality check comes to bear in a job market where 68 percent of human resources professionals already are reporting difficulty finding people to fill full-time jobs, according to SHRM. The situation isn’t just that there may not be people to do the work, but that there won’t be enough people who know how to do it.

According to the organization, “As huge numbers of baby boomers prepare for and enter into retirement, organizations are at huge risk of a brain drain and a massive loss of intellectual capital.”

Training, therefore, is necessary not just to bring new workers up to speed, but to pass along the knowledge the current generation of gases and welding workers, leaders and owners have accumulated during their long careers.

Many GAWDA members report that they address this need in part by having newer workers learn from and train with more experienced workers. When a worker expresses interest in moving up to sales at A-L, Brady Bush will bring that worker in on a Saturday (which is a pretty quiet day on the counter), and pair him or her with a veteran. “They get a taste for it,” he says.

Others utilize branch managers or sales managers to informally initiate younger workers into the intricacies of the industry.

(Continued on next page) Fall 2016

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GAINING FROM TRAINING

Jim Bonestell, left, branch manager for Noble Gas Solutions, of Albany, N.Y., shares a lesson with fellow employees as part of the company’s efforts to educate all workers about its products and how customers use them.

Glenn Bliss, president at General Distributing, saw a need to revamp the way the company handles not only its training, but even its hiring practices to meet the challenges of the developing workforce. Early this decade, General Distributing was plagued by employee turnover of 25 percent or more, he says, which drove up costs for the six-branch company. So the company made some changes.

A new, more formal interviewing process and a tighter screening process were adopted. Turning the usual practice on its head, General Distributing now requires an applicant to have three references from an applicant, and those references must call the company on the applicant’s behalf. The change helps the company “weed out low performers,” Covino reports. New hires also take a job-match personality assessment, she adds. Once a person is hired, Covino personally handles their start on the job, spending time with each of them on the first day of work. Even if the employee is working in one of

After the training program concludes, even people with decades in the business have expressed surprise at what they didn’t know.

Ken Thompson Pferd Inc. Fall 2016

General Distributing’s far-flung branches, she goes to each location to onboard that employee.

General Distributing also has changed its review process, moving away from annual reviews toward shorter, quicker quarterly reviews, and pushes the process down to the manager level. The company also started using a version of the job-match personality assessment to help decide promotions.

“It kind of takes the bias out of it,” Bliss says. “The results are interesting; it does help.” These changes have dropped turnover levels at General Distributing to around 7 or 8 percent, Bliss says. While that’s above the 5 percent goal he and Vice President Eric Bliss have set, it’s a third of where the rate was just a few years ago.

DOES TRAINING WORK?

So, does all this effort to train employees work? And importantly, does it pay off? Is it worth the expense to distributors in work time lost to training days or meetings?

When it comes to safety, the answer is plain. Training not only works, it is necessary. As GAWDA’s consultants can attest, welding and gases is a highly regulated industry and training is part of doing business.

What about all the sales training? Does it lead to higher sales?

“The benefits are huge,” according to A-L’s Brady Bush.

While most customers know what they want, sometimes customers come in with many questions. If the staff can’t answer them, well, that’s a missed opportunity, as he sees it.

“Sometimes it’s hard to quantify what you get with the training.

But to see these inside guys take the information they get and use it on a daily basis, that tells me it is money well spent. I 57

GAINING FROM TRAINING can see them put that information to use.” He illustrates how that works, and how the trade-off shows up. Now-trained staff handle matters that used to require assistance from someone in the service department, he says. “That frees up a whole lot of time for the guys in service. Obviously, that’s where we’re making money. So if service guys don’t have to handle these questions across the counter, they can work on the stuff that pays. For us that’s a big deal,” Bush reports.

Pferd’s Thompson says his company foots the bill for its training programs and sees results. “We see a bump every time groups come in. We go back and look at their ordering cycles.

We see that they are more comfortable working with Pferd.

They have actually picked up and used the product,” he says.

Glenn Bliss values training, even in tough times, which he says his company is experiencing this year. “We have not cut back. Training is not one of the areas we would cut back.

Especially when it comes to the safety training; the technical training is critical as well,” he says. What might get pulled back somewhat is soft-skill training, with the company working on that internally, he ascedes.

Though Bliss readily concedes that the benefits of training aren’t quite quantifiable, he relies on feedback from customers to gauge its value.

Recounting customer praise for the Earl Honeycutt, Ph.D. Elon University

Sometimes it’s hard to quantify what you get with the training.

But to see these inside guys take the information they get and use it on a daily basis, that tells me it is money well spent.

Brady Bush A-L Compressed Gases

sales staff “about how passionate they are about the business and how caring they are,” he notes that these “are the soft skills that you try to train, but it’s hard to teach someone to care.” Bliss says customers have told him that staff members, “really know what they are doing. They’ve helped me out. When they call on me they are either bringing me new products or ideas or they are smart enough when I say, ‘I’ve got a problem;’ they can help me.”

Training is important in any business, says sales training expert Earl Honeycutt, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Elon University in central North Carolina. “It cuts down on turnover, helps performance and makes the sales manager’s job easier because your people are knowledgeable about what they are selling.” And it is not optional, he concludes. “Training is just part of the management’s job.”

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ONBOARDING

CREATING A QUALITY EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE Will They Love You or Leave You? Your New-Hire Orientation Could Be a Deciding Factor

“S

hould I stay or should I go?” the British punk band The Clash asks in its song (and a now-on-TV hotel-chain commercial echoes).

Your newest employees may be pondering that same question. Their answers, experts say, may depend in large part on the kind of experiences they’ve had during your company’s new-hire orientation.

Onboarding — also called organizational socialization — is the process companies use to fold new employees into the organization to attempt to make them effective contributors to the team already in place, according to Recruiter.com. Onboarding consists of a period that begins even before a new employee’s first day on the job and extends through the first 90 days of employment, or longer, in various forms — especially if done according to best-practices recommendations.

One researcher and expert on the subject of onboarding, Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D., the Cameron Professor of Management at Portland State University in Portland, Ore., says that the type of orientations employers offer new hires actually impacts their initial, as well as later job satisfaction, and over the longer term, their interest in remaining with the company. More so, a

high-quality onboarding program that boosts employee morale also helps sustain a positive human-resources quotient — a talent pool that can help ensure that companies actually run the way their leaders hope they will — and even help ensure that the organizations are financially and operationally successful, she reports.

In turn, a positive, high-quality onboarding program is dependent on the degree of thought and planning employers put into their new-employee orientation processes, Bauer says.

The importance of creating a quality onboarding program is borne out by statistics cited in a report she authored for the Society of Human Resource Management Foundation: • Half of all senior-level outside hires fail within 18 months in a new position • Half of all hourly workers leave new jobs within the first 120 days.

“It can be tempting to think that since onboarding is done relatively infrequently that it isn’t a big deal,” the teacher and researcher notes. “Nothing could be further from the truth.

Having a well-thought-out onboarding plan can help avoid problems and can help to ensure that the organization’s culture evolves for the right reasons rather than the wrong hires.”

The best employees probably had other options and made the choice to join you. You want them going home at the end of their first week sure that they made the right choice, rather than questioning it.

ALL NEW FOR NEW HIRES

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Bauer also warns against making efficiency a priority in onboarding. “For larger organizations it can be tempting to think about efficiency and forget about making things exciting for new employees,” she says. “As the person organizing the onboarding plan, keeping in mind that it is a completely new experience for the employees joining the organization is helpful.”

Similarly, it’s necessary to make sure enthusiasm about the Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

BY DIANE STIRLING, SENIOR EDITOR

company is expressed during a new employee’s initial days and weeks, according to Bauer. Though another orientation may seem “ho-hum” to the in-house staff members who conduct it repeatedly, the positivity expressed — and the resulting effect on the new employee’s performance and outcomes — actually becomes vital to the overall culture and success of the organization, she says.

New manager-level and executive employees need onboarding attention and plans, too. “They have probably been successful in their previous organizations, but cultures vary, so they may need to ‘unlearn’ some things as part of their onboarding process,” Bauer says.

Once new employees report to work, well-planned first-day and first-week experiences, appropriate introductions to new co-workers and managers and time getting acquainted with the organization’s culture also contribute to positive outcomes, the professor adds.

Companies should develop a defined plan for the first day they welcome any new employee to the company, Bauer recommends. “Having a Day One checklist can be very helpful, and hiring managers must also think about other welcoming

AVOIDING ‘BUYER’S REMORSE’

Organizations are wise to invest sufficient thought, time, and human resources into the onboarding process, Bauer says.

“Organizations that are able to build on the excitement of new employees are in a much better position than those who might trigger what’s called ‘buyer’s remorse,’”she says. “The best employees probably had other options and made the choice to join you. If that’s the case, you want them leaving at the end of their first week sure they made the right choice rather than questioning it.”

PLANNING A PROGRAM

A good onboarding plan includes early communication. This can take place even before the new hire’s first day at the worksite.

E-mailing obligatory forms to fill out and return via the internet right after an offer is accepted, and having new hires learn more about the company and its policies through materials forwarded in advance of their first day of work, are two examples.

Fall 2016

An award-winning teacher and researcher, Dr. Talya N. Bauer is the Cameron Professor of Management at Portland State University in Oregon. Her research focuses on relationships at work, onboarding, recruitment, selection, overqualification, mentoring and leadership. She has been a consultant to dozens of government, Fortune 1000 and startup organizations and currently serves as the editor of the Journal of Management. She can be reached at: talyabauer@pdx.edu and 503-725-5050.

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measures, such as whether there is someone or a small group who can take the new employee out to lunch,” she notes.

“Employers need to think about the kind of orientation program they offer from the new hire’s perspective,” Bauer suggests. “The first day and first week are critical, so spending time and connecting early are great goals.” After that, the company can turn its attention to training for specific job tasks and work processes.

I think of the onboarding process as being about a year long. Employees who have been with you less than 12 months are different than those who have been there longer.

WELCOME, PREPARED

Both research and conventional wisdom suggest that employees get about 90 days to prove themselves in a new job, Bauer says. Accordingly, the faster new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs, “the faster they will be able to successfully contribute to the firm’s mission.”

WHY ONBOARDING

50%

of senior-level outside hires fail within 18 months in a new position Source: Bradford Smart, Topgrading: how leading companies win by hiring, coaching and keeping the best people.

90 25% of the US workforce experiences a career transition each year

*Source: SHRM Foundation Report, Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success by Tayla N. Bauer, Ph.D.

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Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

IS SO IMPORTANT*

50% of hourly

workers leave new jobs within the first

120 days

Source: A.D. Krauss, Onboarding the hourly workforce. Poster presented at the Society for Industrial and organizational Psychology

Bauer’s Four C’s of Onboarding are general guides to the distinct levels of orientation activities that employees need during their onboarding period: • Compliance: teaching employees basic legal and policy-related rules and regulations • Clarification: ensuring that employees understand their new jobs and all related expectations • Culture: providing employees with a sense of organizational norms, both formal and informal • Connection: assuring the vital interpersonal relationships and informational networks that employees must establish.

“Having an onboarding plan allows you to think through effective strategies to tackle each of the Four C’s,” the professor says. “Doing it ‘on the fly’ just doesn’t prove very effective because it is easy to let things slip through the cracks or to only focus on onboarding when things go wrong. Having a consistently implemented onboarding plan ensures that small issues do not become large problems down the line.”

DAY ONE — AND THEN SOME

It’s also important to remember that onboarding lasts well beyond the first day, the first week, and even the first month when someone is new to a job, the professor explains. “I think of the onboarding process as being about a year long. Employees output:Layout 1

2/21/11

3:38 PM

Page 1

NUMBER OF DAYS EMPLOYEES HAVE TO PROVE THEMSELVES UPON TAKING A NEW JOB

69%

of new employees are more likely to stay at a company for 3 years – if they attended a structured orientation program Note: The SHRM Foundation report on Onboarding is available at www.shrm.org.

Fall 2016

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GAINING FROM TRAINING who have been with you less than 12 months are different than those who have been there longer. But, a key aspect of effective onboarding is that you get more from your onboarding investment if you focus on them in the first 30 to 90 days.”

TIPS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES

There also are practical steps new employees can take to make sure they’ll fit in better and be more successful in their

early days on the new job, Bauer says. “Research is really clear that being proactive — asking questions, actively observing how things are done, and taking on challenging assignments — can help new employees do well.” New employees also should be careful not to make too many suggestions early on when they are new to the workplace, she advises. “Observe things and see how the organization operates before offering a lot of suggestions and you’ll be more likely to be heard eventually.”

A CHECKLIST TO FOSTER CONNECTION WITH NEW EMPLOYEES Here is a checklist of recommendations for achieving a successful and satisfying onboarding process for organizations and their newly hired employees.

Make the first day special. Meet with them, make sure someone takes them to lunch, and ensure that the atmosphere is welcoming. This simple connection matters for success over the long run.

Understand the manager’s special role. An effort to connect with the new employee on their first day of the job — even if it is just to say hello and welcome — is crucial.

Equip employees with the tools they need right from their first day — as well as again when new questions may arise.

State how happy you are that the employee has been hired. Remember that new employees are anxious to make good impressions. Reinforcing your satisfaction with their presence early on has a much bigger positive impact than waiting until later to do so.

Get employees comfortable with new rules and specific procedures from the start.

That helps them be receptive and have more ability to focus on learning.

Enact your written onboarding plan every time and be consistent with onboarding practices for every new employee. Some issues about your organization may be “old news” to you, but it’s all new to them.

Project values and culture in how you treat and greet new employees.

Establish time-based milestones to check in with new employees. Make sure there is a schedule for check-ins to see how things are going. Typically, 30-, 60-, 90-, and 180day milestones are good markers to consider.

Source: Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D., as adapted from the SHRM Foundation’s report, Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success

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Training and Educational Resources? GAWDA’s Got ‘Em!

GAWDA, AWS and Other Industry Sources Offer Great Resources -

I

f your employees are interested in professional development to further their hands-on skills or explore a new welding and gases industry career, there are several reliable places to turn for pertinent information.

GAWDA members can find an abundance of training and informational resources within their own association. GAWDA sister organizations also offer educational programs, and have partnerships in place with noted academic institutions. These are all ways to access information that will help employees find ready training materials and look into courses, programs and schools to attend. On top of that, there are many industry sources of financial aid that can help companies and their employees meet their staff or their own training and educational goals.

The Gases and Welding Distributors Association offers GAWDA University, an online resource of highly industry-relevant information. GAWDA U is an online employee training curriculum and management tracking protocol that addresses many training needs in the areas of compliance with safety practices and government regulations that are impacting members’ core business. GAWDA University is facilitated by Norco, a GAWDA member.

GAWDA U can be accessed at: www.gawda.org/resources/ gawda-university. To sign up for the program, send an email to Michelle Zimmerman at michellez@norco-inc.com. Managers will receive instructions on how to access the curricula and maintain online accounts recording each employee’s training record.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (AS NOTED ON GAWDA.ORG): GAWDA Member-Only Resources Education and Information is offered online via the GAWDA Safety Organizer and through Consultant Updates Archives. www.gawda.org/resources/members-only-reference-materials

American Welding Society (AWS) Online Courses Information and AWS Welding Education Programs are available at: www.awo.aws.org

The Compressed Gas Association (CGA) Subscription Program This huge benefit and value of GAWDA membership can be accessed via the CGA Subscription Program.

Members can find these resources there: Publications Locator:

www.cganet.com/customer/Publication.aspx

Safety Posters:

www.cganet.com/customer/publication. aspx?mode=SP

Safety Standards:

www.wsmr.army.mil/PDF/compressedgassafety.PDF

The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology

The Lincoln Electric Welding School

Information is at:

Information is at:

www.welding.org

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www.lincolnedu.com/campus/east-windsor-ct/ programs/welding-technology

Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING

…and Scholarship Info Too!

- and Greater Opportunities – for Skills Training and Academic Scholarships

G

AWDA itself — plus a number of other industry sources — have generous financial assistance programs for people who are looking to formalize their educations, taking academic paths to gaining more specialized skills or completing degrees in curriculums they can put to work in the welding and gases distribution industry.

Several other types of scholarship assistance can be found within the welding and gases distribution industry’s members and associations.

GAWDA SCHOLARSHIPS

AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY

The GAWDA Foundation Scholarship has helped several dozen young people who are interested in pursuing welding and gases distribution career paths. GAWDA’s Foundation awards a number of scholarships annually to children and employees of active GAWDA member companies who are enrolled for studies that can be applied to some aspect of the industry.

The program is designed to educate, attract and keep quality individuals in the welding and gases distribution industry.

Since its start in 2013, 47 individual scholarships have been awarded, representing $94,000 in educational assistance funds.

Eligibility requirements are as follows: applicants must be age 18; have a high school diploma and a 2.5 overall grade point average (if pursuing a degree program) and be enrolled part-time or full-time in schooling. Applicants must demonstrate a financial need, be a citizen or legal resident of the U.S., be planning to attend a U.S. academic institution, and be able to provide a letter of reference indicating how he or she plans to put their education to use in the industry. Additional details on GAWDA’s scholarship program are available on its web site: www.gawda.org/resources/gawda-scholarships-program.)

Fall 2016

WGW’S NEW SCHOLARSHIP The Women of Gases and Welding Committee of GAWDA is announcing a new scholarship program this fall. The program presents an exceptional scholarship opportunity for women planning careers in the gases and welding field.

More information is available from Committee Leadership Team members: Monica Pfarr, American Welding Society (mpfarr@aws.org); Jenny McCall of WESCO Gas and Welding Supply, Inc. (jennym@wescoweld.com); Judy Miller of WESCO (jmiller@wescoweld.com); Sue Reiter, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc (reitersd@airproducts.com); and Becky Tushscherer of Miller Electric at btuchs@millerwelds.com.

A wide range of educational scholarships are available through the American Welding Society. The Society’s AWS Foundation provides funding assistance to help students pursue vocational, community college, or bachelor’s degrees in a welding or a related field of study. Funding assistance also is offered to welding industry educators. Here is a summary of the scholarships offered.

• District Scholarships are awarded annually and provide funds that are payable directly to the recipient’s school to cover the costs of tuition, books, supplies and related institutional costs.

• Welder Training Scholarships are available through AWS districts to offer funds to students who are seeking welder training through a trade school, community college, or other welder training program facility and/or for an AWS Certified Welder seminar. The scholarship is available for training programs of up to two years.

Awards are paid to the academic institution to cover tuition and fees. AWS makes $10,000 available to each district for the awards.

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Texas A&M University’s Thomas A. Read Center The school’s undergraduate program in Industrial Distribution is the nation’s oldest (established in 1956) and largest, and it combines extensive business and management education with practical engineering courses.

NAM Manufacturing Institute partnered with the University of Phoenix The Institute and University of Phoenix will help NAMmember companies develop a sustainable manufacturing workforce for the 21st century.

id.tamu.edu/professional-development

www.phoenix.edu/alliance/mi/manufacturer.html

Center for Distribution Education

GAWDA Members

The CDE provides easy access to comprehensive, distribution-specific education. The partnership between Corporate Strategies, Inc. and Purdue University’s Midwest Center for Advanced Technology Education provides three tracks of courses: Management (for senior and middle managers), General (for managers and employees in specific functional areas) and Core (courses suitable for all). www.distributioned.com

A number of GAWDA members (independent distributors as well as suppliers) also offer individualized and group training and certification programs for end-user customers interested in developing their skills, and for industry employees looking to further their knowledge, learn new skills and undertake formal training. For more information and help locating the distributors, contact GAWDA’s Membership Office at: 945-367-7728 or toll free: 844-251-3219.

Information above from www.GAWDA.org

CURRENT GAWDA UNIVERSITY ONLINE COURSES Acetylene Safe Handling and Storage

DOT Driver’s Training – Part 2

Argon/Nitrogen Safe Handling and Storage

DOT Driver’s Training – Part 3

Back Injury Prevention and Safety

Entry Level Driver Training

Carbon Dioxide Safe Handling & Storage

Ergonomics: Computer Workstations – Part 1

cGMP Training Part 1: An Introduction to the FDA

Ergonomics: Computer Workstations – Part 2

cGMP Training Part 2: Definitions and Prohibited Acts

Ergonomics: Computer Workstations – Part 3

cGMP Training Part 3: Overview of cGMPs per 21 CFR

FDA CGMPs for Clerical/Counter Positions

Confined Space Awareness

Hazard Communication

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

Helium Safe Handling and Storage

DOT Driver’s Training – Part 1

HR001 Wage & Hour Compliance Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

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Fall 2016

GAINING FROM TRAINING District-Named and Section-Named Scholarships a r e a w a r d e d a n n u a l l y. N a t i o n a l S c h o l a r s h i p s are presented for students pursuing a specific degree at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university.

Individual scholarships are worth a minimum of $2,500 annually. The application deadline is February 15, structured to provide funding for the following fall term.

• International Scholarships also are offered by AWS for full-time international students pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies in joining sciences. Applicants can be matriculating in accredited joining science programs at an institution located anywhere in the world.

• AWS also makes available Educator Scholarships. These are available for those who are current welding educators or individuals pursuing a career in welding education.

More information (where and how to apply, specifics about the application period and format, funding specifics and persons to contact at the AWS for additional details) is available on the AWS website: www.aws.org/about/page/scholarships). The online application system can be accessed at: www.scholarship. aws.org/applications/default.asp .

•

PRAXAIR’S ‘PIPELINE’ GAWDA Member Praxair is in its second year of a work force development skills training program, “Skills Pipeline,” which it supports with scholarship funds.

The program was started to help address the shortage of skilled tradesmen needed to support growth in the Gulf Coast, the company says. In its first year (2015), 87 new

HR002 Respect Makes Legal Sense: Workplace Harassment Prevention for Distributors HR003 Preventing Workplace Bullying to Support Distributor Success

welders in Louisiana graduated from the accelerated oneyear curriculum working with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. This year, Praxair has committed more than $200,000 to train more than 50 welders.

The company says it plans to expand the initiative to other areas of the country and expects to invest more than $1 million in work force development funds in the Pipeline by the end of this year.

Information about the program is available on the Praxair website (www.praxair.com – reference Global Giving Program) or by calling 1-800-772-9247.

KRUPNICKI FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP GAWDA member Michael Krupnicki, head of Mahany Welding Supply Co., Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., established a charitable fund in 2013 to help students cover the costs of attending the welding certification program at Monroe Community College (MCC), his alma mater.

Krupnicki established the Krunpicki Family Scholarship for Excellence in Welding. It is an outgrowth of his earlier partnerships with the college. Several years ago, he created an elective welding course for machining, HVAC/R and automotive students at MCC. He later helped develop the college’s welding and fabrication certificate program that prepares students to earn industry credentials.

The scholarship awards $3,600 to two students each semester, which covers half the program costs. More information is available from the college or from Mahany Welding (www. mahanyweld.com; 585-352-8000.) (Continued on next page)

(AS NOTED ON GAWDA.ORG) Oxygen Safe Handling and Storage Prevention of Vehicle Accidents Quality at a GAWDA Company

Indoor Air Quality

Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors

Label and Tag Awareness

SAFE002a – Forklift Safety Training – Part 1

Medical Device Reporting

SAFE002b – Forklift Safety Training – Part 2

Nitrous Oxide Facts & Guidelines

SAFE005a – Personal Protective Equipment – Part 1

Noise and Hearing Conservation

SAFE005b – Personal Protective Equipment – Part 2

NVU005 Equipment Tracking System – testing course

SAFE005c – Personal Protective Equipment – Part 3

Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene

Safety in the Workplace

Overview of Ergonomics

Toxicology & Exposure

Fall 2016

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GAINING FROM TRAINING SUPPLY CHAIN SCHOLARSHIPS

The Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) is using a federal grant to help provide training and education for people to gain career know-how through a series of college-level supply chain career-studies courses.

The program also works as a means for companies to access college-level curriculums to advance the skills and knowledge of their on-payroll employees.

The Council’s Vice President of Industry Partnerships Dee Biggs calls the program, “one of the greatest deals going in terms of supply chain education.” The program deploys federal funds to pay tuition costs for the courses, available to unemployed and underemployed people, and with an emphasis on the retraining of military veterans. Of the number who have completed the program to date (some 6,000-plus), 25 percent are veterans, according to Biggs.

Begun in 2013, the program uses standardized college-level course curriculums that were specially developed with the CSCMP to serve the needs of the supply chain industry. The courses are offered by a group of participating colleges located around the country. Students can take the courses either online or in-classroom. A general supply chain management

Fall 2016

principles course is offered, along with additional specialized topic modules that cover manufacturing, procurement, distribution, transportation, warehousing, inventory, customer service and demand-planning topics.

TRAIN EXISTING EMPLOYEES

“Our primary focus has been getting people jobs, but secondarily, it is to make it available to companies to use as a training and development program,” Biggs explains. “We’ve had great success having companies use this as a training program.

It’s especially useful for smaller and medium-sized companies because this is a ready-made situation for them,” he adds.

The program can help employees gain a better understanding of the perspectives of their internal customers or add different knowledge or skills sets, Biggs says. “The education has been solid, students have gotten what they wanted out of it, courses are designed to be at the one-to-one level, and it gives a good background for each of the subjects,” he adds.

The program ends in March of 2017, and so there is still time to look into enrollment. Biggs can be reached for more information at deebiggs@cscmp.org or via phone at: 978844-2878.

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Fall 2016

THE WILSHIRE GRAND CENTER:

Tallest Building in the West An Innovative L.A. High-Rise

T

by charles mcchesney, senior editor

he Wilshire Grand Center, nearing completion in downtown Los Angeles, will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi. At 73 stories, it will surpass the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by 82 feet.

It will also bring a markedly different look to L.A. by being the first high-rise that doesn’t have a flat roof. Since 1974, America’s second-largest city by population has required all tall buildings to have flat roofs so helicopters can land on them in case of emergency. As a result, there’s a uniformity to L.A.’s skyline. As the Los Angeles Times’ Kerry Cavanaugh put it, “While skyscraper architecture got more creative and exciting around the globe, the city was stuck in Dullsville, thanks to the flat-top rule.”

No more. The Wilshire Grand Center will be topped with a glass-faced “sail” and a 258 -foot spire. The spire will extend above the top of the sail approximately 173 feet. There will be a “tactical approach” built into the top of the building, but it is not meant to be a helipad, says Gerard Nieblas, the engineer who has been working on the building for nearly seven years. Instead, firefighters will be able to reach the top from extra stairwells and reinforced elevators within the building.

Nieblas, president of structural and civil engineering firm Brandow & Johnston, Inc., explains that the Los Angeles Fire Department relaxed its flat-topped building rules for the Wilshire Grand Center.

Photo Credit:Gary Leonard Spring 2016

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The Wilshire Grand Center will be the first high-rise in Los Angeles to feature floor-to-ceiling windows, something likely to be appreciated by guests in those parts of the building that will hold a 900-room InterContinental hotel and by tenants in its 18 floors of office space.

An architect’s rendering of the Wilshire Grand Center at night after its completion in early 2017.

Photo Credit: AC Martin 74

Fall 2016

Wonders of Welding

CONCRETE CORE

The building features a concrete core wall that, in the transverse direction, is only 30 feet wide, a mere thirty-sixth of the building’s height. “the lateral system is really, really slender,” Nieblas says. To make a building so narrow at its core able to withstand not just the challenges of seismically active Southern California, but the stresses of a 1,700-year windstorm, Brandow and Johnston designed a concrete core wall with belt trusses and massive buckling restrained braces (BRBs). These consist of steel braces welded to gusset plates to help stiffen the building and welded belt trusses to withstand the twisting that can come from an earthquake or high winds.

Because of the modern design and systems, the Wilshire Grand Center will be the first high-rise in Los Angeles to feature floor-to-ceiling windows, something likely to be appreciated by guests in those parts of the building that will hold a 900-room InterContinental hotel and by tenants in its 18 floors of office space.

Photo Credit: Gary Leonard

GLASS SAIL ATOP

The top of the building, the distinctive “sail,” was a unique design and construction challenge, Nieblas explains. For decades, buildings have been constructed to cope with the loads created by high winds or seismic activity by swaying.

The narrow, long shape of the core of Wilshire Grand Center means that the building will sway in very different ways depending on which way it is shoved by an earthquake or pushed by high winds.

“The first mode period of the building is seven seconds in the transverse direction and four-and-a-half seconds in the longitudinal direction,” Nieblas says. That amount of swaying — imagine standing atop a building that is moving from one side to the other while you count seven Mississippis — required the sail be built to a very high standard. Because of higher mode effects from earthquake forces the horizontal force demands at the sail are extremely high.

Photo Credit: Gary Leonard

Left: A welder working high above the City of Los Angles joins some of the upper structures.

Right: The structure atop the building is the “sail,” which provides panoramic views of the region. The Hollywood Hills are visible in the background.

Spring 2016

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Wonders of Welding

Photo Credit: AC Martin Top Left: The Wilshire Grand Center “sail� portion includes $13 million worth of steel. Top Right: Workers inspect an 8.8 million-pound double buckling restrained brace in place on the structure. Middle Left: The massive size and weight of the steel used in building Wilshire Grand Center are clear in this photo that also shows views the new building will offer when it opens in 2017. Bottom: Buckling restrained braces line up along one side of the Wilshire Grand Center, high above the streets of Los Angeles.

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Fall 2016

Wonders of Welding

WELD STRENGTH

“The sail at the top is really, really strong,” Nieblas says, noting how it has full-penetration welds and $13 million worth of steel – fully 1 percent of the entire project’s $1.3 billion price tag. Nieblas says the sail portion could be removed, laid on its side and support three times its own weight.

While much of the building’s design will be invisible to the people who use it, other pieces will be in the open, such as the diagonal bracing that will be seen on the 28th to 30th floors. Likewise, the welded steel that gives the sail its great strength and rigidity will be clearly visible to those visiting the restaurant planned for the top floor — though they may be too distracted by the unparalleled views of the Pacific to the west, the San Gabriel Mountains to the east and the Hollywood Hills to the north to notice the steel and welds that made those views possible.

With its unique for Los Angeles sloping roof, developers and others speak of the Wilshire Grand Center as “iconic,” a building that will signal at a glance where the photo was taken or the movie filmed, the way the Empire State Building says New York, the TransAmerica Building says San Francisco and

the Burj Al Arab says Dubai.

Carol Schatz, president and CEO, Downtown Center Business Improvement District and Central City Association of Los Angeles, has no doubts. “This is a signature building for a fast-becoming-signature downtown.” She sees the Wilshire Grand Center as another part of the revival of Los Angeles’ downtown core, a fast-growing neighborhood that is attracting new residents and thousands of new housing units. “It’s a beautiful building; we can’t wait for it to open,” Schatz says.

The Wilshire Grand Center is just months away from a planned March 2017 opening and the world getting its opportunity to see a new look for L.A. “With the building’s crown sail, it will be the crowning achievement for the City of Los Angeles skyline,” says Nieblas.

KNOW OF A ‘WONDERS OF WELDING’ PROJECT? Has your business been involved with an outstanding project that you would like to see featured as a Wonder of Welding?

Drop us a line at Charles@datakey.org or call Charles McChesney at 315 445-2347.

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Fall 2016

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Women of Gases and Welding

WGW: Working to Add More Women to Our Industry Here’s How GAWDA is Promoting Awareness and Opportunities – and How You Can Help by linda smith

F Linda Smith is the president of Chemweld, Inc. of Norcross, Ga. She is the communications chair for GAWDA’s Women of Gases and Welding Committee and also serves as a member of the association’s Member Services Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia while working in the gases and welding industry alongside her now-retired father, Garry McKenna, Chemweld Inc.’s founder.

She can be reached at 770-662-0370 and at linda. smith@chemweldusa.com.

or well more than a century in this country, women have been significant contributors to our workforce and to the country’s economy. As we look at future opportunities in the welding and gases distribution industry, it’s clear that we need to welcome more women into our profession and our businesses. Expanding that effort is one of the main initiatives of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) committee Women of Gases and Welding (WGW).

Women began entering the industrial work force during the Industrial Revolution, working in textile and garment mills. World War II propelled women into many traditional “men’s jobs,” where “Rosies” worked as riveters, sanders, welders, crane operators, bullet makers and shipyard workers, and were instrumental in winning the war effort. When WWII servicemen returned home, many women remained in the workforce, but their work opportunities became limited.

Women have made great strides more recently, breaking the infamous glass ceiling in many industries to become CEOs, military leaders, racing drivers, and even an NBA coach. Too often, though, it seems that outdated and often incorrect perceptions of the gases and welding industry have impacted many women’s interests in joining our ranks. Some view the jobs in our industry as dirty or unskilled ones and perceive this to be a male-favored work culture. This is just not the case anymore, and the leaders of the WGW are working to change that misconception through marketing, networking, and recruiting efforts.

WGW’s efforts began in 2011, when GAWDA leaders saw the need for recruitment and retention of women in our industry. GAWDA set the goal

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then to be the driving force for the advocacy, recruitment and professional advancement of females in the gases and welding industry.

The first big WGW networking event, a Colorado Springs zip line tour, was a huge success, with more than 50 women and men participating. Subsequent annual networking events have included a sailing regatta in San Diego and a food tour of Old Town Scottsdale. (The next networking event is a waterfalls and rainforest hike in Ho‘olawa Valley at the annual convention on September 28, and both men and women are encouraged to attend.)

Think of this analogy. Some of the greatest structures in the world – The Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

These magnificent and everlasting structures are made of steel. Steel is a mixture of iron and carbon. Iron could do the job for a while by itself, but by adding carbon, a completely different element, a new and stronger material called steel is made and it is virtually indestructible. Just like these elements of nature, men and women bring different strengths to the corporate mix.

Sure men, like iron, can get the job done alone but adding women to the formula makes for one strong corporate environment.

Fall 2016

Women of Gases and Welding

WGW OBJECTIVES

The leadership team of Monica Pfarr of American Welding Society; Jenny McCall and Judy Miller of Wesco Gas and Welding Supply; Sue Reiter of Air Products and Becky Tuchscherer of Miller Electric are developing the group’s strategic objectives. They include: • Build awareness of Women of Gases and Welding • Engage participation in WGW through events at national conferences and other activities • Promote scholarships for women • Engage sponsors to support future programming and new scholarships.

I joined the team in 2012 as communications chair and along with the help and expertise of Melissa Perkins, of Electronic Fluorocarbons, we have increased awareness by building a presence for WGW on social media sites Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The group continues to plan unique and adventurous networking functions for annual conventions to attract both genders of participants. A lunch-and-learn program started for the spring management conferences provides pertinent and useful business information to all GAWDA SMC attendees.

GAWDA and WGW have been very proactive in educating both men and women on how to create more diverse work environments, and GAWDA member companies can continue that momentum in several ways.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

The efforts of WGW have received an incredible amount of positive feedback from both women and men of GAWDA. We understand that many people are intimidated when attending large national conventions for the first time. Our goal is to make women feel welcome, to familiarize them with GAWDA benefits, and to help them to get to know our fellow GAWDA members when they come to our functions. (One woman in particular thanked me and said that because the WGW made her feel so welcome she would definitely be attending future GAWDA events!)

field. Details about this new WGW scholarship will be announced soon. GAWDA distributors and suppliers will have the opportunity to participate in this groundbreaking event.

INFO MATERIALS

The WGW team also is working on marketing materials for members to use at career exhibitions and recruiting fairs. All GAWDA members will have access to promotional items and brochures outlining the career opportunities women can find in the ever-growing and lucrative gases and welding industry.

HOW TO HELP

GAWDA and WGW have been very proactive in educating both men and women on how to create more diverse work environments, and GAWDA member companies can continue that momentum in several ways. Women face unique challenges in male-dominated industries where occupations are particularly vulnerable to masculine stereotypes, and this factor can make it difficult for women to excel. Senior management in these fields are typically managed by men that set the tone for talent and management norms where male typecasts can influence promotion and development opportunities. Women can change this by seeking more senior-level positions within their companies. Men can change it by promoting talented, eager and dynamic women to senior-level positions of great responsibility.

In addition, I encourage all distributors and suppliers to support Women of Gases and Welding by attending the events and following us on social media. Please consider sponsoring future WGW happenings and contributing to the scholarship fund. And most importantly, let’s recruit our daughters, nieces, mothers, sisters, and wives – and other capable women we may know of or find as new talent – into this amazing world we call the gases and welding industry!

A NEW SCHOLARSHIP

Monica Pfarr is working closely with the WGW leadership team to help us develop an exceptional scholarship opportunity for women planning careers in the gases and welding Fall 2016

AC EVENT

The next networking event is a waterfalls and rainforest hike in Ho‘olawa Valley at the annual convention on September 28. Both men and women are encouraged to attend.

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Young Professionals

The Generational Shift is On Are You Ready for the Opportunities as Well as the Challenges? by austin romesberg

H Austin Romesberg is vice president of operations at WestAir Gases & Equipment, which has 18 locations and more than 250 employees in California, Arizona, and Texas. He has been in the gases and welding industry since 2003. He can be reached at 619-239-7571 and at aromesberg@ westairgases.com.

ow are we going to attract and retain the talent needed to support our growth initiatives as we prepare for the future?

This is a question that undoubtedly has crossed the minds of all CEOs at some point in time as they plan for the future of their organizations.

Our workforce is changing exponentially.

According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. As the baby boomers continue to exit the workforce, millennials enter the workforce and are placed into leadership positions. This shift in the workforce has significant implications in our industry, and strategies to transition during these changes are typically ambiguous.

If you would have asked me 12 years ago if I would still be in the packaged gas business today, I would have told you, “highly unlikely.” In fact, I can still remember my first job interview. I was a college student at the time and just needed a job to pay for books and growing tuition. I was asked what my long- and short-term plans were with the company. Although probably not the most intelligent interview answer given, I was honest and told them that I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, and that I planned to get a real job once I graduated.

I started out as a temporary employee in a gas plant. As time went on, I was given more responsibilities and took on new roles. Very early in my career, I noticed something that I believed to be profound. I saw a growing gap between new talent entering the industry and experienced employees approaching and entering retirement. I saw this need as a potentially great opportunity for my career. It was probably the

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single greatest contributing factor to why I’m still here today.

The generational shift now underway should create great opportunities on both sides of the coin. There will be opportunities for young professionals already within our industry as well as those coming from outside it. There also will be opportunities within our organizations to differentiate ourselves by attracting and retaining top talent during this shift. Here are a few challenges that we will face along the road.

ATTRACTING NEW TALENT

If you are like most American consumers, you do not shop today the same way you did 20 years ago. Just as the consumer landscape has changed with mobile devices and online seller giants like Amazon, the manner in which professionals search for and decide on their place of employment has changed as well.

Young professionals today want more than a job with respectable pay and security. They want to be a part of something bigger and know that they work for a winning team. It is incumbent upon the employer to convey this message not only to their customers, but to their prospective employees as well. What does your organization do that provides value to customers, other organizations, communities, or society in general? The way you market and portray your company brand will affect your ability to attract new talent.

Unless you are a business owner, you work for your boss. It’s likely that the person you work for is the reason why you came to the organization you’re currently in, or possibly the reason why Fall 2016

Young Professionals you are leaving it. Sometimes it’s equally as important to understand what type of leaders you have in your organization. Millennials value the ability of leadership to strategize, inspire, manage inclusively and have a focus on people and career development.

While that doesn’t change with the generations, the manner in which that culture is communicated and executed has changed with varying generations. The younger generations have an enthusiasm to learn and be impactful; however, they require more consistent communication and feedback. They yearn for instant gratification. The age of a company doing performance reviews just once a year isn’t going cut it.

The generational shift is something no one can either prevent or ignore. Senior employees, many of whom are in leadership positions, will continue to exit the workforce.

The younger generation is eager to find careers and work roles in organizations where they can apply their education and skills.

I believe there will be more opportunities for the younger generation to enter this industry and then to take on leadership roles sooner than they might in other industries. It is the responsibility of current leadership to help bridge this gap and make the most of that opportunity. Those who better prepare for this shift and who can capture and retain the proper talent will be better positioned for success heading into the future.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Our industry is abundantly full of highly experienced and skilled professionals throughout the country. Although the retirement age has significantly increased over the years, a lot of these professionals are heading into retirement and exiting the workforce. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to replace some of this experience and expertise. The generational shift requires all of us to be much more creative in strategizing for this transition. It will require some discipline and active cooperation within and between organizations in our industry to allow for the proper mentorship the young professionals will need.

TALENT RETENTION

It is important for an employee, regardless of age, to be valued, respected and to have the opportunity to succeed.

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Technology

HERE’S WHAT’S

B

undle multiple data sources into a single dashboard view. Absorb more meaning more quickly when you read lengthy articles. Find deals and buyer discounts with the flick of a smartphone scan. Make photo albums of your vacation trips and share them with your contacts.

You can do all that with this handful of smartphone apps. Here are some ideas for helping you be more organized and able to access information to make the most of both on- and off-work hours.

BUSINESS Provides: “Point and QR Code shoot”-style ease in a reader that’s simple and Reader user friendly, yet powerful.

The app supports all major barcode formats (ISBN, EAN, UPC and others). It reads a variety of QR code types (read text, url, contact, calendar, email, location, Wi-Fi and others). QR Code Reader also can help save money when you can scan in coupons and discounts and capture barcodes for comparison shopping.

Provides: Another QR code reader that works Scan with both iOS and Android. The Scan app automatically recognizes any code at which it is aimed, so there’s no need to take a photo or press a button to scan from your smartphone. The app recognizes all popular barcode types then shows pricing, reviews and more. It offers a history list and a map of past scans, plus syncs scan history across the web and to all your devices.

Cost: Free

Cost: $1.99

P.S.: You’ll want to download a QR code reader app of some sort to use with the new badges if you’re attending GAWDA’s Annual Convention. The QR codes on the AC badges are embedded with information about each wearer. Scanning those badge codes places the data directly in your smartphone’s contact list. It’s an aid to get to know people and quickly and easily capture pertinent business and contact data. (See details on page 95.)

All the apps mentioned are available on the App Store and/or Google Play 82

Fall 2016

Technology

BUSINESS

4 Generations Strong Since 1958

Provides: An easy way to pare down an article Summize or summarize a lengthy piece of text. Snap a photo of the text. Then, app Summize scans the material and offers a detailed breakdown of its keywords and main concepts – saving reading time and making dense or complicated material (such as journal articles and textbook pages) easier to understand. Add-ons (as paid premium subscription features) include annotation, background information, videos, bias and grammar analyses and flashcards.

Cost: Free (paid upgrades are available). For iOS. For Android users, similar apps include Summarize and SumIt!

BUSINESS Provides: A handy and easy way to pay someone or transfer money to your bank in as little as one business day.

Venmo is a service of PayPal, Inc. (a licensed provider of money transfer services). It uses encrypted data and secure servers to let you confidently and securely move money. Sending money is free from your Venmo balance, bank account, or credit card, and receiving money is free, too.

Load-N-Roll Video:

Cost: Free

TRAVEL Provides: A neat way to make a photo album from all the stops on your vacation or trip to share with friends and family. As you post photos and videos from your trip, the app offers instant updates as to your whereabouts, sightseeing stops and adventures. It lets you keep in touch while you travel through social postings you can share with all or just some of your contacts. When you get home, you can download all that material.

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

The 2016

ANNUAL CONVENTION

OUR INDUSTRY PANEL

Leaders Who Are Living It Talk Marketplace Change and Disruption

SPEAKERS

Industry Panel

Discussion Leader

“Market Disruptors and the Evolving ManufacturerDistributor Relationship”

JIM EARLBECK President, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies

In times of high disruption for the welding and gases distribution industry, the opportunity is ripe for dialogue on a topic that’s been long on GAWDA distributors’ and manufacturers’ minds, but perhaps less so on their lips. It is the issue of the proper relationship between manufacturers and distributors of products and the evolving role of traditional distributors in a competitive and divergent marketplace.

Jim Earlbeck learned to weld at the Hobart School of Welding Technology while in high school. In 1976, he became one of the very first AWS Certified Welding Inspectors.

After graduating from the University of Maryland’s Mechanical Engineering JIM EARLBECK program in 1977, he returned to family-owned Earlbeck Gases & Technologies to become its vice president. He’s now introducing the third generation, daughter Allison, into the business.

Of online sales, big box stores and brick and mortar channels, traditional distributors know they provide end users value above and beyond the sale.

However, traditional distributors are no longer sure that manufacturers value those additional services, and they say there is little to no reward for that differentiation.

Relationships that offer transparency, creative thinking and trust are key, many distributors say. The issue is one that faces all types of industries the world over today.

This panel looks at how partnerships can be maintained so suppliers and distributors are optimally positioned to succeed, and why careful consideration to the shaping of these partnerships can generate mutual benefit and maximum stability for both parties.

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A past president of the American Welding Society Maryland Section, Earlbeck teaches welding at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, and the U.S. Naval Academy. He is a past president of the GAWDA Board of Directors and currently serves on GAWDA’s Government Affairs Committee.

Fall 2016

2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

ROBERT VANKIRK

RICK WILSON

MICHAEL MINTUN

Panelists ROBERT VANKIRK Head of Distributors/US PGP and Caribbean Linde LLC Bob VanKirk heads the distributor program as well as the domestic U.S. Helium and Caribbean business at Linde LLC. He focuses on continued development of strong partnerships between Linde and independent distributors, with an emphasis on distributor growth.

VanKirk began his Linde career in finance and went on to hold a variety of positions in the company, including management roles in mergers and acquisitions, product management and finance. He previously worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

RICK WILSON Managing Director Chicago Strategy Associates As managing director of Chicago Strategy Associates, Wilson has 25 years of consulting, facilitation, research, and teaching experience building market-focused organizations and stewarding high-performance distribution channels. He has worked with leaders in manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and services firms in 100-plus B2B and B2C markets worldwide.

He’s a visiting scholar in the MBA program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a co-founder of The Kellogg Center for Global Marketing Practice. He has an undergraduate degree in statistics from Miami University and his MBA graduate work was completed at Harvard Business School.

Fall 2016

MICHAEL MINTUN Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing/North America Lincoln Electric Mike Mintun has been with the Lincoln Electric Company for 32 years. He began as a sales trainee after graduating from Lehigh University with a bachelor’s degree in metalurgy and materials engineering. He served in the company’s New York and Pittsburgh District offices and was district manager for Lincoln’s Southwest Ontario District in Canada, before returning to Cleveland as national accounts manager of the U.S. company. In ensuing years, he worked his way up to his current position as senior vice president of sales and marketing, North America. Mintun completed a global business development leadership program at the Thunderbird Garvin School of International Management, and the advanced executive program at the Kellogg School of Management. He is a member of AWS and GAWDA.

Panel Discussion Tuesday, September 27 8:00-11:30 a.m.

Opening General Business Session For the full schedule of events, see page 87.

Visit www.gawda.org for ongoing updates.

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

OUR GUEST PRESENTERS

Welcome Distinguished Keynote Speakers SPEAKERS MIKE HUCKABEE “The Pursuit of the Presidency and the Perfectly Insane American Process”

Always opinionated and continually out front with his plain-spoken and pointed views, former presidential candidate and long-serving Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is ever in the news, talking up issues, taking a stand and making change happen.

When he became governor in 1996, Huckabee was only the fourth Republican elected to any state office since Reconstruction. He initiated change in many areas of government – tax cuts, job creation, road reconstruction, K-16 education reform and a nationally recognized preventive-based health care initiative.

He’s been a contender for the office of president twice, in 2008 and again as a run-up candidate during this year’s GOP primary. An avid musician, New York Times bestselling author and an official cited by many organizations for leadership skills, Huckabee continues to be central to the country’s political discourse.

SEIFI GHASEMI “Lessons Learned from Independent Distributors: Capturing Their Entrepreneurial Spirit”

Delivering results in an often unpredictable and disruptive world has been a par-for-the-course challenge for many of the 37 years that Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products chairman, president and chief executive officer, has spent in varied industrial gases business careers.

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Ghasemi says in our highly variable global society, “the only sustainable element of competitive advantage any business has in its control is the degree of commitment and motivation of the people in its enterprise.” That belief has provided a leadership perspective of creating environments where all employees can perform their best every day, and where positive attitudes and a commitment to employee communication is ongoing.

Ghasemi has held leadership positions with Rockwood Holdings; GKN; GKN Sinter Metals, Inc. and Hoeganes Corporation. Earlier in his career, he served with the BOC Group (now part of Linde AG).

DAVE NELSEN “Social Media for Business”

Some people are serial entrepreneurs who keep inventing companies, and in doing so, create new roles for themselves. That describes Dave Nelsen, who also has a business head on his shoulders, viewing enterprise challenges and opportunities always from a return-on-investment perspective.

In 1998, Nelsen co-founded CoManage, a company providing data integrity solutions for telecommunications carriers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. He later created TalkShoe, an Internet website to create and participate in live multi-person voice communications of all varieties (such as discussion groups, talk shows, conversations, podcasts and friends and family calls).

Now president of Dialog Consulting Group and a founding member of Vistage Group CE 676 (part of the world’s largest CEO network), Nelsen has been honored as an “Entrepreneur of the Year,” “CEO of the Year,” and one of the most popular subject matter experts and speakers from among its 1,500 CEOs. Fall 2016

2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Sunday, September 25 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Executive Committee Meeting

8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Young Professionals Event • Kai Kanani Snorkel and Sail 9:00 a.m. – Noon

Board of Directors Meeting

2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Committee Meetings

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. First-Timers Reception 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. President’s Welcome Reception 7:00 p.m.

Industry Hospitalities

Monday, September 26 6:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Exhibitor Set Up

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Networking Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Contact Booth Program 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Past President Lunch 1:00 p.m.

Industry Hospitalities

Tuesday, September 27 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Networking Breakfast • Breakfast Workshop: Rick Wilson – “Think Channel Adaptation, Not Disintermediation” 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Opening General Business Session • Presentation: 2016-2017 Slate of Officers • Keynote: Seifi Ghasemi – “Lessons Learned from Independent Distributors: Capturing Their Entrepreneurial Spirit” • Industry Panel: “Market Disruptors and the Evolving Manufacturer-Distributor Relationship” Panel Leader Jim Earlbeck; Panelists Bob VanKirk, Rick Wilson, and Mike Mintun Noon – 6:00 p.m.

Golf Tournament

1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tours and Activities

Wednesday, September 28 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

Networking Breakfast

8:00 a.m. – Noon

Closing General Business Session • Presentations: CGA & GAWDA Safety Awards • Presentations: Volunteer Awards • Keynotes: Mike Huckabee – “The Pursuit of the Presidency and the Perfectly Insane Political Process” Dave Nelsen – “Social Media for Business”

12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Women of Gases and Welding Event • Waterfalls and Rainforest Walk 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. President’s Farewell Gala Fall 2016

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

GAWDA GIVES BACK From Seedling Idea to Nearly $2 Million in Funding When you plan a destination trip, you naturally expect you’ll come away having enjoyed pleasant memories of sights seen, places visited and experiences enjoyed while there. In 2000, Donna Mahoney, the wife of Dave Mahoney, then-president of GAWDA forerunner NWSA, had a novel idea.

What if, when GAWDA members visited a place for the annual convention, the organization presented a gift of goodwill and tangible resources? It was a way GAWDA could reflect its caring and sharing spirit, and in reciprocity, recreate the positive experience from the stay in that host community.

This seed of an idea for helping others has become a significant statement about a caring organization.

What turned into the “GAWDA Gives Back” initiative that year was immediately embraced, and continued in enthusiastic and ongoing fashion by the organization and its membership. Over the last 16 years, GAWDA members have contributed an amazing amount – donating almost $2 million in funds for this cause.

This extraordinary amount of generosity and goodwill by the members of GAWDA has had long-lasting and far-reaching impact. Every year, GAWDA’s president selects an organization or two whose good works can benefit from “found resources.” The fundraising occurs throughout the year, and monetary gifts are presented at the organization’s annual convention. While the effort has been a somewhat quiet one, it is clearly a popular cause.

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The chart at the right shows how that original idea has flourished, spreading financial means and goodwill to 22 different organizations and 13 different communities over the years.

Donna Mahoney’s concept of one community exchanging hospitality, goodwill and positive experiences with another has continued again this year. The profiles of the 2016 recipient organizations on the adjacent pages illustrate how the generous contributions of GAWDA members will help to meet the needs of many hundreds of deserving individuals and families on Maui.

Fall 2016

2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

GAWDA GIVES BACK CONTRIBUTIONS YEAR

ANNUAL TOTAL

CONVENTION COMMUNITY

FUND DESIGNATIONS AND USE

2000

$35,540

Maui, Hawaii

Maui Adult Day Care Centers

2001

$33,295

San Francisco, Calif.

Lincoln Child Center / Students Rising Above

2002

$33,275

Orlando, Fla.

Princeton House Charter School

2003

$35,075

Vancouver, BC, Canada

St. Elizabeth Home

2004

$57,145

Las Vegas, Nev.

Golden Rainbow

2005

$76,525

Maui, Hawaii

Armed Services YMCA

2006

$91,400

Orlando, Fla.

Community Vision

2007

$88,975

San Francisco, Calif.

Hamilton Family Center

2008

$127,400

Paradise Island, The Bahamas

Ranfurly Homes for Children

2009

$155,205

San Antonio, Texas

WINGS

2010

$190,421

Maui, Hawaii

Community Closet

2011

$199,950

New York, N.Y.

FDNY Fire Family Transport / Pencil Fellows Program

2012

$168,745

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Partners in Housing / Peak Parent Center

2013

$164,271

Orlando, Fla.

Camp Boggy Creek / Give Kids the World Village

2014

$154,539

San Diego, Calif.

Support The Enlisted Project (STEP) / Warrior Foundation-Freedom Station

2015

$189,274

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Camp Soaring Eagle / Ryan House

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS: $1,801,035 Fall 2016

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

GAWDA GIVES BACK – ALOHA SPIRIT IN ACTION by carole jesiolowski

Boys and Girls Clubs Puts Maui Youth On Path to Success “The only person you have to be better than is the person you were yesterday,” says a 17-year-old member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui (BGCM), one of 8,000 Maui County youth between the ages of 9 and 17 who participate in one of BGCM six clubhouse and outreach programs. “Because of the Boys and Girls Clubs, the future is mine, and it starts now.”

BGCM’s mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. “We believe that success is within reach of every young person who walks through the door of our clubs,” say Kelly Pearson, BGCM’s CEO. It was this mission and attitude that appealed to GAWDA President Bill Visintainer and his wife Debbie when they chose the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui as a recipient of the 2016 GAWDA Gives Back donation.

The clubs are staffed by youth development professionals who exemplify values of fun, respect, character development, education and `ohana (family).

More than after-school hangouts, the Clubhouses are safe and positive places where young people come to have fun, do homework, develop social skills, express themselves creatively, and participate in sports and other physical activities. Continual learning is celebrated and reinforced in every interaction, activity and area of the club. Programs are designed around five core areas: 1) character and leadership development, 2) education and career development, 3) health and life skills, 4) the arts, 5) sports, fitness, recreation.

According to Pearson, BGCM helps ensure that all of Maui’s youth have access to opportunities regardless of income, background, family circumstances or environment. More than 60 percent of club members are enrolled in the free or reduced-price lunch program 90

at their schools, and many fall into the low to moderate income level for the county. Annual membership is $5 per child, $10 for a family. Scholarships are available for those unable to afford even these amounts.

The program cost for one child averages $900 annually. According to BGCM Development Specialist Linda Gilbertson, 80 cents of every dollar goes to direct services. The rest is earmarked for management, fundraising and administrative costs. To complement government funding and grants, BGCM holds several fundraising events.

The GAWDA Gives Back donation will be used to implement Youth for Unity, a program that focuses on cultural diversity, an important topic in Hawaii where multiple cultures, races and ethnicities make up most communities. “Its goal,” Gilbertson explains, “is to engage members and parents in activities designed to promote diversity and combat prejudice, bigotry and discrimination.” The project also will focus on developing conflict-resolution skills, with the emphasis on prevention of bullying and enhancement of self-esteem.

More information about Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui can be seen on videos at www.gawda.org and www.bgcmaui.org. A GAWDA Gives Back donation form can be found at: www.gawda.org/wp-content/ uploads/2015/06/2016-GGB-Donation-Form.pdf.

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

23-5578_1/4 page b/w ad

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui, one of two charities chosen to receive GAWDA Gives Back donations this year, helps thousands of children on Maui at six clubhouses and outreach programs. The GAWDA Gives Back donation will fund a program designed to promote diversity.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION Neighborhood Place Of Wailuku Offers Healing And Hope Neighborhood Place of Wailuku (NPW) welcomes families who need basic supplies such as food, clothing and diapers, and where they can find parenting and relationship classes, learn financial and independent living skills and connect with resources for job training and placement.

The organization is one of five walk-in Family Centers in the state of Hawaii operated by Child & Family Service. It strives to strengthen families and foster the healthy development of children, serving those facing some of life’s most serious challenges.

Since NPW’s inception in 2004, all ages have been served, from infants to seniors, with the goal of providing the necessary tools and resources to create long-lasting, positive change. Child abuse prevention, treatment support, crisis intervention and trauma care are available. A truancy-prevention program targets middle school youth and a job-training program helps transition individuals from poverty to self-sufficiency.

NPW conducts sexual assault prevention workshops in schools and training programs for police.

Neighborhood Place of Wailuku offers families assistance with some of the most basic needs in life. More than a thousand people were helped last year.

Gives Back donation.

Bill set as his goal to at least match the 2015 donation of $189,274 and split that between two Mauibased charities. Bill and Debbie took the mission of choosing two worthy organizations very seriously. “I’ve always been partial to children and families in need, so helping broken families and giving them a leg up appealed to Debbie and me,” Bill explains.

Last year, 1,111 individuals received services: 79 percent of them below the poverty line; 61 percent female; 21 percent Native Hawaiian; 54 percent other minorities, including Filipino, Samoan, Micronesian, Japanese, Chinese, Native American.

Eighty-four percent of the operating budget comes from government contracts, which can be highly prescriptive, limiting, and end abruptly. Fundraising events and individual and corporate donations provide 12 percent of NPW’s budget. Ninety-one cents of every dollar donated goes directly to program costs.

According to Rizzo, the GAWDA Gives Back donation will be placed in Child & Family Service’s Stronger Families Fund, and used for maximum impact where it’s most needed. “One hundred percent of the donation will be allocated to Maui programs and will be drawn down over a maximum four-year period to address pressing needs as they arise,” says Rizzo.

“GAWDA’s donation may also be leveraged in the Maui community to encourage others to contribute to the Stronger Families Fund.”

“We embrace families without judgment and with the belief that every person has the power to change their own lives, with the right kind of help and guidance,” says Anne Marie Rizzo, chief development officer. “Some of our work is extremely difficult, and the outcomes are incredible ... lives saved, families strengthened, children cherished and nurtured.”

“GAWDA’s generosity is making a significant impact on Maui families, now and into the future,” says Howard Garval, president and CEO of Child & Family Service.

“We are in awe of the compassion of this group of business leaders from around the country. GAWDA’s transformational investment in a community in which they are considered ‘guests’ is a true example of the Aloha Spirit in action.”

It is this focus on positive change that attracted GAWDA President Bill Visintainer and his wife Debbie when searching for recipients of the 2016 GAWDA

Carole Jesiolowski is the founding editor of Welding & Gases Today and served as the managing editor of GAWDA Media for 14 years.

She can be reached at carole@datakey.org or 315-559-7848.

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Fall 2016

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION

BREAKFAST WORKSHOP Tuesday, September 27 – 7-8 a.m.

Haleakalā Ballroom, Grand Wailea

RICK WILSON “Think Channel Adaptation, Not Disintermediation” Help yourself to the breakfast buffet then head into the general session room for a special workshop on Tuesday with Rick Wilson, managing partner of Chicago Strategy Associates.

Wilson will provide a closer look at the topic he’ll discuss on the industry panel later that day – the impact of changing marketplace dynamics for independent distributors and their manufacturer suppliers. He’ll offer insights about the issue of intermediation today – and how he believes distributors and suppliers can work together on cooperating strategies to re-imagine working partnerships that truly bring benefits to both parties.

Don’t miss his intriguing insights and candid commentary.

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2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION Got Info? Get a QR Code Scanner for Your Smartphone!

JOHN What’s faster and more convenient than collecting other peoples’ business cards and then downloading all that information into a database when you get back to the office?

The answer: scanning their GAWDA Convention badge! Not only is scanning the badge with your smartphone swifter, the information automatically is entered into your phone contacts database. That’s a key advantage of GAWDA’s new registration system.

At this year’s Annual Convention, every person you meet who is wearing a convention name badge has their contact information embedded in the QR code on the badge.

If you haven’t already downloaded a QR reader to your smartphone, you’ll want to do it now. We’ve recommended a couple in this issue’s “Here’s What’s App-ening” article on page 82. You can also look into these (among many) possibilities: ScanLife; QR Droid Code Scanner for Android; and QR Reader for iPhone; NeoReader; Optiscan QR Code Reader for iOS. And for your convenience, the badge example pictured at right lets you test out how the QR scanning technology works.

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On The Edge

Think Channel Adaptation, Not Disintermediation Distributors and Suppliers Can Refuel Growth With Collaboration, New Perspectives, Win-Win Strategies by rick wilson

A As founder of Chicago Strategy Associates, Richard E. Wilson advises senior leaders on structuring and managing distribution strategy and relationships for accelerated growth. He has examined or worked with leaders of manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and service companies in more than 100 B2B and B2C markets worldwide. He is a Visiting Scholar and co-founder of the Center for Global Marketing Practice at The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is at: rick@chicagostrategy. com and 312-988-4856.

AC SPEAKER

recent cross-country Gallup survey discovered the numbers underlying what independent distributors, as well as their branded manufacturer suppliers, have known about changing marketplace dynamics for quite some time.

The survey found that only 29 percent of business-to-business (B2B) customers are fully engaged with the companies they do business with, and only 46 percent strongly agree that these companies always deliver on their promises. Worse, fully 60 percent of B2B customers indicate that when problems do arise they are not adequately resolved. These end user focused numbers reinforce that the policies, practices, and working relationships put in place by branded manufacturers and their independent distribution partners are not driving optimal performance levels.

B2B CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION

Manufacturers and distributors that do routinely exceed the expectations of their mutual end customers have one trait in common: they closely coordinate their activities in the marketplace to create finely-tuned, integrated and high-value experiences for end customers. While respecting their independence, these partnerships hum along seamlessly as though one company.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for most manufacturer and distributor relationships. An early 2016 study from the National Association of Electrical Distributors confirms that 94 percent of manufacturers and 87 percent of distributors in that industry believe this about their relationships:

96

“There is a need for manufacturers and distributors to re-imagine how they can do better work together and more collaboratively develop deeper-meaning value propositions for the markets, businesses, and individuals they serve.�

THE COMMODITIZATION SPIRAL

One major contributor to the recent decline in relationship trust and commitment across distribution systems has been the disruptive influence of the internet and e-commerce. This puts intense downward pressure on the prices and margins necessary to fund value-added work for customers, and creates alarming havoc on traditional forms of intermediation. With inadequate manufacturer and distributor strategy and policy coordination, erroneous and dangerous conclusions are being drawn about what customers are seeking and what is motivating them to go online.

As the march to commoditization accelerates, manufacturers conclude that channel efficiency deterioration justifies (if not forces) them to bypass intermediaries and sell directly, often online. Distributors, faced with newly rampant pricing declines, cut expenses by reducing costly work that once created value-added. As distributors cut activity costs, end-customer buying alternatives become less and less differentiated, which fuels the justification for focusing on lower prices.

In the end, these beliefs can fuel a downward spiral of policies and practices that commoditize markets, destroy brand equity and reputations, and leave B2B end customers increasingly frustrated that tangible business challenges are not Fall 2016

On The Edge being fully addressed. With the exception of cut-rate online discounters, no one really wins in this environment.

Not surprisingly, today’s fears about a race to disintermediation and commoditization means that manufacturer-distributor relationships are experiencing low trust, decimated collaboration, and declining profitability.

Much is already being discussed about the soft side of partnering, such as culture, mindset, and trust.

What’s missing in the dialogue is compelling new thinking about how market-focused omnichannel business strategies, distribution policies and in-market programs can create an environment of joint growth and winning in the marketplace.

What’s missing is a fresh view of channel strategy that drives a new, system-wide look for market-focused adaptation and end-customer experience satisfaction.

NEW GENERATION OF MARKETING LEADERSHIP

Navigating this winning path of differentiation and adaptation in distribution during a cycle of market commoditization requires new win-win policy and practices collaboration

between suppliers and distribution intermediaries. It requires collaboration that increases end-user buying experience utility, and reduces low-price decision-making.

In fact, what’s needed now is a whole new generation of omnichannel marketing leadership from both manufacturers and distributors alike. In the end, this new generation of leaders, not tied to long-standing legacy beliefs about outdated go-to-market business models, will create new relationships, new perspectives on how commoditization dynamics can be reversed and new policies and programs that energize profitable growth.

When I present a workshop and join the panel at GAWDA’s Annual Convention, I’ll delve more deeply into how a new generation of distributor and manufacturer leadership, policies, and programs can reset the industry trajectory. It is possible to go from the current one to a state of market that is characterized by faster revenue growth, increased profitability and greater end customer value-added satisfaction. I look forward to that discussion and to meeting many of you there.

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2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE

The 2016 Annual Convention

GUIDE TO

CONTACT BOOTH EXHIBITORS

Aloha! If you’re attending GAWDA’s Annual Convention this year, you’re sure to spend memorable hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the beautiful island of Maui.

And once at the Convention, you’re sure to spend memorable hours maximizing your industry connections. GAWDA’s Contact Booth Program is a great place to do that.

It’s the dedicated time for “high-impact” business networking. You’ll be able to see old friends; make new acquaintances; meet company representatives and discover the industry’s latest and greatest products and services. Be sure to come early and to stay through the end. We’re repeating the popular Prize Program, and you must be present to win when the winning tickets are drawn.

8:30 - 11:30 A.M. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

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Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE ACME CRYOGENICS FINAL LINE MANIFOLDS Allentown, Penn. — Acme Cryogenics is a leading designer and manufacturer of final line pressure control manifolds. Their time-proven brazing, cleaning and testing procedures provide superior results that cannot be matched by any other manufacturer’s process. Let Acme show you the difference! Booth 227

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Charlotte, N.C. — Distributors have entrusted their insurance investment to AmWINS Program Underwriters for over 24 years. With specialized coverages, competitive pricing, loss control & strong claims management, you cannot afford not to ask your agent about AmWINS. Contact us today to learn how your business can benefit from AmWINS Program Underwriters. Booth 211

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2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE

ANTHONY WELDED PRODUCTS LOAD-N-ROLL SERIES CARTS Delano, Calif. — Anthony is excited to attend another GAWDA convention with a couple of cutting-edge products to show, one of which is the new patented Load-N-Roll cart line. This four-wheel design revolutionizes the way cylinders are handled. Scan the QR code above for a quick video about the Load-N-Roll series carts. Booth 221

ARCOS SHOWCASES LINE Mt. Carmel, Penn. — Arcos Industries, LLC manufactures a comprehensive line of superior quality bare wire, covered and tubular welding electrode products. Our wide range of consumables includes high alloy, stainless steel and nickel alloy electrodes. Arcos electrodes meet or exceed demanding military and nuclear application specifications such as: ASME Nuclear Certificate #QSC448; ISO 9001: Certified; Mil-I 45208A Inspection; and Navy QPL. Booth 215

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ASM- AMERICAN STANDARD MANUFACTURING PROVIDING OVER 25 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE Central Bridge, N.Y — ASM has provided over 25 years of excellent customer service and outstanding product quality. They continue to manufacture high-pressure and propane cylinder storage and merchandising cabinets for both industrial and commercial use, along with a variety of ergonomic cylinder-handling devices.

Booth 228 Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE

BTIC AMERICA OFFERING INDUSTRIAL AND BEVERAGE CRYOGENIC CYLINDERS Houston, Texas —BTIC America Corporation (BAC) is a subsidiary of Beijing Tianhai Industry Co., Ltd., which is one of the best and largest cylinder manufacturers in the world. BAC provides cylinder sales and services.

Products include high pressure gas cylinders (DOT/TC and UNISO), acetylene cylinders, cryogenic cylinders, fire-fighting cylinders and SCBA cylinders.

Booth 410

CATALINA CYLINDERS – WORLD-CLASS PRODUCTS, FIRST CLASS SERVICE Garden Grove, Calif. — Catalina Cylinders manufactures high- and low-pressure aluminum compressed gas cylinders for Specialty and Calibration Gas, Industrial Gas, Beverage, Medical, SCUBA, Fire & Rescue and Automotive (Nitrous). Catalina East additionally produces Technical Impacts. Catalina Composites (subsidiary) produces Type 3 CNG cylinders. Manufacturing locations in Garden Grove, California, and Hampton, Virginia. Booth 418

Somerset, N.J.— Cavagna Group’s IVIPR is an integrated valve and residual pressure valve. Its ergonomic design provides the user with easy access to all primary functions from one side of the cylinder. IVPR is suitable for various welding gases, including oxygen, acetylene and AR/ C02 mixtures. Booth 210

dependability • versatility • recyclability

CAVAGNA OFFERS ALL-IN-ONE PRODUCT VALVE

SELECT SERIES

Fall 2016

Announcing a new cylinder line now available from Norlab With two new cylinder packages, we bring innovation to the disposable cylinder customer.

Our dependable cylinders and valves are manufactured using high grade alloys and components ensuring greater gas stability over the life of the mix.

Two versatile cylinders available that cover all current sizes from 34 liter through 116 liter. We also offer several valve options depending on the gas standard required.

100% recyclable and refillable with no deposits or daily rental fees, these cylinders are returnable or can be recycled locally.

To find out more about our new Select Series cylinders, contact Norlab customer service at 800-657-6672 or send us an email us at norlabcs@norco-inc.com Visit us at www.norlab-gas.com to find a Norlab distributor in your area.

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OPEN FOR BUSINESS! As we enter our 15th successful year, we invite you to join us!

What sets the AIWD apart from other buying groups?

“We’ve never felt the need to join a buying group before, but after visiting with Ron and discussing the values of the group and the direction they are going, we were motivated to be a part of it. Our 62-years of success inspires us to make a difference in this industry, and the AIWD is the perfect vehicle in which to accomplish this.”

— Doug Seaman, GM Phoenix Welding Supplies

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE CGW SHOWCASES Z4 HIGH PERFORMANCE FLAP DISCS Niles, Ill.— CGW has expanded its extensive line of U.S.-made flap discs with the addition of Z4 Trimmable and Phenolicbacked flap discs. Made with concentrated grinding aid, high-performance zirconia alumina grain and long-lasting polyester, the new Z4 discs are ideal for severe applications when sharp edges are a challenge. Booth 231

CHART NEW SOLUTIONS: DURA-CYL•, ECONO-CYL™, NOMAD™, AND MVE LAB SERIES Garfield Heights, Ohio — The DuraCyl® Series is now available with a 7-year vacuum warranty with improved control regulators. The New Econo-Cyl™ Series features the Chart exclusive MCR regulator for easy in-field pressure adjustments. Our new Nomad™ 830G is perfect for the temporary gas or liquid jobs, or as a backup for liquid delivery. Now available from the industrial gas group is the MVE Lab Series. Booth 230

CYL-TEC TO OFFER HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL BULK SYSTEMS

For information about membership, please contact: Ronny Ruyle Executive Director E: ruyletws@aol.com P: 903.593.7343 W: www.welders.to 102

Aurora, Ill. — CylTec has expanded our product line! Give us a call (888-429-5832) to hear more about our horizontal & vertical Titan Bulk CO2 stations (10 ton, 14 ton, 30 ton, and 50 ton), as well as our 1500 to 6000 gallon bulk stations for LO2, LN2, & LAr. We offer lease to own & purchase options. Booth 200 Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE FIBA EXECUTIVES TO HIGHLIGHT PRODUCT LINE Littleton, Mass. — FIBA serves industrial and specialty gas distributors and manufacturers. FIBA manufactures and repairs transport, storage and filling equipment, including DOT, ISO and ASME pressure vessels, tube trailers, ISO modules, ASME and DOT receivers, bulk transporters and tanks, oil field equipment, and vaporizers. FIBA provides ultrasonic, acoustic emission and hydrostatic requalification of pressure vessels. Booth 429

GAS INNOVATIONS LAUNCHES REFRIGERANT AD AND VIDEO

FLEXOVIT USA, INC. FEATURES HIGH PRODUCTIVITY ABRASIVES FOR POWER TOOLS Angola, N.Y. — Flexovit USA, Inc. is a USA based manufacturer of high productivity abrasives for portable power tools. Flexovit operates a 100,000 sq. ft. ISO Certified factory, 4 Sales and Distribution Centers, and deploys a team of Technical Sales Representatives to provide support to abrasive users through a selective network of authorized Distributors in USA, Canada, and Mexico. Booth 300

La Porte, Texas — Gas Innovations has We know Hydrocarbon Refrigerants launched a new hy• High Purity Hydrocarbons drocarbon refrigerant • Bulk Quantities • Storage Systems, Bulk and Cylinders • Project Management ad and global capa• Global Supply • Portable, Interim and Temporary Supply bilities video. The new Get quality products and service today! ad contains six key abilities for suppliers looking for hydrocargasinnovations.com bon refrigerant supply. The “Welcome to Gas Innovations” video features the company overview showcasing Gas Innovations competencies, innovative technologies and our high-purity hydrocarbon refrigerants. Booth 310 281.471.2200 La Porte, Texas (Houston Ship Channel)

Products include Ethane, Butane,Propane, Ethylene, Isobutane, Methane, Propylene and Pentanes.

Packaging includes large and small bulk containers, high and low pressure cylinders, tube trailers, cryogenic ISO containers and international shipping containers.

GENTEC PROVIDES THE TOTAL SOLUTION Chino, Calif. — Genstar Technologies Company provides high-quality pressure regulators, fittings, valves, welding apparatus, gas control and gas handling devices. UL-approved high quality products, competitive pricing and continual technological innovation have fueled Genstar’s steady growth since 1984.

Their R&D department works continuously to improve existing product lines, developing innovative product designs.

Booth 233 Fall 2016

GERHART OFFERING FILL PLANT SYSTEMS Allentown, Penn. — Gerhart Gas Technologies designs, programs, manufactures, and installs Automated cryogenic & gas fill plant systems for the industrial, specialty and medical gas industry. These industries require precision solutions that deliver accurate control, efficient operation, and the ability to reduce material losses. For simple pump systems to turn-key multiscale liquid cylinder filling solutions, come see us to start the Measuremation experience.

Booth #334 103

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE

THE HARRIS PRODUCTS GROUP Mason, Ohio —The Harris Products Group offers a full line of specialty gas equipment. We manufacture high purity barstock regulators available in stainless steel, brass and chrome plated. In addition to regulators, Harris offers complete gas management products for flow control, gas purification, and cylinder storage. Booth 318

HYPERTHERM LEADS THE PLASMA PACK Hanover, N.H. — Seven highly portable, professional grade air plasma systems and more specialty torches and consumables than any other brand. Hypertherm Powermax systems stand up to heavy duty use in demanding industrial environments so your customers can get the job done. Booth 423

9.26.16 IT WILL RESHAPE YOUR IDEA OF VERSATILITY. LEARN MORE AT HYPERTHERM.COM/SHAPINGXP.

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INOXCVA SHOWCASES MICRO-BULK STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTS Baytown, Texas — The Inoxcva Portacryo combines all the features needed for cost-effective micro-bulk storage and distribution capabilities. Their team of experts will provide information needed to help the independent operator become more self-sufficient and profitable. Discounts on all cryogenic and micro-bulk storage equipment will be offered. Booth 238 Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE KAPLAN INDUSTRIES PROVIDES TOTAL SOLUTIONS Harrison, Ohio — More than just an industrial cylinder supplier, Kaplan Industries offers a wide portfolio of services. Executives will discuss cylinder cradle manifold systems, liquid and propane offerings along with medical and beverage options. No one inventories a more complete line of cylinders and valves for compressed gases, offering both new and refurbished cylinders.

Booth 306

MCDANTIM SHOWCASES THE TRUMIX THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO. WILL NETWORK WITH DISTRIBUTOR PARTNERS Cleveland, Ohio— With more than 200 technical representatives and field sales support personnel, Lincoln Electric strives to assist distributor partners as they meet end-user needs with application expertise, quality products and outstanding customer service. Booth 320

Helena, Mont. — McDantim Trumix gas blending systems are a unique approach to accurate gas blends.

Using laminar gas flow properties, they maintain industry standard blend accuracies over a wide range of flow rates without buffer tanks or electricity. Two or three-component blends at flow rates ranging from 1scfh to over 4,000 scfh are available. Booth 309

On-Site Gas Blending with a wide range of flow rates for large manufacturing companies to small mom & pop shops!

Trumix® Gas Blenders Value to the entire gas management system.

Accurate Blend.

Automatic shut off.

No electricity, floor space or storage tanks.

Shielding Gas / Food Packaging / Beer Dispense Call for details!

www.McDantim.com • 888.735.5607 Fall 2016

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2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE

METAL MAN INTRODUCES VERSATILE CART Appleton, Wisc. — The new Metal Man UWC4 is versatile. Designed to accept an industrial power source on the bottom shelf and a feeder on the top, it accepts both single and dual cylinders for bulk gases and boasts heavyduty wheels and casters that can handle up to 400 lbs. Booth 324

MERCER INDUSTRIES, THIRD GENERATION FAMILY-OWNED Rockonkoma, N.Y. — Mercer Industries, a 3rd generation family owned company, was built on core values of quality, performance, delivery, service and price. Founded in 1968, Mercer Industries offers more than 3,000 products for the flooring, industrial, automotive and welding markets. Mercer is committed to serving its customers and providing quality products. Booth 242

NORDCO CYL-SONIC MICRO Becca Falls, Conn. —CYL-SONIC MICRO is the ideal ultrasonic (UE) cylinder requalification system for requalifying small specialty, medical and beverage gas cylinders. The CYL-SONIC MIRCO performs Ultrasonic examinations of cylinders with 3.2” - 8.0” outside diameters; less than 30” lon, and is configurable to accommodate “grab-and-go”, or integrated valves. www.cylsonic.com Booth 101

Ultrasonic Cylinder Requalification

Most Innovative and Technologically Advanced Way to Re-qualify Cylinders!

POWERFUL PERFORMANCE. POWERFUL PRODUCTIVITY. POWERFUL PROFITABILITY.

www.cylsonic.com (203) 438-9696

106 Cylsonic.AD.indd 1

Fall 2016 8/9/16 4:52 PM

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE NORTON, BECAUSE RIGHT CHOICES MATTER Duluth, Ga. —The unprecedented design of the all-new Norton Quantum3 grinding wheels deliver high operator comfort with faster cut, less grinding time and less downtime for relentless cutting action. The quality of your work is a reflection of you.

And Norton wants to help you be the best in class; choose Quantum3. Booth 424

PFERD SHOWS OFF CC-GRINDSOLID GRINDING WHEELS Milwaukee, Wisc. — PFERD combines safety, efficiency and power with the CC-GRIND-SOLID reinforced grinding wheel for rough grinding applications. This innovative product integrates a high-strength, layer structured fibreglass backer and high-performance coated abrasive to deliver controlled, aggressive stock removal. Available with a patented cooling and mounting system, or with quick-change 5/8-11 threaded.

Booth 217

ORS NASCO EXPERIENCE THE VALUE OF WHOLESALE Muskogee, Okla. — ORS Nasco is a single source provider of more than 200,000 products of premium brand from over 600 manufacturers in the industrial, welding, oilfield, safety, electrical, construction, HVAC, MRO, plumbing, janitorial and rental markets. Booth 327

FASTER THAN THE PROVERBIAL YOU-KNOW-WHAT.

At ASM, we pride ourselves on our super fast turnaround. We can efficiently and effectively meet your deadlines for large cabinet quantities, leaving our competitors in the dust. And we can often ship smaller quantities the same day we take your order.

Global Reach–Made in the USA.

800-488-8816 amrstd.com

The Standard of Excellence

Fall 2016

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2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE SAFTCART EXECS DISCUSS LATEST OFFERINGS

RATERMANN MANUFACTURING TEAMS UP WITH TAYLOR WHARTON Livermore, Calif.— Ratermann Manufacturing is excited to announce new stocked inventory of TW Bev- carb tanks, nitrogen generators, TW industrial liquid cylinders and our Arctic Fox cryogenic tanks 1500L- 6000L. Ultimately, Ratermann Manufacturing believes that we are 100 percent accountable for each customer order.

Because of that commitment, we care for and manage every order, from beginning to end. Booth 219

Clarksdale, Miss.— SafTCart will discuss their latest offerings including the redesign of the LCT-12-6, the all-electric EZ Load-4L-EMEH, the Magnet Cart Line, the warehouse friendly Box Cart Line, and the all new Cradle Series, the EC6 and EC12. Executives will be available to assist you in your complete operational needs including pallets, pallet beds and trailers. Booth 401

SELECT-ARC SETS THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE IN TUBULAR WELDING ELECTRODES

ROTAREX GAS HANDLING PROCESS Mount Pleasant, Penn.— Serving the industry since 1922, manufacturer of valves, fittings, and regulators for compressed gases. Source-to-process solutions for the handling of gas including specialty, semiconductor, corrosive, industrial, and medical. Innovator for cylinder valves, line valves, integrated valve-regulators, regulators, and fittings in materials such as brass, ASB, stainless steel, nickel, and Hastelloy. Booth 412

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Fort Loramie, Ohio — Select-Arc, Inc. manufactures a complete line of premium quality flux-cored and metal-cored welding electrodes: carbon steel, low alloy, stainless steel, nickel alloy and hard-surfacing. The company backs its exceptional welding wire products with outstanding service and the best value-added in the industry. Select-Arc sets the standard of excellence in tubular welding electrodes. Booth 213

Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE SHERWOOD VALVE EXPANDS PRODUCT OFFERINGS Washington, Penn. — Sherwood continues new product development of valves for medical gases, calibration gases and specialty gas applications to be released in 2017. Stop by the Sherwood booth to learn more about our current products and find out about our custom design capabilities. Sherwood provides American-made quality products and service you can trust. Booth 311

UNIWELD CELEBRATES HISTORY OF INNOVATION Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Uniweld Products is featuring the hottest products in their sales lineup. Stop by to see why their more than 65 years in business have successfully mirrored their growth. Booth 102

TRAFIMET USA Hialeah, Fla. — Trafimet is a one-stop source for OEM quality MIG, TIG and plasma torches and consumables, as well as European style connectors and welding accessories. Company executives will be on hand to explain the benefits of the products and solutions offered.

Booth 413

VEITE INSTALLS FILL PLANTS North Ridgeville, Ohio — Veite Cryogenic Equipment and Service (VCE) designs, manufactures and installs custom cryogenic, high-pressure gas delivery systems and turnkey compressed gas distributor fill plants for industrial and medical gases. Available for same-day shipment. Veite offers a complete line of quality tested cryogenic hardware and equipment, including cryogenic transfer pumps. Booth 331

Your Source For MIG Carts and Cabinets Dual Bottle Deluxe Weld Cabinet DWC2

Deluxe Weld Cabinet DWC1

Universal Cart UWC3

www.metalmangear.com

Fall 2016

•

888-762-4045

Universal Cart UWC2

109

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE WDPG/THE HORTON GROUP PREMIER BUSINESS INSURANCE PROVIDER Nashville, Tenn. — The WDPG insurance program is the premier business insurance program to the welding and gas industry. The Horton Group is the leading single agency providing more business insurance to more welding supply distributors than any other independent agency. Since 1987 the WDPG has delivered innovative business insurance and risk management solutions.

Booth 301

WEH TECHNOLOGIES OFFERS SOLUTIONS Katy, Texas — The original, previously private labeled WEH Quick connectors are German made, certified, well proven, highest quality tool, and now serviced in Texas. Improve safety, reliability and quality of your compressed gases filling plants with this long-lasting tool. A worldwide operating privately owned family company dedicated to eliminate all repetitive thread connections. Booth 207

WEILER COVERS YOU BEFORE AND AFTER THE WELD Cresco, Penn. — As an industry leader and global manufacturer of surface conditioning solutions, Weiler Abrasives Group is dedicated to forging collaborative relationships with our customers in diverse markets — Welding & Fabrication; Industrial Production; and Maintenance, Repair & Operations — to tackle their toughest cleaning, grinding, cutting, de-burring, and finishing challenges.

Booth 216

Abrasive products for the professional.

Proudly made in the

USA.

Contact us at: 1-800-689-3539 Visit our website: flexovitabrasives.com

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Fall 2016

2016 EXHIBITORS GUIDE WELCOME TO WELDCOA 2016

WELDSHIP INTRODUCES NEW STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Aurora, Ill. — Two years ago Weldcoa began a top-to-bottom overhaul of our entire manufacturing process, adding nearly $2,000,000 worth of automated manufacturing technology and equipment. Today, we are now an in-stock supplier, providing you with the highest quality products, when you need them, at the best possible price. Booth 314

Bethlehem, Penn. — Weldship Corporation provides alternative solutions for compressed gas storage with new compact 12-foot ASME ground storage tube assemblies. Stackable tubes can range from a single tube up to as many as desired, while acting as an answer to on-site space limitations.

Weldship provides more opportunities for storage within confined spaces. ISO 9001 Certified. Booth 336

WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES LEADING WITH EXPERTISE Columbus, Ohio — Worthington Industries is the leading manufacturer of pressure cylinders and related products for industrial, alternative fuels, oil and gas, and consumer products markets. Our steel, aluminum and composite cylinders, cryogenic vessels, storage tanks and specialty components serve more than 4,000 customers in 70 countries. Booth 426

BOTH AVAILABLE DOT and ISO Cylinders

HEAD OFFICE:

6600 Sands Point Dr. #121 Houston, TX 77074 P: (713) 779-8882 F: (713) 774-1763

WWW.BTIC-AMERICA.COM

Fall 2016

For cylinder service including: painting, valve and neck ring installation and stamping contact our Service Center: 7171 Patterson Dr. Garden Grove, CA 92841 P: (714) 893-4951 F: (714) 891-3403

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Rely on Reelcraft

News from GAWDA Headquarters

Welcome New Members!

GAWDA is pleased to welcome the following companies that recently joined the Gases and Welding Distributors Association as new members. For more information about the benefits and services available to members, please contact the Association at 844-251-3219 (Stephen Hill) or visit www.gawda.org.

Most Popular 1/4” I.D. x 50’ TW7450 OLP

Complete line of welding reels ü Profitable sales ü Excellent quality and service ü Strong brand preference ü Most complete ü On-time delivery product line

Most Compact p

1/4” I.D. x 25’ TW5425 OLP

DISCOUNT HELIUM OF DALLAS 1331 E. Highway 80, Suite 7 Mesquite, Texas 75150 972-279-0086

Discount Helium of Dallas has been supplying industrial gas, helium and balloons to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and North Texas region since 1994, offering helium, CO2, nitrogen, beer gas, laser gas and others. The company is locally owned and managed.

SUPPLIER MEMBERS LESSMANN BRUSH Lucas-Schultes-Str. 2 86732 Oettingen Deutschland 49-09082-707-0

p

Longer Lengths

Lessmann Brush is a medium-sized, family-owned company in Bavaria, in Southern Germany. The company manufactures pipeline brushes, single segment brushes, knot wheel brushes, joint cleaning brushes, wheel brushes, special wheel brushes and accessories. Founded in 1948, the company sits on a single site, including a production hall completed in 2014.

1/4” I.D. x 150’ T-1225-04-100T

NEW! p

Rated up to 700 amps

Most Robust WCH80001

www.reelcraft.com

DISTRIBUTOR MEMBERS

800-444-3134

CRYOWORKS, INC. 3309 Grapevine St. Jurupa Valley, Calif.

951-360-0920

CryoWorks is a family-owned, woman-owned small business specializing in design, sales, installation and service for cryogenic piping systems. Products include bayonets, valves, flex hoses, static vacuum, dynamic vacuum, rigid, flexible and/or hybrid cryogenic piping systems. The company provides a range of new and used products for storage, distribution and end-user applications. Markets include food and beverage, semiconductor, electronics, aerospace/defense, entertainment, gas suppliers, solar, research and development, medical/pharmaceutical and automotive.

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Fall 2016

SUPPLIER MEMBERS (CONTINUED) AQUAHYDREX

1797 Boxelder St. Louisville, Colo. 80027 720-542-3945 Aquahydrex is a manufacturer of high-purity industrial gases and commodity chemicals through small-scale production plants.

MAXIMUM

IMPACT

WREFS WELDING LLC 2425 West Loop S Suite 200 PMB 228 Houston, Texas 77027 517-802-7618

WREFS Welding manufactures welding consumables including flux, wire, electrode, rod, and strip. The company’s products are distributed in the United States, Asia and elsewhere.

WREFS also customizes products with specific technological requirements in order to meet the demands of the new base material or special welding condition.

VICTORY WELDING ALLOYS 2981 Interstate St. Charlotte, N.C. 28208 704-523-8798

Victory Welding Alloys, Inc. is a wholesale supplier of welding consumables for applications for a wide variety of industries and uses. Its product lines include many types of consumable filler metals for GMAW, GTAW, SMAW, FCAW and OFW processes; and its own Victory Brand filler metals.

The company also supplies MIG and TIG solid welding wires; oxyacetylene welding rods; flux-coated stick electrodes and flux-cored wires for a wide range of metals and build-up and hardfacing applications.

CLEANS WELDS BETTER, FASTER. A weld is only as good as the wire brush used to clean it.

Like any welder, we take pride in delivering our absolute best.

That's why we re-engineered our stringer bead brush to deliver MAXimum impact, letting the wire do the work. Our beefed up Roughneck Max brush delivers up to twice the life. Combine that with the hardest, strongest wire and an improved knot design to MAXimize cleaning power and you have a brush that you can trust when your name is on the line.

Roughneck Max cleans welds better, faster...

AND it lasts longer.

MANUFACTURER’S REPRESENTATIVE

Learn more at Weilercorp.com/Max

JAMES SINGLEY

3337 Wilderness Circle Middleburg, Fla. 32068 904-716-8181 Fall 2016

weilercorp.com

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News from GAWDA Headquarters

Membership Benefits Extolled In GAWDA Promotional Videos

There are many quantifiable reasons to join the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) and current GAWDA members present and describe them via a series of videos available on the GAWDA.org website.

Videoed from testimonials made at the GAWDA Spring Management Conference, a number of current association members tell the many reasons why it’s important, helpful and practical to become part of the organization.

GAWDA offers business networking opportunities for independent welding and gases distribution distributors, suppliers and manufacturer’s representatives, and there are many other reasons why membership is valued. They include one-to-one professional consultant support, information and educational offerings online and at conference events, member directory and buyers guide publications. The organization also ensures a steady stream of current information is put forward to members via the quarterly magazine and twice-monthly newsletter, plus access to the most up-to-date legislative and safety bulletins and news.

watch the videos at www.gawda.org/join-us/testimonials

GAWDA is presently running an initiative aimed at increasing membership, its “Member-Get-A-Member” drive. Current members are providing referrals for new members, and they can discuss the benefits of membership with anyone who is considering joining. More information about the program is available at: www.gawda.org/gawda-member-get-member.

For more information about GAWDA membership and its benefits, talk to any GAWDA member, or get in touch with GAWDA Headquarters. Membership Services Manager Stephen Hill is available at 954-367-7728, ext. 220 (toll-free: 844-2513219) and via email at: shill@gawda.org.

INDUSTRY EVENTS OCTOBER 2016 11-14

IWDC Owners Meeting // California

23-27

IOMA’s 2016 Annual Meeting // San Diego, CA.

NOVEMBER 2016 14-16

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FABTECH // Las Vegas, NV

Fall 2016

M & A SCORECARD Matheson Buying Air Liquide Assets in U.S.

Matheson has agreed to buy 18 air separation plants in 16 locations, two nitrous oxide plants, four CO2 plants, and related assets from Air Liquide in the United States.

The agreement also includes Matheson’s purchase of three Airgas Inc. retail stores in Alaska. The sale of these assets is required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in connection with Air Liquide’s recently closed acquisition of Airgas.

Yujiro Ichihara, president and CEO of Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, the parent company of Matheson, says the acquisition was consistent with the company’s “focused strategy to expand our presence in the U.S. market.” He says that the purchase “represents the largest acquisition in the TNSC group history and extends our plant network throughout the U.S. By enhancing our position in the East and Midwest, we will further solidify Matheson as a national supplier.”

“We are very excited to welcome the employees of the acquired operations to the Matheson team,” says Scott Kallman, Matheson president and CEO. “This acquisition clearly supports our vertical integration strategy. Customers and future customers in these geographies will have access to our full product line of cylinder gases, bulk liquid, dry ice, related equipment and services and the value this offering can provide to their businesses.”

Completion of the transaction, which is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2016, is subject to FTC approval and customary closing conditions.

Haun Welding Supply Acquires Two Firms in Western New York

Haun Welding Supply Inc., of Syracuse, N.Y., has purchased Danes Welding Supplies of Ontario, N.Y. and, in a separate transaction, Johnson Welding Supply of Batavia, N.Y. Danes and Johnson both provide compressed and liquid gases, along with welding products and equipment.

“Danes has been a leading distributor in the Rochester market for over 60 years. We are excited to have Danes employees and customers join Haun Welding Supply,” said Joshua Haun, Haun Welding Supply’s director of operations and marketing.

“We have had a solid business relationship with Danes through the years. The mutual respect we have had for each other’s businesses made this an easy decision.”

Regarding Johnson Welding Supply, Haun said, “Mark Johnson has done a great job building customer relationships in the Batavia area. We are excited to have Mark and his customers join Haun Welding Supply.”

Haun Welding Supply has offices throughout New York,

BECAUSE RIGHT CHOICES

MATTER! Norton wants to help take a bite out of your daily grind with less body stress, shorter work days and bigger pay days.

1

Operator Comfort

2

Less Grinding Time

nortonindustrial.com/nq3

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Less Downtime And Waste

© Saint-Gobain June 2016.

Vermont, and Pennsylvania.

Fall 2016

115

Industry News

Industry News Buckley Elected CGA Board Chair

John L. Buckley was unanimously elected as the 2016 chairman of the Compressed Gas Association board of directors at the Annual Meeting of the Association in St. Petersburg, Fla. John L. Buckley Buckley is CEO of Air Liquide USA LLC. He joined Air Liquide in January 2013 and is responsible for leading Air Liquide’s Industrial Gas business in the United States. He oversees Air Liquide’s industrial merchant, electronics, finance and large industries businesses, as well as IT, procurement, safety, legal, communications and human resources.

Buckley is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in business management, engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing. Before joining Air Liquide, he served as president of Angus Chemical and global general manager at Dow Consumer and Industrial Solutions. He has also held executive positions at Rohm and Hass Company.

Hanson Joins Northeast Pressure Vessel Testing

Northeast Pressure Vessel Testing has named Travis Hanson one of the company’s mobile ultrasonic testers. Hanson recently was certified as an ultrasonic technician.

He now travels to customer locations Travis Hanson within the United States to ultrasonically test cylinders at the customers’ locations. NPVT is located in Westboro, Mass., and serves clients in the continental U.S.

Barlen Presented CGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Bill Barlen

Bill Barlen received the Compressed Gas Association H. Emerson Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award at CGA’s 2016 Safety Awards Banquet. Barlen served as CGA’s technical director

116

from 1980 to 1992 and has been a leader for safety in the industry for more than 50 years. “Please know how deeply touched I am to be honored with this esteemed award along with the honor to get to know so many of you, not just as technical colleagues, but as friends,” Barlen said when accepting the award.

Mathey Dearman to Bring Italy’s G.B.C. Group Products to U.S.

Mathey Dearman has announced a new partnership to bring the Italian products from G.B.C. Group to the U.S. market. The G.B.C. cold cutting and beveling equipment is a complement to Mathey’s line of precision equipment, the company says.

Brandon Boyd, Mathey Dearman’s director of sales says, “G.B.C.’s pipe cutters, millers, bevellers and flange facing machines have been known throughout the world for more than 30 years. In the field of pipe and plate cutting and beveling they occupy a leading position in the world market.

This is thanks to the quality, variety and high technology of their cutting and beveling tools.”

Ornelas Named Engineering Supervisor at Emco Wheaton

Hector Ornelas has been promoted to engineering supervisor at Emco Wheaton, Houston.

Ornelas joined Emco Wheaton in January 2015 as a project specialist and assumes the responsibilities of engineering supervisor for the Houston plant in addition to his current role in project management.

Ornelas holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Texas and an MBA from Sam Houston University.

His main focus is improving engineering processes to eliminate waste, reduce cycle time and improve the overall efficiency of the company’s engineering resources to support growth initiatives.

“Hector is a highly experienced engineer with a wealth of experience. His knowledge of operations and production within a manufacturing environment will further strengthen the engineering processes of Emco Wheaton’s production facility as well as growing the company’s capabilities,” says Gary Dumas, plant manager.

Fall 2016

Industry News

Kuhrt Promoted to Executive VP and CIO at Lincoln Electric

Michele R. Kuhrt has been promoted to executive vice president and CIO by Lincoln Electric Co. of Cleveland, Ohio.

As CIO, Kuhrt oversees the enterMichele R. Kuhrt prise information technology systems.

She also is responsible for managing a global team and a broad range of global IT initiatives focused on supporting growth strategy, operations and IT infrastructure, the company says in a release.

“Michele has demonstrated strong leadership within our organization and has been invaluable in the execution of our 2020 strategic initiatives,” says Christopher L. Mapes, Lincoln Electric’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “I am confident that Michele’s deep experience at Lincoln Electric leading key finance initiatives and growing shared service functions will help guide the implementation of our enterprise IT systems and support the growth of global

operations while achieving efficiencies and improved service quality,” Mapes says.

Kuhrt joined Lincoln Electric in 1997 as director of taxes and in 2006 was elected as a company officer and senior vice president-tax, with responsibility for Lincoln Electric’s global tax matters and the U.S. payroll shared services center.

Prior to joining Lincoln Electric, she was with Elsag Bailey Process Automation and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Kuhrt holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accountancy from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and is a CPA.

Beisser Named VP of Operations at CPV

CPV Manufacturing, of Kennett Square, Penn., has appointed Michael Beisser as the new vice president of operations. This position will focus on communication between the Michael Beisser manufacturing, assembly, inventory control, scheduling and customer service teams.

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Fall 2016

117

Industry News

In Memoriam Gary Garner

Gary Wayne Garner unexpectedly passed away in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on July 9. He was born July 29, 1950 in Cape Girardeau to R.C. and Naomi Garner.

Gary and his brother, Gary Garner Bob Garner, bought Ozarc Gas Equipment & Supply, Inc. from their father in 1983. Through their hard work and dedication, they made Ozarc Gas the largest independently owned and operated welding supply company in Missouri.

Gary Garner helped to more than double the size of Ozarc Gas since 1983. He made many cherished friendships through his years in the welding supply business. He was well loved and admired for his knowledge and contributions to the welding supply industry. He is survived by his wife, Peggy Garner, his children, Cory Garner, Nicholas Garner, Alexis Burnett and Carter Bess. He also is survived by his brother, Bob Garner and sister, Belinda Goggin.

Pat Belsole

Patrick Joseph Belsole, 60, of Hershey, Penn., died peacefully July 25 with his wife by his side, in the Hershey Medical Center after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Pat Belsole Belsole was born March 20, 1956 in St. Marys, Penn., to Michael R. and Rose Mary (Herzing) Belsole . He was in the gases and welding industry for 34 years and employed for 20 years by Hypertherm of Hanover, N.H., last working as district sales manager. He had a wide network of friends in the gases and welding community.

Belsole is survived by his wife, Joelyn Lee (Martorana) Belsole; children, Mark Schaut of St. Marys, Greta Belsole of Hummelstown, Penn., and Philip Vagnoni of Reading, Penn.; three brothers and two sisters.

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Beisser brings more than 15 years of experience in operations management to CPV. Prior to joining CPV, Beisser was operations manager for Robern Inc. as well as serving in various operations management positions for Tyco International.

A-OX Adds Seventh Store, Expands to N.D.

A-OX Welding Supply has opened a new location in North Dakota. The new Fargo store joins A-OX’s five South Dakota locations (Sioux Falls, Watertown, Huron, Mitchell and Yankton) and a store in Sioux City, Iowa.

In a release, the company says that Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota, is a key location for A-OX to continue its expanding coverage of the Great Plains region.

As part of the expansion, A-OX added Jesse Hopewell as regional sales manager, Jason Schoenberg as store manager, Matt Mischke as full-service repair technician and Jeremy Hopewell and Dan Hopewell in sales. The company noted that the new staff members have 75 years of combined gas and welding supply experience within the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Delbridge Joins Tier5 Labs as Director of Operations

Geoff Delbridge has joined Tier5 Labs, of Naperville, Ill., as director of operations. Delbridge manages production, distribution, sales and marketing. His background includes distributor operations management, regulatory compliance, specialty gas sales and production within the past 10 years.

Prior to that, his roles included air separation plant operations and quality systems management.

Delbridge will be relocating his family from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to Indianapolis, where the new Tier5 Labs specialty gas production facility is under construction.

Lang Retiring from Weld Specialty

Weld Specialty Gas & Equipment has announced that Bob Lang has retired. Lang joined Weld Specialty in 2003 as co-owner and general manager. After selling his share of Bob Lang the company at the end of 2012, Lang continued as general manager.

Before joining Weld Specialty, Lang built a career in the welding and gases business that began in 1978 and included stints as a driver, repair department worker, operations manager and general manager.

Fall 2016

Industry News An automobile enthusiast who restores and shows vintage cars, Lang plans to spend more time at his lakefront home in Northern Wisconsin.

Weldship Appoints Greisen Sales Manager for Southwest, West

Weldship Corporation, of Bethlehem, Penn., has appointed Scott Greisen sales manager for the U.S. Southwestern and Western Scott Greisen Zones. He worked in the industrial and specialty gas industry for the past 20 years. Previously, Greisen was a master training specialist for the Naval Nuclear Power Program. In addition, he achieved his Process Safety Management Certification and ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Certification (DNV). He will be based at Texas Trailer Corporation, a Weldship Group Company, in Gainesville, Texas.

Pieri Joins Cyl-Tec in Inside Sales

Cyl-Tec, Inc., of Aurora, Ill., has added Dylan Pieri to its team as inside sales specialist. He will be instrumental in advancing marketing initiatives and supporting new prodDylan Pieri ucts while working closely with the customer service team.

Pieri has a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Raymond Joins Pferd As VP-Sales

Jon-Michael Raymond has joined Pferd Inc. as vice president, sales, company President Gene Huegin has announced.

Raymond is charged with managJon-Michael ing Pferd’s U.S. sales force responsible for the welding, industrial and Raymond STAFDA channels. He reports to Huegin. Raymond previously was manager, private brand and retail, U.S. and Canada for Osborn Manufacturing of Richmond, Ind. He also held several positions with Saint-Gobain-Norton, of Worcester, Mass. and was market manager, MRO, for the U.S. and Canada for that company.

Fall 2016

“We are pleased to have Jon-Michael join our staff,” Huegin says.”He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industrial market and will provide a strong addition to our sales management team. His appointment is but another step in the continued growth that we are realizing as a company.”

Hunter Johnson Named Managing Partner at Techniweld

Techniweld USA, of Atlanta, has named Hunter Johnson as managing partner.

Hunter Johnson joins Techniweld Hunter Johnson after growing up immersed in the welding business under the guidance of his father, Techniweld’s founder and president, Eddie Johnson.

Under Hunter Johnson’s guidance, Techniweld is developing an online sales platform to be launched in the Fall of 2016.

Founded in 1985, Techniweld USA, a worldwide wholesaler, has seven locations across the United States, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, Reno and Jackson, Miss.

Bustamante Joins U.S. Tank as National Sales Manager

Alan Bustamante has joined the U.S. Tank and Cryogenic Equipment team as national sales manager. Bustamante has 18 years of experience in the industrial gas containment industry, with special attention to cryogenic equipment systems.

He will work with portable cryogenic vessels, micro bulk and bulk tank refurbishment, as well as sales of reconditioned tanks and equipment.

Norwood Joins WestAir Operations Team

WestAir Gases & Equipment, Inc. has hired Jemal Norwood as plant manager for its Anaheim, Calif. location.

Norwood is responsible for manJemal Norwood aging all of the plant and WestAir distribution in the L.A. Basin region. He brings more than 20 years of extensive industry experience to the position, including service at both major and independent industrial gas companies. “Jemal is a great addition to WestAir and we look forward to the value that he will bring our team and our operation as a whole,” says Austin Romesberg, WestAir vice president of operations.

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Industry News

Fritz Joins Acme Cryogenics as CEO

Acme Cryogenics, of Allentown, Penn., has appointed David Fritz as chief executive officer.

Fritz is an industrial gas veteran who brings a broad range of expeDavid Fritz rience to the chief executive officer role, Acme says. The new CEO recently retired from Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. where he spent 37 years, most recently as global director, operational excellence. He succeeds Joel Hansen, who had served as Acme’s CEO for two years and who decided to pursue other professional opportunities, Acme says.

“We are thrilled to have Dave join the Acme Cryogenics team as CEO,” says Josh Wilson, managing principal, Graham Partners. “He is an extraordinary leader who brings a level of world-class knowledge and expertise to Acme that will help us continue to provide best-in-class cryogenic equipment and service to our loyal customer base.”

“It is an honor to join the Acme Cryogenics family,” Fritz says. “As a long-time customer of Acme during my time at Air Products, I feel privileged to lead a company and team known throughout the industry for the highest quality products, strong customer focus, and value-added services model.”

Acme Cryogenics, Inc., established in 196, provides engineering design, fabrication, installation, and repair services to the food, pharmaceutical, semi-conductor, aerospace, medical gas and industrial gas industries.

Praxair Names Hoyt as VP and Controller; Pelaez as Director, Investor Relations; Announces Hirsch Retirement

Praxair, Inc. has named Kelcey E. Hoyt as vice president and controller, succeeding Elizabeth T. Hirsch, who is retiring from the company after 18 years of service.

Hoyt, who served previously as director, investor relations, will be succeeded by Juan Pelaez in that role. Pelaez has served as vice president of finance for Praxair Mexico since 2011.

Both Hoyt and Pelaez report to Senior Vice President and CFO Matthew J. White, who says, “Kelcey and Juan each bring a wealth of financial expertise and global business acumen to their positions. They will provide outstanding leadership to our finance and investor relations organizations.” White commended Hirsch for “strategic leadership and an unwavering commitment to the company,” saying her “experience, knowledge and drive for results have been invaluable to our organization. We thank her for her many important contribu-

120

tions over the years and wish her the very best in retirement.”

Hoyt joined Praxair in 2002 and held several corporate accounting management positions before being appointed finance director for the onsite and helium units of Praxair’s North American Industrial Gases business in 2008. She was named controller for the eastern division in 2009 and director of investor relations in 2010. She previously worked for KPMG and Xerox. She is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pace University.

Pelaez has been vice president of finance for Praxair Mexico since 2011 and before that, was general director for Praxair Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. He has held various management and financial roles in South America, including finance director and internal audit director, since joining the company in 2000. He previously was finance administration manager at G2 Seismic Ltd. in Bogota, Colombia. He holds a business administration degree from CESA in Bogota and completed the Executive Development Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

AWISCO University Launched

AWISCO, of Maspeth, N.Y., launched AWISCO University at its 2016 Trade Show event, with a total of 117 attendees participating in classes given by several AWISCO vendor-partners.

The program is a formalized extension of the company’s staff and vendor-partner training for customers, according to Lloyd Robinson, president. Training programs now will be featured at in-house events, customer sites and vocational-technical and union schools, he said. At Trade Show 2016, classes were offered in torch safety by Bob Gulas of ESAB, welding fume management by Sue Anderson of Miller Electric, and hazardous materials storage by Steve Wyjadka of ORS-NASCO representing Justrite Manufacturing. Hougen Manufacturing and KB Sales co-sponsored the event. Attendees received certificates of training as well as commemorative tee shirts.

More than 500 Attend IWDC Convention

The Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative said 118 member companies and 99 vendor partners, totaling more than 500 participants, worked and played during the co-op’s annual convention held in May in Indianapolis, Ind. “This year’s sports theme was a hit from Tuesday evening’s opening reception at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, to Thursday’s End Zone dinner and awards ceremony,” the IWDC said in a statement. The event featured vendor show specials, sponsored presentations and member-led workshops.

Fall 2016

Industry News

Direct Wire and Cable Announces Sales and Marketing Team Moves

Direct Wire and Cable Inc., of Denver, Pa., has announced promotions and hires in its sales and marketing team.

Greg Testa has been named vice president of sales. He formerly served as Direct Wire’s national sales manager. He has 10 years of experience in the welding industry, including working for 3M Speedglas.

The company also has named Kim Gates as director of marketing.

In addition, the company appointed Missy Zwally and Katy Yeckley to roles as account managers. The company also announced it is moving its Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., warehouse to 12910 Mulberry Drive in Whittier, Calif.

Greg Testa

Kim Gates

Schwamberger Joins IWDC

Eric Schwamberger has joined the Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative (IWDC) as distribution center operations manager. He is responsible for inEric Schwamberger stalling supply chain best practices to drive service-level efficiency and productivity gains in the IWDC’s Indianapolis, Ind., and Reno, Nev. distribution centers, the IWDC announced.

Schwamberger had been general manager, director of subsidiary operations at Game Time Distribution of Indianapolis since 2012, where he designed the warehouse and expanded operations to multiple locations. Prior to that, he was director of operations for another Indianpolisbased third-party logistics company and held commercial roles at RainSoft and Stock Building Supply companies in Grand Rapids, Mich. He and his wife and son reside in Carmel, Ind.

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Fall 2016

121

New Products, Services & Technologies Direct Wire’s Pink Cable Supporting National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

ESAB Rebrands, Expands Line Of Portable Stick, TIG Inverters

ESAB now offers a expanded line of single-phase stick/TIG and AC/DC TIG/stick inverters. Previously sold as Thermal Arc and Tweco brands, they are now within the ET (ESAB TIG), ES (ESAB Stick) and Fabricator Series of 3-in-1 MIG/ Stick/TIG inverters.

ESAB also has introduced the ET 141i AC/DC, the first 120V inverter providing an AC TIG output for welding aluminum and HF (high frequency) non-contact arc starts for AC or DC TIG welding.

“ESAB single-phase inverters combine compact, lightweight portability with excellent arc performance and user-friendly controls,” says Tom Wermert, senior brand manager, ESAB. “These new and newly-rebranded inverters, combined with our Rebel products, enable ESAB to offer a broad range of solutions for mechanical contracting, light fabrication, repair and maintenance, farm/ranch, motorsports and home-hobby applications.”

Chart Introduces Flow Meter Chart has introduced the new Flowcom 1000 DM drop meter, a product it says accurately, reliably and safely meters cryogenic fluid consumption.

The fully integrated system encases the metering element in vacuum insulated pipe, creating the differential pressure required for highly accurate results. The company reports that without moving parts in the flow stream, the meter offers exceptional reliability over an extended life, as well as low-maintenance operation, superior calibration stability, a frost-free design and an easy-toinstall digital controller.

122

Direct Wire & Cable, Inc. is bringing back pink-colored Flex-a-Prene welding cable for a third year this October as the company’s effort to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The pink welding cable will be available to welding distributors in #2, 1/0 and 2/0 sizes. Customers also can purchase 25-foot and 50-foot pink extension cords. A portion of the proceeds of sales will go to benefit cancer research and awareness.

Direct Wire Vice President of Sales Greg Testa says, “Not only are we excited about this program, our partners and distributors are also excited. The awareness and momentum of this special cable program and even greater cause continues to build year after year.”

President Eric Laubach adds, “when a brand has a strong following, it has the ability to generate a lot of awareness and action toward a good cause. Most people are impacted in one way or another by breast cancer, or any cancer, and this is one way we are able to support research and work towards a cure, ‘one-foot at a time.’”

Pferd Announces Flap Discs

Pferd Inc. has introduced Polifan-Curve flap discs, a new product with a patented, proprietary design that the company says brings significant advantages to rough and finish grinding applications.

The flap discs are designed for fillet weld applications. As a single tool, the disc allows weld seams and slag to be removed while leaving a finish smooth enough for easy identification of cracks, inclusions and porosity in the fillet during weld inspections. The company says the product’s unique configuration gives the disc “three fulFall 2016

New Products, Services & Technologies ly-usable working surfaces as opposed to the single surface of a conventional flap disc—the top face, bottom face and entire radial edge—making this tool perfect for grinding fillet welds as well as unusual curves such as those found in ornamental pieces.” The flap discs also produce superior results in contour grinding, removing material faster than bonded wheels, and leaving a smooth finish for easy visual inspection, according to the company.

American Torch Tip Introduces ‘Curve’ Ergonomic MIG Gun

American Torch Tip announces an addition to the Lightning family of MIG guns, consumables and accessories: the Lightning Curve semi-automatic MIG gun.

The product’s ergonomic N-66 handle is engineered with special impact additives that stand up to extreme contact, making it virtually indestructible, the company says, and the Lightning Curve handle carries a limited lifetime warranty.

Like the rest of the Lightning MIG product line, the Curve features high-strength cabling, a rugged gooseneck crafted from insulated aircraft aluminum and a limited lifetime warranty on the switch. The Lightning Curve is compatible with the entire line of Lightning consumables and is manufactured in the USA, the company says.

voestalpine Böhler Vacuum Pack Offers Several New Features

voestalpine Böhler Welding has renewed its dry system vacuum packaging for stick electrodes with new features to optimize user-friendliness and recyclability, the company has announced.

The new dry system uses a stronger foil made of multi-layered aluminum, offering maximum safety against loss of vacuum to the undesired penetration of sharp objects during storage and use. The packs can be stocked in any dry place where the packaging cannot get damaged.

The company says the dry system is “the efficient alternative for costly climate controlled storage and handling procedures to secure the availability of ready-to-use dry electrodes until the moment of welding.” Use of the product “avoids the necessity Fall 2016

of re-drying, and use of holding ovens and quivers in welding application with a potential risk of hydrogen-induced or hydrogen-assisted cracking. In the case of stainless or nickel-base electrodes, the product prevents the formation of weld metal porosity caused by moisture reabsorbed from the atmosphere by the electrode coating, according to the company. The carton is user-friendly and the vacuum packs carry a special label for documenting the welder’s name and date and time of breaking the vacuum. The product also is fully recyclable.

Osborn Introduces New Line of Abrasive Products

Osborn has introduced a new line of abrasive products, including depressed-center grinding discs, cut-off discs and flap discs. The company says all products are produced in Osborn’s new manufacturing facility in Germany.

The new line of abrasives is designed to cover the full performance spectrum, including fast cutting, heavy stock removal, long service life, application material versatility and smooth finish, the company says. “Osborn continuously looks for ways to better serve our customers, which is why we’re excited to launch our new line of abrasive products,” said Spencer Maheu, director of marketing and product management at Osborn.

Osborn’s new depressed-center grinding discs, cut-off discs and flap discs are offered in 4 and 1/2- to 7-inch diameters and include aluminum oxide, zirconia and ceramic abrasive types. The newly launched line includes 56 product SKUs.

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Advertisers Index ABICOR Binzel USA..................................................94

The Lincoln Electric Company.....................................7

Acme Cryogenics.....................................................62

McDantim..............................................................105

AIWD....................................................................102

Mercer Abrasives.......................................................3

ALM Positioners.......................................................59

Metal Man Work Gear Co........................................109

American Torch Tip...................................................26

Midalloy..................................................................63

AmWINS Program Underwriters.................................36

Nordco Inc.- Cyl-Sonic Systems Division..................106

Anthony Welded Products...................................83, 99

Norlab...................................................................101

Arcos Industries......................................................IBC

Norton Abrasives....................................................115

ASM- American Standard Manufacturing.................107

ORS Nasco..............................................................21

Astaras......................................................................9

Osborn………………………………. …………29

BTIC America Corporation.......................................111

PFERD.....................................................................65

Bug-O Systems........................................................88

Ratermann Manufacturing........................................70

California Cylinder..................................................121

Ray Murray Inc.........................................................52

Carborundum Abrasives...........................................48

Reelcraft Industries................................................112

Catalina Cylinders....................................................40

RegO Cryo-Flow Products.........................................11

Cavagna North America............................................77

Rotarex North America..............................................97

CGW- Camel Grinding Wheels...................................27

SafTCart..................................................................56

Chart Industries.......................................................24

Select-Arc, Inc........................................................ BC

CP Industries Holdings............................................108

Sherwood Valve.......................................................93

CPV Manufacturing..................................................23

Tech Air...................................................................49

CTR..........................................................................5

Thermacut...............................................................58

Cyl-Tec....................................................................12

Thermco Instrument Corp.........................................71

ELCo Enterprises....................................................117

Trafimet USA............................................................91

Exocor.....................................................................94

Uniweld Products...................................................106

FIBA Technologies....................................................53

Veite Cryogenic Equipment & Service Corp..................1

Flexovit USA..........................................................110

Voestalpine Böhler Welding.......................................41

Gas Innovations/WWS..............................................45

Watson Coatings, Inc................................................95

Generant Company................................................114

WDPG Business Insurance/The Horton Group...........110

Genstar Technologies Company (GENTEC)..................47

WEH Technologies......................................................8

Gullco International................................................121

Weiler Corporation……………......……………..113

H & H Sales Company..............................................91

Weldcoa..................................................................35

The Harris Products Group.......................................IFC

Welding Alloys.......................................................100

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.....................117

Weldship Corporation...............................................37

Hypertherm...........................................................104

Winton Products Co……………….. ……………..95

INOXCVA.................................................................55

Worthington Industries……………....... ………….81

Kaplan Industries.....................................................17 124

Fall 2016

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Select 7000-SR

Stress Relief

Select-Arc introduces Select 7000-SR, a gas-shielded, flux cored electrode designed for welding carbon and certain low alloy steels where excellent mechanical properties are required after extended stress relief. Select 7000-SR, an E71T-12MJ-H4 wire, offers the unique capability to maintain good tensile strength, notch toughness and low hardness, even after the longest and most demanding stress relief operations.

This product is the ideal choice for welding: • Tanks, piping and pressure vessels • Oil and gas facilities equipment • Repair welding and applications that experience repeated stress relief cycles • Specialized applications requiring excellent low temperature toughness and low hardness This new all position wire delivers: • Smooth and stable arc transfer that virtually eliminates spatter.

• An easily removable, fast freezing slag which enhances welder appeal.

• Deep penetrating characteristics that dramatically reduce lack of fusion.

Select 7000-SR (E71T-12MJ-H4) Mechanical Properties1 Stress Relieved Condition As-Welded 1 hr @ 8 hrs @ Condition @ 1150°F @ 1150°F

16 hrs @ @ 1150°F

Yield Strength (ksi)

65

58

62

59

Ultimate Tensile Strength (ksi)

82

76

78

74

Elongation (%)

34

30

31

29

CVNs @ -40°F (Ft-Lbs)

91

101

94

100

CVNs @ -60°F (Ft-Lbs)

82

77

79

83

Hardness (HV10)

219

1

200

Actual test result values from welding performed in the 3G position with a heat input of 64KJ/in.

For more information on the vacuum-packed Select 7000-SR, call us at 1-800-341-5215 or visit our website at www.select-arc.com.