2023 BUSINESS FORECAST GUEST VIEWS
CGA’s Strategy for Success 110 Years in the Making BY RICHARD GOTTWALD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE COMPRESSED GAS ASSOCIATION
T Richard Gottwald is President and CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA). He can be reached at 703-7882748 or rgottwald@ cganet.com.
he Compressed Gas Association is now heading into its 110th Year in 2023. To put that into perspective, CGA has been around for 20 United States Presidents, the first long distance telephone service, the creation of the first moving assembly line, the discovery of penicillin, the creation of the entire U.S. Space Program, and so much more. Over that time, CGA’s members have persevered through wars, the ever-mercurial economy, and global pandemics. Not only have they persevered, but they have also played essential roles in the safety and security of the global community. Most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when vaccines needed to be distributed, CGA members stepped up to ensure we had the dry ice we needed to deliver them safely. When hospitals were filling with patients, CGA members were busy making sure medical oxygen was available to those who needed it. And at CGA, the standards we’ve been writing for 110 years became life-saving resources as the world scrambled to use existing technologies in new ways. It’s for reasons like these that I am proud to lead this incredible association. The work our members do has a real impact on the safety and health of our nation and the world. Today, we are working diligently to address emerging issues, particularly those surrounding the burgeoning hydrogen economy. Throughout the course of 2022, CGA staff presented at ten hydrogen conferences, sharing our “Safety is Step One” message with more than 32,000 conference attendees. Many of these events connected us with audiences well outside of our membership – from
fueling station operators, to utility companies, to aviation and aerospace companies. Now, we are taking what we’ve learned this year, last year, and the past 109, and planning for the future.
CGA’S THREE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN Through our new plan we intend to build on CGA’s strengths as a globally recognized industry leader and adapt to the changing needs of our membership. Created by CGA leaders, committee members, and staff, this plan sets the course for our future and lays out five strategic priorities that we will work to accomplish in the next three years. Guided by this plan, our efforts will focus on publications, people, agility, impact, and operations.
PUBLICATIONS CGA maintains a library of over 380 publications, including safety standards, safety alerts, safety bulletins, technical bulletins, technical reports, training materials, e-learning modules and handbooks. Through our extensive library, CGA works to address safety and technical information related to the manufacture, transportation, storage, transfilling, and disposal of gases (liquefied, non-liquefied, dissolved, and cryogenic); and the containers and valves which hold compressed gases. Throughout the next three years we will continue our work to facilitate the adoption and use of CGA publications among CGA members, the industry at large, external stakeholders, and materially impacted parties. First Quarter 2023 • 81
