Welding & Gases Today | Q4 2022

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THE TEAM

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

John Ospina jospina@gawda.org

PUBLISHER

Bill Brod billb@gawdamedia.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Steve Guglielmo steveg@gawdamedia.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Natasha Alexis nalexis@gawda.org

Andrea Levy alevy@gawda.org

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Robin Barnes robinb@gawdamedia.com

VICE PRESIDENT, SALES

Tim Hudson timh@gawdamedia.com

RELATIONSHIP MANAGERS

Hannah Gray hannahg@gawdamedia.com

Lesli Mitchell leslim@gawdamedia.com

70

JAY SPIELVOGEL

73

76

78

88 Hard Hats – Keep Your Head in the Game!

PAUL BERNIER

90 Search Engine Trends for the Gases and Welding Industry

92

RANDY MACLEAN

KEN THOMPSON

ART WASKEY

82 Let’s

JOHN TAPLEY

84

BY THOMAS J. ARMITAGE

Building a Bridge for Future Generations

RANDY SQUIBB

94 Six Distributor Best Practices to Improve Employee Engagement

108 GAWDA Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Report

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 ©2022 Data Key Holdings, LLC. • 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 editorial@gawdamedia.com. • Data Key

Bob Ewing is GAWDA’s 2021-2022 president as well as president of Red Ball Oxygen. He can be reached at 318-4256313 as well as bob. ewing@redballoxygen. com.

Building a Bridge for Future Leaders

BY BOB EWING

As we near our Annual Convention in San Diego, let’s take a deeper look at the theme of our meeting: “Building a Bridge for Future Leaders.” Why is a bridge needed, and how do we go about building it?

Dirk Beveridge (who will be speaking at our Convention) is fond of saying that “the independent family-owned distributor is a force for good.” I couldn’t agree more, which is why it is so important to take the issue of leadership succession seriously. We are facing a “Silver Tsunami” as many of the most effective senior leaders in our industry are approaching or entering retirement. We must prepare a new generation of leaders. The alternative to building the bridge is to lose independence altogether.

If you follow the meme wars on social media (I don’t recommend it) there appears to be a yawning gap between generations. Among the younger cohort, the term “Boomer” has become a pejorative, used to describe seniors who are out of touch, technologically clueless, and culturally regressive. Millennials and Boomers both delight in criticizing the Gen-Z’ers who are perceived as “silent quitters,” “job hoppers,” and “screen zombies.” Like all stereotypes, these are misleading caricatures.

Certainly, there are generational gaps. And, often, we talk past one another, rather than listening to understand. This hinders leadership succession and, if unchecked, will sap the vitality

of any organization. The bridge must be built from both directions, so here are some thoughts to tee up the conversation:

Be clear about the path forward: There won’t be an effective hand-off of responsibilities until the senior leader feels confident in the junior leader’s capability and commitment. It is incumbent upon senior leaders to strongly communicate these expectations, with clear milestones along the way. I often hear that young people are too impatient. But this is nothing new; thankfully, young people have always been ambitious. Of course, they can’t have it all right now. But they need to know that there is a plan that includes them. If the conversation puts us on the defensive, our discomfort is a sign that we should start working on that plan!

Embrace discomfort: Young leader, are you coachable and committed to personal development? How do you demonstrate that you are willing to adapt to meet the needs of the organization, rather than the other way around? Each functional area in our business (sales, finance, operations) views the world through a different lens, and to lead, you need to understand them all. Truly developmental assignments always come from outside your comfort zone. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself. A can-do sense of adventure is key to propelling your career. The more uncomfortable the assignment makes you, the more important it is to say yes!

continued on page 8

The Partner You Need.

Now more than ever, in the midst of domestic and international supply chain shortages, you need a partner who can help you keep moving forward. At Lincoln Electric, we’ve expanded production and increased inventory of welding consumables and other welding products. You may face delays and challenges elsewhere, but we’re committed to being here. We’re committed to you.

Celebrate curiosity: I was inspired when I learned that Wally Brant, CEO of Indiana Oxygen, a long-term industry veteran and past-President of our association, decided to go back to school and get an MBA. Who does that? A life-long learner, a curious man with a growth mindset, that’s who! I think Wally would agree that we can learn a great deal from the young people in our business. Mentorship is a two-way street and learning never stops. Know-it-alls don’t build bridges.

Passion spans generations: The essential element we must share is a passion for our industry, for the customers we serve, and for the people we work alongside. This is meaningful, impactful work that is worthy of our very best efforts. Passion and enthusiasm are contagious, no matter the age. We can push through a lot of generational friction if we simply acknowledge and respect one another’s passion for this work.

Character transcends style: How you feel about hierarchy and structure, how you balance your work with other life commitments, and whether you prefer to communicate via phone call, email, text, or messaging app can all be tell-tale signs of your age. We can adapt to these stylistic differences without compromising the foundational and timeless character traits that make everything work. This industry continues to attract people who are reliable, who want to serve others, who care about quality work, and who know how to play on a team.

You see, people of high character can be found in every generation, and that’s what makes it such a joy to

this bridge together.

DIRECTOR’S DESK

An Exciting Summer for GAWDA

BY JOHN OSPINA

In the 3rd Quarter Issue of Welding & Gases

Today, I wrote a column entitled “A New Twist on Networking at the Annual Convention.” In that column, I noted that networking is one of the biggest benefits of our association.

Hollywood, FL, via telephone at 844-251-3219 or via email at jospina@gawda.org.

At GAWDA, we are constantly striving to evolve and improve. I remain enormously proud of the work that we did during COVID, to continue to bring value to our members during such a trying time for our country and our industry. Many of the changes that we put in place during the height of the pandemic remain today, including our monthly safety webinar with our amazing consultants. But that time was also a double-edged sword. While we were able to put amazing programs in place, and members were reminded of how indispensable our consultants truly are, we lost that networking component that has made GAWDA so successful for more than 75 years.

Since we resumed our in-person conferences last year, I have seen a revitalization. No longer do we take for granted our ability to meet and network with our peers. Attendance at our in-person conferences has not only spiked post COVID, but active participation in the events has gone through the roof, as well.

Just before SMC, we made the exciting announcement that Natasha Alexis was promoted to Vice President of Operations and Administration, while Claudinne Cerveira was brought on board as our new Director of Meetings and Events. These moves allowed me to travel more to see some of our amazing GAWDA members. Just this summer, I have been able to attend the Northeast, Central, and Northwest Regional Meetings. I have also been able to visit several long-time GAWDA members to get tours of their operations and learn more about their businesses. Thank you to

Haun

AC info

O.E. Meyer Company, and Metro Welding Supply for so graciously hosting me. To see pictures of our visits to O.E. Meyer and Metro Welding Supply, turn to pages 64-65 of this issue.

To cap off this amazing summer of networking, we return to beautiful San Diego for this year’s Annual Convention. GAWDA President Bob Ewing has an unbelievable conference planned, complete with the networking and educational opportunities you’ve come to expect at a GAWDA national event. And, new this year, we debut the Networking 360 program, to further facilitate networking. During Past President Abydee Butler Moore’s inaugural address, she said, “Supplier friends, we hear you loud and clear. ‘Get more distributors at functions!’ And distributor friends, we hear you too. ‘Give us a reason to show up and send our teams.’” I believe that with the Networking 360 program, we have fulfilled both those requests, and I’m excited for its debut.

I want to finish this last message of 2022 by thanking Bob Ewing for his amazing year of service and by welcoming Robert Anders in as our new GAWDA President as we continue to build on our many successes from this year.

John Ospina is GAWDA’s executive director. He can be reached at GAWDA Headquarters in

Welding Supply, Carbonic Systems,

Your Network is Your Net Worth

BY STEVE GUGLIELMO

Steve Guglielmo is GAWDA Media’s Editor-in-Chief. He has more than a decade of experience working with industrial associations. He can be reached at steveg@gawdamedia.com.

The 4th Quarter Issue of Welding & Gases Today is always the GAWDA Annual Convention Issue. And right around the time I sit down to write this issue is when it starts to feel real to me.

Have you ever had something you looked forward to for so long that it actually manages to sneak up on you? My sister got married in August after getting engaged about 18 months ago. We talked about this day almost non-stop for 18 months. And still, the week of the wedding came, and I was still shocked at how quickly it got on top of me. I feel that way with this year’s Convention.

The Annual Convention is my favorite event of the year. I’m sure I’m not alone in that sentiment. It doesn’t hurt that this year’s Convention is in beautiful San Diego. But it’s just an amazing opportunity to get out of the office and spend time with fellow GAWDA members. And so, each year, I spend months getting mentally prepared for the Convention. Putting together this issue, planning out who I will interview on site, piecing together Convention Daily Connections. But around a month before the show, I still feel like, “I can’t believe it’s here.”

And this year, I’m extra excited for the Convention because we’re debuting the Networking 360 Event before the Contact Booth Program. I’ve been lucky enough to sit on in some of the planning calls and the Industry Partnering Committee meetings and been able to see this event go from idea to reality. And I honestly can’t wait. I think it’s going to be a home run. And, like the Educational Tracks at the SMC, I think this is going to go from curiosity to staple at the Annual Convention.

All of that really crystalized for me when I was interviewing Randy Squibb for the August 15th episode of GAWDA TV. Randy is one of the GAWDA members who really took me under his wing when I first started working with the association and showed me the ropes. He helped guide me to know what I need to know, who I need to know, and, just as importantly, the questions I need to be asking.

Anybody who has read Randy’s articles over the years, including his article on Page 92, has seen him talk about the network of peers and mentors that helped make him not just the businessperson he is today, but also the man he is today. You can hear the respect and admiration in his voice when he talks about Dr. Leon Danco , Bill Higley , Chip Valentine, Jack Butler, Dave Mahoney, Wally Brant and other industry legends he has met through NWSA (and later GAWDA.) And, whether he knows it or not, Randy serves that role for so many others in our industry. He certainly is one of those people for me, and I’m eternally grateful for it.

And the common thread connecting all of these relationships is that they were built through networking at GAWDA. Abydee is fond of saying that you get out of GAWDA what you put into it. And that is true. But I say that if you’re doing it right, you’ll get back 10-fold what you put into it. They say your network is your net worth. Nowhere is that borne out more than at the GAWDA Annual Convention. So, build your net worth in San Diego and take advantage of this incredible opportunity. I can’t wait to see you there.

CONSULTANT ROUNDTABLE Things to Look Forward to Heading into 2023

GAWDA’s consultants discuss important legislative updates as we head into the new year.

BY TOM BADSTUBNER, MARILYN DEMPSEY, MIKE DODD, RICK SCHWEITZER AND STEVE GUGLIELMO

The GAWDA Consultant Program is a GAWDA member benefit that is included as part of your member dues to the association. It is consistently rated as one of the most valuable member benefits that GAWDA provides. Between the four of them, GAWDA’s consultants bring more than 100 years of industry-specific experience to the association.

In the first three issues of 2022, we spoke with the consultants about a variety of topics that impacted businesses in 2022. From recently passed or upcoming legislation, to the continued impact of COVID, to an increased frequency of inspections. For our final issue of 2022, GAWDA’s Consultants discussed the bevy of new legislation and proposed legislation and how it will impact members heading into 2023. We also discussed important record-keeping documentation to take care of ahead of January 1.

Thank you to Tom Badstubner, GAWDA’s FDA and Medical Gases Consultant, Marilyn Dempsey, DHS, EPA and OSHA Consultant, Mike Dodd, DOT Consultant, and Rick Schweitzer, Government Affairs and Human Resources Consultant, for lending their time and expertise to discuss these important topics. The following is a lightly edited transcript of that conversation.

WELDING & GASES TODAY: Is there anything new or time-sensitive that we want to keep our members abreast of to start off with?

TOM BADSTUBNER: From an FDA perspective, the biggest news in a couple of generations is the proposed new medical gas regulations. CGA and GAWDA have submitted joint medical gas industry comments to those proposed regulations. We think that there isn’t going to be huge operational differences, but there will be some new procedures that we will need to adopt. And we will certainly keep GAWDA members informed of changes as the FDA considers our recommendations.

WGT: What is the timeline for that?

TOM: On May 23rd, the proposed regulations were published. On August 18th, we submitted our comments. Now the FDA is in a comment review period that could be quick… or it could take years. A summary of our major comments:

Effective date – We requested that the final rule be effective by March 31, 2023. We would have another 18 months to implement the new regulations.

Definitions – We suggested clarifications to the different types of medical gas manufacturer (original, subsequent, and curbside filler). We also suggested clarifications to the differences between homecare base units and portable cryogenic containers.

Plumbers – (21 CFR 201.100) We proposed that plumbers/ pipe fitters should not need a prescription when purging a medical gas pipeline with medical nitrogen.

Open-top dewars – (21 CFR 201.100) We proposed that

liquid nitrogen in open-topped dewars for dermatologists not be labeled with drug labels.

Devices – (21 CFR 201.161) We proposed that medical devices that use liquid oxygen in homecare settings use the device label.

No Smoking/No Vaping – (21 CFR 201.161) The FDA proposed new labeling to inform oxygen users about the dangers of smoking or vaping while using oxygen. We expressed our concern about the label design and practical space as well as the time needed to implement this proposed change.

Receiving bulk medical gases – (21 CFR 213.82) We proposed that the receiving location could perform full USP testing in lieu of using a Certificate of Analysis from the supplier.

Receiving bulk medical gases – (21 CFR 213.82) We deleted the requirement to add NDA numbers to Certificates of Analysis since commingled product makes the NDA number meaningless.

Leak testing – (21 CFR 213.84 - Preamble) We explained that leak testing after the cylinder leaves our control is impossible and outside GMP.

Container gauges – (21 CFR 213.94(e)) We proposed clarifications about liquid level and pressure gauges on cryogenic containers.

Cleaning and maintenance - (21 CFR 213.182) We proposed to maintain historical management of cleaning and maintenance.

Batch Production and Control Records – (21 CFR 213.189) The FDA proposed to have label specimens attached to fill logs. We proposed to eliminate the requirement.

Batch Production and Control Records – (21 CFR 213.189) The FDA proposed to include both date and times on the fill logs. We proposed to eliminate the requirement.

Distribution records – (21 CFR 213.196) The FDA proposed to eliminate the existing medical gas exemption for including lot numbers on distribution records. We proposed to reinstate the exemption.

RPV valves – (21 CFR 213.204) In the 2007 draft guidance, the FDA introduced the concept that using Residual Pressure Valves might allow us to not consider the gas in returning cylinders as “residual gas.” This concept was not in the proposed regulations, and we reintroduced the idea.

Annual report – (21 CFR 230.80) This is a new section (Subpart 230) of the regulations that includes the procedure to assign a New Drug Application (NDA) number to original manufacturers of medical gases. This process is presently documented in draft guidance. This paragraph (.80) specified that an annual report is due on the anniversary of the NDA

issuance. We proposed that the period of the report be a calendar year and harmonize with the existing CARES reporting and Drug Product Listing requirements.

Field alert report – (21 CFR 230.205) The FDA proposed a field alert report (FAR) to be sent within three days by the NDA holder in certain serious cases (mixups, contamination, etc.). We propose that the FAR could also be sent by the subsequent manufacturer since they are often closer to the situation than the ASU.

Incident reports (ICSR) – (21 CFR 220.220 and .230) We propose clarifications to the incident reports, literature references and their report contents.

Remember, these are only comments to proposed regulations. Please do not make changes to your labels or procedures until we see what the FDA accepts and publishes. We do not know how long the FDA will need to review our comments.

Even after the FDA publishes the final regulations, we have 18 months to adopt them. So, I wouldn’t make any changes right now.

WGT: How about the other agencies? Is there anything to report?

MIKE DODD: I’ve got something for DOT. Every year, by January 1st, our members have to do what is known as a Unified Carrier Registration. Basically, they pay a fee based on the number of powered commercial vehicles they have that are used in interstate commerce. That definition of interstate commerce basically means that it will involve every distributor in our country. Almost every one of our members will buy hardgoods material from outside their state. And when they put those on their trucks to deliver them, they continue that interstate commerce.

We used to think that we only had to pay on the trucks that left the state and crossed state lines. But they came back with some clarification on what they considered interstate commerce and we found that they didn’t necessarily have to leave the state in order to be considered. So, that has changed how I have told members to count the number of powered commercial vehicles. Most of our members are doing it already, but every now and then I run across a member who doesn’t know that definition.

It’s called the Unified Carrier Registration. I call it a nuisance fee or a tax, but in conclusion, you have to pay based on the number of vehicles that are considered to have taken part in interstate commerce. Just their CMV’s or placarded vehicles.

RICK SCHWEITZER: You pay it to a base state. So, whatever state you’re located in, you declare that as your

CONSULTANTS ROUNDTABLE

UPDATED CDC GUIDELINES FOR ISOLATION OF EXPOSED AND INFECTED PERSONS

MASK TEST

If Exposed

10 days After Day 5

OTHER PRECAUTIONS

Do not go places where you are unable to wear a mask, including travel and public transportation settings.

IF TEST POSITIVE MASK ISOLATION ENDS OTHER PRECAUTIONS

Test Positive w/o

Symptoms

Test positive w/ Symptoms

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After Day 5

• After Day 5 if fever-free (w/o medication) for 24 hours and your symptoms are improving

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NOTE: Mask should be a “Good Quality” mask or Respirator (ex: N95)

• Wear mask for 10 days

• Do not travel and avoid public transportation, ridesharing, or taxis if possible.

NOTE: ISOLATION Day 1 is the first full day after known exposure, your symptoms developed, or your test specimen (that tested positive) was collected.

NOTE: If your COVID-19 symptoms recur or worsen, restart your isolation at day 0

CDC Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html (11Aug2022)

base state. And you pay it on an annual basis. And there are five categories of numbers of vehicles. So, if you have 0-1 or 2-5, you pay a flat rate based on the number of vehicles that you register.

Speaking of fees and taxes, I have one from our friends at the IRS. It’s their new superfund chemical excise taxes that went into effect for the third quarter 2022. This is a reinstatement of taxes that were essentially suspended back in the Clinton Administration but have always been on the books. And it’s part of the Biden Administration’s war on hydrocarbons. This is a tax on the sale or use of taxable chemicals that are listed in one part of the statutes. And then a separate tax on the sale or use of imported taxable substances in a different part of the IRS code. But, for taxable chemicals, for most GAWDA members, this is going to include acetylene, butane, propylene, toluene, xylene, ethylene, and methane. And it is a tax of a flat rate per ton. And you pay this on a quarterly basis using IRS form 6627, which is environmental taxes, and it is attached to your form 720 quarterly federal excise tax return. The first payment is due by October 31 of this year for the calendar quarter that will end September 30.

This is a new tax that is in effect now and there are FAQs online, if you google IRS Superfund Chemical Excise Tax

FAQs, there is a whole page that will answer virtually all of your questions (https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-superfund-chemical-excise-taxes-faqs).

MARILYN DEMPSEY: For my areas, DHS, EPA and OSHA there aren’t any time sensitive issues at the moment. The National Emphasis Program for Outdoor and Indoor HeatRelated Hazards is still active, but by the time this article is released we will be starting to get into the cooler part of the year. We do have to remember the program does have two-year more years of enforcement.

Also, COVID-19 is a national emphasis program. COVID is still a pandemic. It is not an endemic yet. And we’re seeing COVID pop its ugly little head up in different places around the country. It is worth noting the CDC has changed the guidelines for isolation of exposed and infected persons (see chart above).

WGT: Is there anything that is going to be due on the first of the year or early in the year that members have to take care of?

MARILYN: Yes, SARA Title III is due March 1st and don’t forget that before that is OSHA 300A. All companies with 10+ employees must record injuries/illnesses and those companies must post the previous year OSHA 300A form from Feb 1 –

April 30, in an area visible to all employees. Establishments with 250 or more employees or with 20 - 249 employees in certain high-risk industries must electronically submit their 300A to OSHA by March 2nd of the current year. If you have the NAICS code:

• 325120, Industrial Gas Manufacturing - Air separation and Acetylene plants

• 423840, Industrial Supplies Merchant; Welding Supplies Wholesalers

• 424690, Welding Gases, Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers

• 454390, Other Direct Selling Establishments

If you are required to submit, then you must do so annually here: https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting.

So, if the injury and illness files are a mess, it’s a good time to clean those up.

MIKE: One more thing, there’s a February 15th deadline where the distributor has to inform their customer if they’re going to make the March 1st report for SARA Title III or if they need the customer to.

MARILYN: Correct. Every March 1, an EPA Tier II form is required to be filed under Section 312, also called the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA). The intent of the Tier II form is to provide information about the potential hazards at your worksite with your State Emergency Response Commission, Local Emergency Planning Commission and local Fire department.

You must file a SARA Tier II if you:

• Have equal or greater than 10,000# of any hazardous chemical, as determined by OSHA.

• If at any time during a calendar year your facility stored a hazardous material listed on the EPA Extremely Hazardous Substance list over the threshold planning quantity (TPQ).

• The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) needs, you to submit an SDS for Hazardous chemical if your LEPC and State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) or fire department asks you to submit Tier II then the threshold level for reporting is zero.

In addition to the products at your facility, you must also consider bulk products stored at your customer locations. For example:

1. If Bulk storage tanks/trailers at customer locations and owned by YOUR company, then your company has an obligation, under EPCRA 312, to notify the customer of their obligation to report under SARA Tier II for any hazardous material that is at or above the reporting threshold. Or you could file the report for them as an additional service.

CONSULTANTS ROUNDTABLE

Notification to the customer must be made by February 15, in a separate letter (not a note on a billing statement) listing the chemicals you provide that require Tier II reporting and where they can find the appropriate forms.

2. If THEY own the bulk tank, you are not obligated to notify the customer, but it is good customer service.

Unless you have language in the contract stating it is the responsibility of the customer to comply with all EPCRA obligations.

3. Hospitals are exempt from the Tier II reporting and your notification requirement under EPCRA 311 and 40 CFR 370.2 and 355.2. This exemption allows the exclusion of any “hazardous chemical” that is used for research, medical facility, or hospital if they have a technically qualified direct supervisor.

However, you should check your state and local regulations, because some jurisdictions still require reporting by the medical facility.

Another agency I would like to mention regarding reporting by the end of the year is DHS. If you brought on any new chemicals or increased your inventory, you should check Appendix A of part 27 to ensure you’re below the threshold limit.

TOM: From an FDA perspective, end of the year is registration season for food, warehouses, and production facilities and drug production facilities. In addition to that, twice per year, in June and December, we’re supposed to be looking at our drug product listings and making sure that they’re accurate. So those are coming up now.

WGT: The Inflation Reduction Act has been in the news. Is there anything coming out of that will impact GAWDA members?

RICK: Nothing that is going to reduce inflation. But it does include a number of provisions addressing climate change and health care in addition to several tax changes. Some significant last-minute changes to the bill were obtained by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in order to secure his vote for passage. The new law:

• Includes a tax credit for qualified commercial clean vehicles from 2023 to 2032, calculated as the lesser of (A) 15% of the basis of such vehicle (30% in the case of a vehicle not powered by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine), or (B) the incremental cost of such vehicle, defined as “an amount equal to the excess of the purchase price for such vehicle over such price of a comparable vehicle.” The credit is capped at $7,500 for any vehicle with a gross weight rating of less than 14,000 lbs. and $40,000 for other commercial vehicles.

Only qualified commercial electric and fuel cell vehicles may receive the full credit; internal combustion engines are eligible for a reduced credit of 15%.

• Establishes a new 15% alternative minimum tax on certain corporations, including U.S.-headquartered corporations with at least $1 billion in annual global revenue.

• Imposes a one percent excise tax on the fair market value of stock repurchases by publicly traded companies.

• Beginning January 1, 2023, reinstates Superfund excise taxes on crude oil and imported petroleum products that expired in 1995, at a new rate of 16.4 cents-per-barrel (up from the previous rate of 9.7 cents-per-barrel), which will be indexed to inflation.

• Increases funding for the Internal Revenue Service by $79 billion through fiscal year 2031 for enforcement purposes.

• Authorizes spending $375 billion through fiscal year 2031 to address climate change, including $4.5 billion in subsidies, tax credits and rebates for residential electrification (e.g., purchases of electric appliances and heat pumps).

• Consolidates all tax incentives for renewable and alternative fuels into a single performance-based “clean fuel production credit” in tax years 2025-2027. The base value is $0.20 per gallon for fuels with a lifecycle emissions level below 50 kilograms of CO2e per mmBTU, with further adjustments to credit value based on and “emissions factor.” The rate will be indexed for inflation.

• Conditions issuing rights of way for utility-scale scale renewable energy projects on public land unless 62 million acres of federal lands and waters are offered for oil and gas leasing each year for ten years.

• Revives oil and gas lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico previously canceled by the Biden Administration.

• Includes $500 million over ten years for downstream biofuel infrastructure grants.

• Extends without changes the renewable and alternative fuels tax incentives through 2024, including biodiesel and renewable diesel blenders’ tax credit, the second generation (cellulosic) biofuel producer credit, and alternative fuel mixture (propane autogas) tax credit.

• Authorizes Medicare to negotiate certain prescription drug prices and imposes caps on certain drug process.

WGT: Marilyn, you brought up the idea of COVID rearing its head. How about the new panic on the street? Anything we need to be aware of with Monkeypox?

MARILYN: Not that I know of. It is increasing and they’re trying to come up with a vaccine for Monkeypox. Currently there are 46,724 cases worldwide and 16,926 in the U.S (August 22, 2022). Most cases are white men between the ages of 21-41. (CDC, 21 Aug 2022). According to the CDC, “Monkeypox can spread from person to person through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids. It also can be spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, faceto-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex.

Monkeypox can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. Anyone in close personal contact with a person with monkeypox can get it and should take steps to protect themselves.” (CDC Frequently Asked Questions about Monkeypox. August 22, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/faq.html).

On another topic, there is a CO2 shortage that is putting a strain on the industry, especially during peak CO2 season, which is May-October. The shortage has one benefit, it should help with CO2 cylinder allocation. I mention this because I believe GAWDA members who distribute CO2 for the cannabis industry should be vigilant and keep their Cannabis cylinders separate from other populations since there have been instances of cannabinoid contamination in CO2 cylinders…and you don’t want to sell CO2 with a marijuana odor to a restaurant.

WGT: From an FDA perspective, is this CO2 shortage having a major impact on restaurants?

MARILYN: I’ve heard about microbreweries.

MIKE: That’s what I’ve heard, too. I’ve heard a lot have had to close because they can’t get CO2

TOM: The issue is where can you get CO2? I have had a few requests in the last month or so about alternate CO2 suppliers in different regions. It’s really just a supply chain issue. It isn’t a regulatory issue.

WGT: Is this something where the finish line is in sight or is this shortage something we’re going to have to deal with for a while?

TOM: I think the supply chain issue is related to the ethanol plants being reduced. So much less CO2 is coming into the market.

MIKE: I think you nailed it, Tom. It’s a supply issue. Demand is up and sources are down.

WGT: Is there anything that is going to be on the agenda for your respective committees during Convention that you want to share with the readers?

CONSULTANTS ROUNDTABLE

MARILYN: One of the things that the safety committee does is that they come out with these safety practices and the distributor members take advantage of them. But the supplier members can also use a lot of that information. I think it’s important that the supplier members know that we consultants work for them, also. We don’t only work with the distributors. The Safety Committee has focused on standardizing the Sample Safety Practices to make it easier to find and to read. Here is a list of the new and reformatted/reviewed/revised Safety Practices for 2022:

New Sample Safety Practices - 2022

• Insect Bites and Stings Prevention

• Heat Related Illness Prevention

Reviewed, Revised and Reformatted Sample Safety Practices

• Active Shooter Emergency Preparedness

• Backing and Parking

• Bloodborne Pathogen Program

• Canine Bites, Awareness and Mitigation

• Contractor Safety Requirements Agreement

• Customer Safety at Member Sites

• Cylinder Connection at Customer Sites

• Cylinder Loading Dock Safety

• Cylinder Deliveries at Customers with Stairs and Ramps

• Cylinders - Guidelines for Leaking Cylinders at Customer Locations

• Cylinders - Safe Handling of

• Delivery Survey

• Docking Ramps - Selection and Use of

• Driver Distractions Personal Communication Devices

• Dry Ice Sample Safety Practice End User Guide

• Earthquake Emergency Preparedness

• Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records to OSHA

• Emergency Preparedness

• Ergonomics in the Workplace

• Facility Securement

• Fall Protection

• Fill Plant PPE

• Fire Emergency Preparedness

• Flood Emergency Preparedness

• Forklift Cylinder safety

• Load Securement

• LPG - Vendor Audit Checklist

• Mechanical Lifting Devices

• Regulatory Agency Visit Guideline

• Slips, Trips, and Falls Guidelines

• Tornado Emergency Preparedness

• Transport of Pressurized Cryogenic Liquid Containers in an Elevator

• Vehicular Accident/ Incident Considerations

• Walking Working Surfaces

MIKE: CGA will announce their safety awards at Convention. They announce a “Most Improved Distributor” and we have several of our members who we have worked with that have won that. We have even had a couple of repeats. It really is a pretty prestigious award that is given by CGA to one of our members.

TOM: Also, two weeks after the GAWDA Annual Convention will be the Professional Compliance Seminar. There are still some virtual seats available to attend. We will be at Weldcoa from October 18-20. It will be an in-person event with a virtual option for those who can’t join us in-person at Weldcoa.

MIKE: This is our first in-person seminar in three years.

WGT: What’s the elevator pitch for the Professional Compliance Seminar? Why do I need to attend?

TOM: From an FDA perspective, we’ll be covering basic Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) and the potential effects of the proposed regulations mentioned above on Tuesday, October 18, which is the first day of the conference.

MIKE: I’ll be doing high-pressure cylinder filling. Highpressure CO2 liquid container filling. And, of course, answering DOT questions. One of the biggest things is that it gives a chance for the members, specifically those who attend in person, to talk to each other during the breaks and before and after class. There is an awful lot of interaction and networking that will happen. And it seems like we get much better interaction and back-and-forth with the speakers during the in-person sessions. People seem to be much more open to asking questions and talking.

I’m really looking forward to it. It makes it a lot more

fun for us, as the presenters, to have the in-person and I think attendees get more out of it.

MARILYN: You just did an interview with Randy Squibb. Randy talked about the importance of making connections and gave an example of a problem he had down in Texas; he called his buddy was up in Wisconsin to get his feedback and run through some options. That type of relationship only develops when you have good personal interaction. It gives you a knowledge base.

That is why I am so grateful to be back in person for the Professional Compliance Seminar. My presentation will focus on the elements of an OSHA safety program because the way to improve your safety score, improve the safety perception of the company and save the company money is to learn how to be a safer company. And not just OSHA but also a safer company for DHS, EPA, DOT and FDA compliance. The seminar is an easy way to actually build your knowledge base for a relatively small out-of-pocket cost (money and time). You not only get the education, but you will also build relationships with other GAWDA members.

WGT: Any last thoughts before we go?

MARILYN: Rick, you have all the IRS agents that are about to be hired. All three of my agencies have their “For Hire” signs out. The Government is hiring.

RICK: Part of the Inflation Reduction Act is attending to hire 87,000 new IRS agents.

WGT: Touching on politics, this will be our last issue before Midterms. Anything to say on that, Rick?

RICK: It’s going to be a new Congress in January. The House is expected to change hands. It’s going to be a whole new ball game to see what they’re emphasizing and what they’re investigating.

Don’t miss the GAWDA Professional Compliance Seminar

After the GAWDA Annual Convention will be the Professional Compliance Seminar. There are still some virtual seats available to attend.

We will be at Weldcoa from October 18-20. It will be an in-person event with a virtual option for those who can’t join us in-person at Weldcoa.

Accident, Incident and Injury Policy Rationale GAWDA

GAWDA Sample Safety Practice – Accident/Incident Considerations

BY MARILYN R. DEMPSEY, GAWDA DHS/EPA/OSHA CONSULTANT

Marilyn R. Dempsey Safety Dragons Workplace Consultants, LLC

940-999-8466

marilyn@safetydragons. com.

The following is an excerpt from the GAWDA Safety Organizer, a monthly bulletin sent to GAWDA members. For more information on the GAWDA Safety Organizer, or to read past issues, visit the GAWDA.org Members-Only Section.

Many companies operate under the assumption that their insurance policies (liability, workers comp, etc.) set the company policy for accidents, hazardous material incidents and injuries. While an insurance policy may set some criteria, it does not qualify as a company policy for employees. I’d like to explain why a company policy designed specifically for employees is important and for the purpose of this discussion I am using the following definitions:

• Accident : A collision that occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, a stationary object, a pedestrian, or an animal.

• Incident (Hazardous Material Incident): unintentional release of a hazardous material that may pose a threat to people, animals, equipment and the environment.

• Injury (Work related): Harm to the body, that occurred on the job site, and resulted in physical trauma or illness to the person.

WHY HAVE A POLICY?

Risk is an inseparable part of your business life - Risk to employees working with hazardous materials, customers continually do risky things with our cylinders and the market can be a minefield.

Accidents/Incidents/Injuries cost time and money that could have been otherwise used to invest in the business. These are lost opportunity costs.

The costs include observed, direct costs:

Also, indirect costs, those costs that are not readily quantified:

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CONSULTANTS

If you could reduce your business risk and increase both your productivity and profitability by creating and implementing a policy to protect the safety and health of your employees and customers and third parties, why not do it?

• Policies can establish not only the company’s expectations; policies also define the company’s limits of tolerance.

• Policies gives structure and clarity to situations that can easily be confusing at the time of the event.

• Policies identify who to report to, how to report and what to expect from a process.

• Policies are a way to minimize repeat events, control losses, engage and empower your employees.

The GAWDA Safety Committee has created considerations for Vehicle Accidents and Incidents. This document would make a good basis for a company policy and monthly training (annually) and as a “post-mortem” on any actual accidents/ injuries/incidents.

VEHICLE ACCIDENT/INCIDENT CONSIDERATIONS

Sample Safety Procedure from the GAWDA Members

Only Site

PURPOSE

Provide guidelines regarding steps taken immediately after a vehicle accident/ incident

RESPONSIBILITY Drivers for compressed gas distributors

AUTHORITY Fleet supervisors, managers, and owners.

Zero vehicle incidents/accidents are the goal of everyone. However, if an incident/accident occurs a driver should be aware of the following to ensure own safety and obtain adequate information to conduct an adequate incident/accident investigation.

CONSIDERATIONS FOLLOWING A VEHICLE CRASH

• Stop your vehicle as soon as safely possible.

• Move your vehicle off the roadway as quickly as you can—if the vehicle is immovable, try to make it as visible to passing traffic by employing hazard lights.

• Assess injuries checking yourself and others to make sure no one is injured. If a person is seriously injured, do not move them unless they are in imminent danger.

• Turn off ignition of your vehicle and making sure other vehicles are turned off in the event of a gas leak or other potential danger.

• If safe to do so, set out warning devices such as bidirectional triangles or cones.

` If you’re on a divided highway or one-way road,

position the first warning device four paces (or 10 feet) behind your truck. Then, place the second device forty paces (or 100 feet) behind your truck, and place the third device eighty paces (or 200 feet) behind your truck.

` On a two-lane road, place the first warning device four paces (or ten feet) behind your truck and the second device about forty paces (or 100 feet) behind your truck. Then, the third device should be placed about 40 paces (or 100 feet) in front of your truck. Placing emergency warning devices when you’re parked on a hill or curve, or when there are other visual obstructions is a bit different. The goal is to give approaching drivers enough warning to react before reaching the accident scene.

` To ensure approaching drivers have enough time to react, place a warning device between 40-200 paces (or 100-500 feet) from your truck in the direction of the visual obstruction.

• Get out and stay clear of the vehicle once all vehicles are moved or stationary with engines off making sure you and any other drivers or vehicle occupants are out of the way of moving traffic.

• Call police and medical services—alerting law enforcement for area in which you are located and alerting medical services of injuries which require immediate attention

• Do a quick assessment of the vehicle for leaking fluids and the load for leaking cylinders.

` If leaking fluids, use a spill kit or cat litter to contain the leak.

` If leaking gases, follow the guidelines in the Emergency Response Guidebook.

• Call supervisor or company safety manager to report incident

• If other parties or involved, exchange information including:

` Search for the owner if the accident involves an unattended vehicle leaving a note in a conspicuous place so they can contact you

` name

` telephone number

` address

` driver’s license number

` name of insurance company and policy number

` name of number of insurance contact

` write down information about the other vehicle including make, model, year, and license number, and

` names of any passengers in the vehicle

• Get witness statements—people stopped as witnesses to the accident have them write down what they say along with names and phone numbers. If witness can’t stay until police arrive on scene, ask them to sign their statement and leave it with you to give to the police.

` Keep other people away from the scene as not to destroy evidence, skid marks, debris, etc.

` Document the scene using a camera or cell phone. Take pictures of the vehicles, intersection or part of the road where the accident occurred, skid marks, etc. If you received injuries, take pictures. If you don’t have a camera, make a diagram of the scene sketching out the location of the vehicle’s occupants, direction of the vehicle’s travel, along with date, time and weather conditions.

1. Speak with the police or law enforcement agency responding to the accident scene giving them your account of what occurred along with all the pertinent information. Witnesses should also speak with the police to explain what they saw and give their personal information.

2. Do not argue or discuss fault.

3. Record police information writing down the name and badge number of the responding police and any other emergency personnel. Find out if the officer is a local policeman, sheriff, highway patrol, etc., to obtain a copy of the official police report.

4. Follow company specific post incident/accident procedures. See a sample Accident / Incident Report at the end of the suggested safety practices.

5. Hazmat Incident Reporting may be needed if there was a damaged package that leaked as a result of the accident. See 49 CFR 171.15 and 16.

6. There may EPA, Chemical Safety Board, or state and local concerns based the leaked product.

Hazardous Materials Training

BY MICHAEL DODD, GAWDA DOT CONSULTANT

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

The following is an excerpt from the GAWDA Safety Organizer, a monthly bulletin sent to GAWDA members. For more information on the GAWDA Safety Organizer, or to read past issues, visit the GAWDA.org Members-Only Section.

4

9 CFR 172.700-704 requires that each hazardous materials employer train its hazmat employees to safely load, unload, handle, store and transport hazardous materials. A hazmat employer must train, test and certify every hazmat employee who, in the course of employment, has any function that directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety.

DEFINITIONS

A hazmat employer refers to a person who uses one or more employees in connection with:

• Transporting hazardous materials in commerce;

• Causing hazardous materials to be transported or shipped; or

• Representing, marking, certifying, selling, offering, manufacturing, reconditioning, testing, repairing, or modifying containers, drums, or packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials

A hazmat employee refers to an individual, including a self-employed individual, who, during the course of employment:

• Loads, unloads, or handles hazardous materials;

• Manufactures, tests, reconditions, repairs, modifies, marks or otherwise represents containers, drums or packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials;

• Prepares hazardous materials for transportation;

• Is responsible for safety of transporting hazardous materials; or

• Operates a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials.

TYPES OF TRAINING

Hazardous materials training must include:

• General Awareness/Familiarization –Each hazmat employee must receive general awareness/familiarization training designed to provide familiarity with the HMR requirements and to enable the employee to recognize and identify hazardous materials consistent with the hazard communication standards in the regulations.

• Safety – Each hazmat employee must receive safety training concerning emergency response information, measures to protect the employee from the hazards associated with materials to which he may be exposed to in the workplace, and methods and procedures for avoiding accidents.

Note: A hazmat employee who repairs, modifies, reconditions, or tests packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials, and who does not perform any other function subject to the regulations, does not have to receive safety training.

There is a provision under the regulations that if you have conducted safety training under OSHA or EPA requirements, then you don’t have to duplicate the training for DOT.

• Security Awareness – Each hazmat employee must receive security awareness training. This training must include an awareness of security risks associated with hazardous materials transportation and methods designed to enhance transportation security. A component covering how to recognize and respond to possible security threats must be included.

I can send you a hazmat test with answers along a page where the employee puts their answers which also serves as the training documentation page. You will need our four gas placards, some cylinder decals, and the current emergency response guidebook as training aids while giving the test.

• Function-Specific – Each hazmat employee must receive function-specific training concerning the regulations specifically applicable to the functions the employee performs. The specific training will vary depending on the individual’s specific job functions. What is needed by a shipping clerk, a driver, the compliance officer, even the person who prepares the shipping papers, will vary in the detail according to what functions they are performing. Our members that either fill cylinders and/or requalify cylinders must train, test and certify their employees in their specific jobs.

• Driver Training – In addition to the above training, each mode of transport (highway, rail, air, or water) has additional training requirements. For example, by highway, driver training is required for a hazmat employee who drives a vehicle transporting hazardous materials. The driver must be trained on the safe operation of the motor vehicle and the applicable requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

TRAINING TIMETABLES

A new hazmat employee, or a hazmat employee who changes job functions must be trained, tested and certified

before they perform the hazmat work. Those employees may perform those functions prior to the completion of training provided the employee performs those functions under the direct supervision of a properly trained and knowledgeable hazmat employee; and the training is completed within 90 days after employment or a change in job function.

Each hazmat employer must train, test and certify each hazmat employee at least once every three years.

However, if a new regulation is adopted or an existing regulation is changed, that relates to a function performed by a hazmat employee, that employee must be trained, tested and certified on the new or revised regulations. This training must be completed before the employee performs the function and before the three-year recurrent training is required. The employee only needs to be instructed on the new or revised requirements.

TRANSFERABILITY OF OTHER EMPLOYMENT TRAINING

Relevant training received from a previous employer or other source may be used to satisfy the training requirements, provided a current record of training is obtained from the hazmat employee’s previous employer.

RECORD OF TRAINING

A record of current training must be in writing and must include the following elements on the certification:

1. The hazmat employee’s name;

2. The most recent training completion date of the hazmat employee’s training;

3. A description, copy, or the location of the training materials used to do the training;

4. The name and address of the person providing the training; and

5. Certification that the hazmat employee has been trained and tested, as required by this subpart.

You must keep the certification for as long as that employee is employed and for 90 days after they leave your employment.

TRAINING SOURCES

There are also training programs available from several vendors, such as JJ Keller and CGA. I also conduct this training for your employees via GoToMeeting for a small consulting fee. I have programs for the Hazmat General Awareness, Safety, and Security Awareness and a class for high-pressure, liquid containers filling as well as programs for high-pressure, LPG, and acetylene cylinder requalification.

Training is the best way to ensure the safety of your employees and your customers.

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Access to capital to accelerate growth and for acquisitions

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Enjoy best practice sharing with other successful portfolio companies No “Corporate” demands or compulsory

best practice sharing with other successful federation members

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• Retain your employees and facilities

Bringing Young & Emerging Professionals to the Table

BY RICH GOTTWALD, CGA PRESIDENT & CEO

CGA and GAWDA recently partnered again to host the 3rd annual Young & Emerging Professionals Summit.

Sponsored by Weldcoa, this year’s program featured a series of eight technical webinars which followed air gases from production to end use.

More than 700 industry professionals joined us for the Summit, which has gained a reputation as a one-of-a-kind technical training event. The sessions, which included presentations, case studies, and panel discussions, were led by 25 industry subject matter experts.

Throughout the Summit, one point became abundantly clear, prioritizing the development of young and emerging professionals doesn’t just benefit CGA and GAWDA – it brings substantial value to the individuals, their companies, and the industry as a whole.

DEVELOPING OUR FUTURE INDUSTRY LEADERS

Transferring Knowledge

Young and emerging professionals who participate in CGA and GAWDA get access to a lot more than meetings and social events. They have a unique opportunity to grow their technical knowledge and their overall understanding of the industry while interacting with subject matter experts. Sharing our industry’s tribal knowledge – the hard-learned lessons and resulting changes to best practices – is essential to maintaining our safety culture. This isn’t information that can be found in a standard operating procedure or explained in a publication. It comes out as our committees discuss the rationale for requirements in our publications, and in presentations at our safety seminars. Having the next generation at the

table provides a chance for knowledge transfer that doesn’t often happen in other venues.

Peer Networking

The participants in our programs also build a network of contacts including peers, technical experts, and leaders. In an industry as specialized as ours, having these contacts brings tremendous value for employees at all experience levels: members support each other in emergencies, individuals reach out to industry peers for help with troubleshooting, and contacts are made with key decision makers. And beyond all of this, a sense of community is created, and our next generation is more likely to stay in this industry because they feel connected here.

Building Soft Skills and Leadership

There is practical value to getting individuals involved, too. Engaging in a committee setting is a great way to build soft skills and leadership experience. Our young and emerging professionals take on leadership roles, manage projects and events, gain experience with presenting and communication, learn to manage group dynamics and effective meetings, and more. Participation in CGA and GAWDA gives participants an avenue to learn transferable skills that can bring immediate value back to their organizations.

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR SUPPORTING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Beyond the potential growth opportunities for individuals who engage in CGA and GAWDA young and emerging professionals programs, there is a significant value proposition for their employers. Some aspects are easily recognized – particularly the ability to have a voice in the work that CGA and GAWDA are taking on, the take home value of the technical content in our meetings and events,

Richard Gottwald is President and CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA). He can be reached at 703-7882748 or rgottwald@ cganet.com.

and access to the resources that both organizations provide for members.

But there are some less obvious benefits, too.

Prioritizing development of young and emerging professionals allows an organization to position itself in a competitive talent environment. It creates opportunities to invest in the development

of internal personnel instead of having to buy that talent in the future. A recent Gallup poll indicates that 69% of Millennials are concerned that their workplace does not develop their leadership skills; yet developing the next generation of leaders is viewed as a top challenge by many executives.

A significant body of research clearly indicates that young professionals who feel invested in, who feel like part of a community, and who have access to mentors are significantly more likely to stay with an organization long term.

According to a case study at a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm , employees who participated in mentoring programs were 49% less likely

to leave and another study found that over 79% of Millennials see mentoring as crucial to their career success.

Clearly, the investments we are making in our young and emerging professionals is key to growing and retaining a strong pipeline of future talent..

These investments have clear business implications, too. As young and emerging professionals form their peer networks, they are connecting with industry leaders and decision makers of today and tomorrow. As Sallie Krawcheck, the former head of Bank of America’s Global Wealth and Investment Management division and current CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, says, “Networking has been cited as the number one unwritten rule of success in business. Who you know really impacts what you know.”

continued on next page

BRINGING VALUE TO THE INDUSTRY

When we talk about young and emerging professionals, we often focus on the future of this group and what they will accomplish years from now. The reality is that investing in our young and emerging professionals isn’t a gamble on some future return for the industry. They are creating an impact today.

Over the past several years, this group has made us rethink the way we engage people in our work. How we present events, and how they can be more accessible to a growing audience.

They’ve asked us to tackle tough topics and pushed back on the idea of doing things the way we’ve always done them. And in doing so, they’ve driven a

new wave of ideas and enthusiasm into our organizations.

Our young and emerging professionals are also actively looking for ways to give back to the industry. They’re developing events that are relevant at all levels of the industry including our committee showcases, leadership webinar series, and more. They often volunteer to help with special projects outside of core committee work – like transitioning CGA’s Handbook of Compressed Gases to an online tool – and they’re bringing new and exciting perspectives to the standards development process.

BUILDING MOMENTUM

As we connect with new young and emerging professionals in our industry, we’re learning more about the challenges

they’re facing when it comes to getting involved in CGA and GAWDA. There are several common themes in their responses, including:

• I just don’t know how to get started. What committees are there? How do I join?

• I don’t feel like I have enough expertise to bring value to the discussions.

• Getting involved alone is really intimidating.

• The value of participation is not clear.

The most important tool in our grasp for reaching new participants, and addressing the concerns raised above, is to start talking about organizations like CGA and GAWDA internally.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Invite a young professional to join you at a meeting or encourage them to step into an area that they’re passionate about.

• Talk about your experience with these organizations and what you’ve gotten out of your participation.

• Create space at the table for someone to join the discussion in a learning capacity – and encourage them to ask questions and challenge ideas.

We’re continuing to innovate when it comes to our educational programs, and we are already looking forward to the 2024 Young & Emerging Professionals Summit. We hope that you will join us in building the future of our industry by creating pathways for the young professionals in your organizations to get involved.

Ask Your Board

Ask Your Board is a feature that runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Quarter Issues of Welding & Gases Today. The purpose of Ask Your Board is to ask common business questions that all GAWDA members might be dealing with and to see how GAWDA’s Board of Directors are dealing with these issues within their own companies. To submit a question for GAWDA’s Board Members to consider, please email steveg@gawdamedia.com

THE QUESTION

The theme for this year’s GAWDA Annual Convention is “Building a Bridge for Future Leaders.” How does your company do a good job of identifying and preparing employees to take on promotions and leadership roles within your company?

ROBERT ANDERS

2022 GAWDA PRESIDENT-ELECT Holston Gases, Inc.

I don’t want to sound over simplistic, but we identify those people that have a high degree of character, strong work ethic, and a desire to learn. We are looking for people that the other

employees are drawn to through their actions, not their words. Once we identify a potential future leader, we share with them our thoughts and the path they will need to take, including timelines and performance measures to achieve the role we envision for them. We both commit to the process and place the candidate with a mentor that is best suited to get them to the finish line.

GARY HALTER

2022 GAWDA 1ST VICE PRESIDENT Indiana Oxygen Company

Our process involves our leadership team and other members of management (Area General Managers, Operations Managers, Distribution Managers) evaluating our talent, documenting those who have the ability to take on more responsibilities, and then identifying current and future roles. We conduct this type of talent evaluation meeting usually on a quarterly basis. We care a great deal about our people and helping them grow. Once we have identified someone as a candidate for a future role, we will have a discussion with them to understand the roles within the company they would be interested in to hopefully ensure we have a fit. Ou r philosophy for the past several years has been to promote from within as often as possible; we have found that this philosophy is helpful with hiring and retaining talent.

ERIC WOOD

2022 GAWDA 2ND VICE PRESIDENT

O.E. Meyer Company

We are actively involving all levels of operations and sales in our decision-making processes each day, as we solve problems and with continuous improvements initiatives. We feel strongly that empowering people to make decisions and problem solve gives us a great insight on that person’s capabilities to manage and lead. As leaders, we must listen, observe, and empower our people to see if they have what it takes when challenged. We can teach welding, gases, and distribution, but it’s up to us to identify those that have what it takes to be leaders.

ABYDEE BUTLER MOORE

2022 GAWDA 1ST PAST PRESIDENT

Butler Gas Products

Butler Gas history taught us to get upand-coming talent in the game quickly. When founder Jack Butler, my grandfather, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, my father, Jack, was in his early 20’s. Dad moved from Boston back home to Pittsburgh with his parents, purchased the business, and learned how to run the company from my grandfather’s death bed. This fast-tracked succession between Gen1 and Gen2 taught us that A-players will always rise to the occasion come hell or high water, so do not be afraid to get High Potentials in the game early. We do not overthink preparation; it is better to plan early and proactively than to procrastinate by perfectionism. Some “lead, follow, or get out of the way” thinking allows us to identify potential leaders quickly by seeing who drives solutions in times of chaos, and we invest in continuously developing these people in our industry as much as possible.

BRAD ARMSTRONG

2022 GAWDA VICE PRESIDENT

General Air Service & Supply

At General Air, we approach professional development through interpersonal, analytical, and individual reflection. Senior staff is actively engaged in every department in weekly or biweekly meetings and natural leaders become apparent when management is fully cognizant of the routine work being performed. Leaders are also identified based on current demands within the organization. We take an analytical approach when reviewing our

organization chart quarterly to determine what teams could benefit from a fresh perspective. By working closely with all employees and having a firm grasp on the needs of the organization, we can identify and elevate those individuals with leadership potential.

Part of our corporate vision is to have the right people in the right seat, and with all management roles, we seek to promote from within. In addition to detailed training plans for all positions, General Air supports individual professional development for all employees through external training, internal seminars, and book reimbursement. Any employee seeking to advance their skills can participate in these programs. We have found that by encouraging growth opportunities, new leaders feel supported and confident in their role.

RAFAEL ARVELO

2022 GAWDA VICE PRESIDENT Equigas, Inc.

EQUIGAS, Inc., like many other small family companies, does not have an HR team yet, though we are definitely getting to the point where we need to hire an HR person very soon. In the meantime, we have created a basic system to evaluate our staff and future leaders. But, before I get into the proper tools we use to find our leaders, I must mention that we emphasize the EQUIGAS Culture, which is based on principles on how you do what you do in the workplace (inside and outside). We also make it very clear what our values are. In a few words, we make everyone drink the “EQUIGAS Kool Aid” to promote our passion to serve.

In addition to any assessment tool, we focus on the future potential of every single employee, not necessarily their actual performance, which is also a good indicator, but we look to see if they have the vision, the passion, and the aptitude to grow and influence others inside the organization. The best performers are not always the best leaders. We also consider those that propose new strategies for improvements, or contribute good ideas; those that go the extra mile to satisfy customers and want to grow the business; those that are driven to take ownership not only of their responsibilities but of their department’s to achieve beyond expectations; those who keep a great environment inside the company and manage themselves with emotional intelligence. Many of them do not know that they have the potential to become leaders, so it’s in the company’s best interest to create a program to train and develop new leaders. We even consider those that have real interest in reading

the GAWDA Connection and Welding & Gases Today to learn more about our industry, our customers, vendors and even our friendly competitors.

ALLIE EARLBECK

2022 GAWDA VICE PRESIDENT

Earlbeck Gases & Technologies

We ask our employees their 1-, 5-, and 10-year goals during our review process so we can help map what training or coaching they’ll need to get in order to achieve them. Often, the answers will surprise us, as they don’t follow the traditional trajectory of their current position. Someone in the operations department might want to move into accounting or someone from customer service might want to grow into HR. We’ve also gone through the exercise of creating a projected org chart to show what the

company would look like in 5 years if we are able to execute our team’s career plan. This has highlighted gaps that will be created on someone’s retirement and allowed us to prepare well in advance by adding a new hire or tapping someone on the shoulder to ask if they’d be interested in growing into that role.

COLLEEN KOHLER

2022 GAWDA VICE PRESIDENT

Noble Gas Solutions, Inc.

Noble does an excellent job identifying employees’ career aspirations. On day one, we meet with our employees as part of our onboarding process. In this meeting, we ask them what career path they see themselves on. We then do a temperature check in our annual reviews. Many of our employees have worked in several departments within our organization. This makes

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them well rounded and versatile to the company. We also have employees who have been in the same position for 30 plus years. We recently had a sales manager retire after working for Noble for 48 years. That’s pretty incredible. However Noble can foster our team to achieve their goals is advantageous for us. More than half of Noble’s employees have worked here for 15 plus years. That is a strong statement. Training is another huge component to the growth of an employee. Our industry is so robust and ever-changing. It’s important to invest in our people, so we can grow together. I would lastly say that encouragement and support is crucial when developing a team. Not every day is easy. With growth comes challenges. But, as long as they know they have a team to support them as they grow, you earn a trusted employee, potentially for life.

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Committee Corner

As part of its continued push to help GAWDA members get the most out of their membership dues in the association and stay on the front lines of emerging industry trends and hot-button issues, GAWDA has several volunteer committees devoted to specific areas of the industry. The volunteer committees include: Government Affairs, Human Resources, Industry Partnering, Insurance Trustees, Leadership Development, Member Services, Safety, Women of Gases and Welding, and Young Professionals

This new feature in Welding & Gases Today will update readers on the latest news and events from each committee. We thank all the committee chairs for their help and input as well as their service to the association and its members.

If you are interested in enhancing your GAWDA experience and joining a committee, visit gawda.org/ about/committees to fill out a GAWDA volunteer form today.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Co-Chair Chuck Beal, American Welding & Gas

Co-Chair Rick Schweitzer, GAWDA Legal Counsel

The GAWDA Government Affairs Committee provided updates on several outstanding legislative issues and continues to work on six primary priorities. The committee will meet in person at the GAWDAAnnual Convention in San Diego.

• •At the direction of President Biden, on November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard requiring all companies with 100 or more employees to mandate all employees are vaccinated for

COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. The ETS was challenged in court, and the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on January 7, 2022, on whether to stay the mandate while the merits are under consideration. On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the stay against the OSHA ETS. In a 6-3 vote, the Court held that OSHA did not have authority from Congress to issue such a broad public health mandate. On January 26, OSHA withdrew the ETS, but is still working on a final rule to cover employee protection from COVID.

• The Biden Administration also imposed requirements for COVID vaccinations for all employees of federal contractors and subcontractors working in relation to contracts over $250,000. This mandate was supposed to go into effect January 4, 2022 but has been stayed by a federal court.

• On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency may not impose its Clean Power Project rules on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas plants without specific authorization from Congress. The Court held that

“major questions” of great political and economic impact may not be addressed by the agency unless Congress has clearly granted such authority, especially when Congress itself has considered but declined to pass such provisions. This ruling is expected to call into question many regulatory schemes established under vague or general enabling statutes.

• Congress passed and the President signed into law a bill reauthorizing the federal highway and bridge program for $1 trillion over five years. The new law does not revise DOT’s final rule to revise the driver hours of service regulations that expanded the short haul exemption from 12 to 14 hours and from 100 air miles to 150 air miles for all CDL drivers. The new law also contains a pilot program for 18–20-year-old drivers to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce after an apprenticeship program.

• The House of Representatives has passed the PRO Act, which would adopt a strict three-part test for classifying workers as independent contractors. It also would impose new limitations on management interference with union organizing activity and create additional unfair labor practices. Passage in the Senate is unlikely.

• On July 11, DOT/PHMSA will publish a Request for Information (RFI) on the potential use of electronic communication as an alternative to current physical documentation. The RFI is seeking input as to the benefits and problems with permitting hazardous materials documentation to be provided/ transmitted electronically instead of in a physical form. The RFI is

very broad and is considering all forms of documentation required by the HMR including:

` Shipping papers (Part 172, subpart C)

` Emergency Response information (Part 172, subpart G)

` Train Consists (§ 174.26)

` Notifications to Pilot in Command (§ 175.33)

` Dangerous cargo manifests (§ 176.30)

` Shipping papers in motor vehicles (§ 177.817)

` Additional documentation such as special permits, approvals, and registrations

CURRENT GAWDA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PRIORITIES:

1. Work with CGA to submit comments on FDA proposal for separate and reasonable regulations for medical gases.

2. Preserve the DOT’s preemption of state law meal and rest break requirements for drivers of vehicles carrying placarded amounts of hazardous materials.

3. Support implementation of a pilot program to allow 18–20-year-old individuals to drive commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce after completing a strict training and apprenticeship program.

4. Support a DOT rulemaking to allow use of electronic shipping papers for hazardous materials transportation by highway mode.

5. Work with NAW and other business groups to defeat passage of PRO Act in the Senate.

6. Continue to provide current information to member companies on changes in federal and state laws and court decisions, including protection of workers from COVID-19, use of marijuana in the workplace, and COVID vaccine requirements.

COMMITTEE CORNER

INDUSTRY PARTNERING COMMITTEE

The Industry Partnering Committee continues in its mission to provide a proactive forum for suppliers and distributors dedicated to the continual improvement of the welding supply/equipment and gas distribution industry; to communicate to our membership ideas regarding

operational, marketing and systems approaches to improve the quality of service to our customer base and; to serve as a vehicle to facilitate communication and understanding between suppliers and distributors leading to improved profitability for both parties.

The committee will meet at this year’s Annual Convention, where its first ever Networking 360 Event will take place on Friday, October 7 th. The Industry Partnering Committee has been planning and organizing the event for more than a year and it is excited to introduce this additional networking opportunity to GAWDA members. In addition, the IP Committee continues to work on several key initiatives including: Continued support and promotion of the AWS/WEMCO Excellence in Welding Award

• Result: Nominations were considerably up this year from previous years and the AWS did not need to extend the nomination deadline. Awards will be announced at this year’s GAWDA Annual Convention

INSURANCE TRUSTEES COMMITTEE

The Insurance Trustees Committee continues to recruit new members to join the committee, with a list of prospective committee members being actively developed. If you are interested in joining this committee, visit gawda.org/about/ committees to fill out the GAWDA volunteer form.

The committee is working with Met Life to enhance its marketing materials. The Group Life Insurance page on

Promote Engagement amongst smaller suppliers

• Result: The Industry Partnering Committee and Member Services Committee met at this year’s SMC in Indianapolis to discuss collaborative ideas on engaging small and new members. The IPC will continue to attend the Newcomers Event at the AC and SMC. Work on this objective will continue. Implement a Networking 360 Program

• Result: This event was actively promoted via digital marketing, including social media, the GAWDA and GAWDA Media websites, the GAWDA Connection, and interviews with Bob Ewing and Justin Johnson and GAWDA TV. The event has reached its target number of participants with a waitlist in the event of cancelations. This was the IP Committee’s biggest initiative for 2022.

GAWDA.org was recently revamped and an article on the Life Insurance Program was featured in the 3rd Quarter Issue of Welding & Gases Today.

All audits have been completed and tax liabilities have been satisfied. The committee continues to brainstorm on how best to compete with standard issue insurance programs and on better ways to sell our program.

Co-Chair Justin Johnson, Keen Compressed Gas

Co-Chair Terry Scanlon, Messer

Co-Chair Dan Kipka, Oxygen Service Company

Co-Chair Brian McLaughlin, GAWDA Group Life Insurance Consultant

COMMITTEE CORNER

MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE

The Member Services Committee met in August and will convene again during this year’s Annual Convention in San Diego. The committee has placed a heavy emphasis on growing its recently instituted subcommittees (Growing Membership and Engagement).

TWO SUBCOMMITTEES

Engagement – John Tapley

• New screening process put in place with new members being interviewed. Several subcommittee members will rotate leading the interviews.

• Continue to develop GAWDA’s

LinkedIn page to post information

Growing Membership – Jason Reigner

• Exploring opportunities to improve serving small distributor GAWDA members.

Ben Black was introduced as the new MSC co-chair. He will take Dana Sorensen’s position following the Annual Convention.

continued on next page

Co-Chair Rick Young, Cryostar Distribution North America

Co-Chair Dana Sorensen, Minneapolis Oxygen Company

COMMITTEE CORNER

SAFETY COMMITTEE

Co-Chair Jim Herring, SafTCart

Co-Chair Bill Woods, American Welding & Gas

Safety Committee Member Tony Hopkins joined GAWDA TV for the August 15th episode to give a tutorial on how to access GAWDA.org Members Only Documents including updated Safety Documents from the Safety Committee. Scan the QR code or visit the URL below to watch.

https://bit.ly/3wTYdmq

Following the SMC in Indianapolis, the Safety Committee reshuffled the four subcommittees and assigned new topics for practices and existing practices for updates. To date, we have the four review topics in process of receiving needed changes including accident packets for the Vehicular Accident/Incident Practice, two other review topics are ready to publish, and the fourth under reconstruction for the Confined Space practice.

The new topics include a specific Lock Out/Tag Out Practice, which is currently seeking testimonials to add to the practice; Carbon Dioxide Safety; Propane Cylinder Filling; and, finally, the Cannabis Practice has been narrowed down to focus on drivers and the delivery side of CO2 since this topic has a broad range; however, it was brought up that other practices on this subject could be in the offing.

We welcomed our newest member to the committee; Lori Young of AWG, and the group plans to meet in San Diego at the Annual Convention where the second part of 2022 will be discussed. When the committee convenes, we will have published and or republished seventeen sample safety practices this year and our monthly Go-To-Meetings boast an average of 81% participation including Rich Craig of the Compressed Gas Association. The safety practices the committee publishes reference CGA pamphlets where applicable.

The Safety Committee continues to aid the GAWDA membership with sample practices along with promoting the CGA Program where members can take advantage of the information published by CGA at no cost with submission of their OSHA 300 data.

WOMEN OF GASES AND WELDING COMMITTEE

Co-Chair Judy Miller, WESCO Gas & Welding Supply

Co-Chair Sue Reiter, Air Products & Chemicals

The Women of Gases and Welding (WGW) committee continues work toward our mission objectives through personal and professional development as well as educational and networking opportunities.

WGW Educational Grant

The WGW Committee voted to extend the application period for the WGW Educational Grant to July 31st. The committee will remain on target for announcing the grant recipients at the upcoming Annual Convention.

2022 GAWDA ANNUAL CONVENTION

WGW Event

The WGW will host a Wine Tasting Event during the upcoming Annual Convention. The event will be hosted

COMMITTEE CORNER

at the San Pasqual Winery in the Seaport Village. The event will be open to all Convention attendees. The cost will be $115.00 per person. The committee is still working on an activity for the event.

OTHER CURRENT PROJECTS

WGW Virtual Meetings & Roundtable

The WGW Committee continues to build awareness of the WGW as well as

engage participation in WGW through events at national conferences and other activities. The WGW hosted its first Virtual Meeting on Wednesday, August 24th. The event had more than 80 women from around the industry register and was a massive success with incredible feedback from those who attended. The WGW is actively planning to continue these Virtual Meetings.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE

Co-Chair Liz Standley, ILMO Products

Co-Chair Cody Patrick, Nikkiso

The Young Professionals Committee will meet on October 5th at the GAWDA Annual Convention in San Diego, California. The YPC will also host a networking event on Friday, October 7th, at the Marriott Marquis and Gaslamp Quarter. The event will feature a workshop with Major General Malcom Frost The event is sold out.

In addition to organizing this networking event, the YPC continues to work on several action items including:

The Formation of Subcommittees

Discussion: To spread the workload and build continuity within the committee at large.

Conclusion: Each committee member is required to join one subcommittee. Currently there are no size limitations to each committee. Committee members may choose to join more than one subcommittee if they feel it fits in their schedules. Both Cody and Liz will strive to attend all subcommittee meetings, but at least one of them will attend whenever possible.

Established Subcommittees include:

• Network/Event Planning

` Leader: Edward Leon

• Outreach

` Leader: Justin Guitreau

• Technical/Education/Development (TED)

` Leader: Daniel Curiel Cova

YP Membership Requirements

Discussion: Should there be a minimum number of calls/in-person meetings that committee members commit to in order to remain on the planning committee?

Conclusion: New members must join a subcommittee. They must attend all video calls associated with their sub-

Volunteering on the WGW Committee

The WGW Committee is finalizing the process to add new volunteers to the committee. The committee hopes to finalize this process soon.

committee unless reasonable excuse for their absence is provided to the leader of the subcommittee. New members must also commit to attending at least one in-person meeting annually.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Newcomers Reception

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

President’s Welcome Reception

7:00 p.m. Industry Hospitalities

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2022

7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Convention Registration

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Group Breakfast

Opening General Business Session

• GAWDA President Welcome

• GAWDA Gives Back Presentation

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

• Michaela Bucchianeri, PhD, LP, Clinical Psychologist

• Jillian Evanko, CEO and President Chart Industries

Past Presidents Luncheon

Women of Gases and Welding Event − Seaport Village - San Pasqual Winery 1:00 p.m. – 5:00

7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Networking 360 Grab & Go Breakfast

Networking 360 Event

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Contact Booth Program

12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Young Professionals Workshop & Networking Event

Workshop with Major General Malcolm Frost

1:00 p.m. Industry Hospitalities

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2022

7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Convention Registration

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Group Breakfast

Closing General Business Session

• Dirk Beveridge (Panel Discussion)

Panelists: James Kissler, Nicole Kissler, Jim Earlbeck and Allison Earlbeck

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

• GAWDA/Sister Association Awards

• Major General Malcolm Frost, Malcolm Frost and Associates, LLC

• Slate of Officers Motion/Induction for President Elect, Robert Anders, President & CEO, Holston Gases Inc.

5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. President’s Farewell Gala - USS Midway

Young Professionals WORKSHOP & NETWORKING EVENT

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2022

12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Location: Marriott Marquis and Gaslamp Quarter

Must register to participate.

For more information visit GAWDA.org

Workshop with Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost Networking event

TRAVEL INFORMATION

HOTEL INFO

Marriott Marquis

San Diego Marina

333 W Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 234-1500

The Annual Convention will be hosted at the Marriott Marquis San Diego. Please contact GAWDA HQ at ccerveira@gawda.org with any questions regarding booking your rooms for the Annual Convention.

Overflow Hotel

THE US GRANT

A Luxury Collection Hotel

326 Broadway

San Diego, California 92101

619-232-3121

bit.ly/3QArQ31

Getting There

The journey time between San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina and San Diego Airport (SAN) is around 24 min and covers a distance of around 4 miles.

Explore the many things to do in San Diego

With its great weather, miles of sandy beaches, and major attractions, San Diego is known worldwide as one of the best tourist destinations and a great place for residents to relax year round.

San Diego, California

San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of California known for its beaches, parks and warm climate. Immense Balboa Park is the site of the renowned San Diego Zoo, as well as numerous art galleries, artist studios, museums and gardens. A deep harbor is home to a large active naval fleet, with the USS Midway, an aircraft-carrierturned-museum, open to the public. This is also where we will be hosting our 2022 President’s Farewell Gala.

Attire

Typical weather in San Diego in October is mild with little rain. The average temperature is mostly around the 70’s, but can dip down into the high 60’s at night. Making it nice enough for short sleeves during the day and a light jacket at night. Attire for the Annual Convention is Business Casual. The President’s Farewell Gala will be hosted on the USS Midway naval aircraft ship. Flat comfortable shoes are recommended for moving around the ship via stairs between levels (an elevator will also be available). Dinner and entertainment will be hosted on the top deck of the ship. Attire for a windy evening is strongly recommended.

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MEET THE SPEAKERS

Michaela Bucchianeri, PhD, LP

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST

Michaela Bucchianeri, PhD, LP, is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and educator dedicated to leveraging the power of words to transform our individual and collective wellness. Blending the science of psychology and the art of communication, As a business consultant, Dr. Bucchianeri has been described as “a dynamic force for good in marketing” with “a gift for translating high-level ideas into everyday insights.” She believes mental health is a universal right with the potential to help organizations-- and the people who run them-- thrive at every level.

Jillian Evanko

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRESIDENT OF CHART INDUSTRIES

Jillian (Jill) Evanko is President and Chief Executive Officer of Chart Industries, Inc. (NYSE: GTLS). In addition to serving on Chart’s Board of Directors, Ms. Evanko also serves as an independent director of the Board of Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH). She

is the winner of the 2020 ExxonMobil Power Play Rainmaker award, the 2020 S&P Global Platts Energy Award for Chief Trailblazer, and the World LNG Executive of the Year 2020.

Major General Malcolm Frost

MALCOLM FROST AND ASSOCIATES, LLC

Major General Malcolm B. Frost (Ret) specializes in Corporate Leader Development, Crisis Communications, and Keynote Speaking. As senior advisor and faculty member with Thayer Leadership, he provides executive leadership development for Fortune 500 and larger corporations. As a senior advisor for kglobal, he provides public relations and communications advice for their federal/ state government and corporate clientele. He also provides expert advice to companies in the health and wellness, operations technology, and information operations industries and serves on public, private and non-profit boards. Maj. Gen (Ret) Frost has 31 years of military experience providing large-scale strategic and operational leadership and oversight in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe, and the United States for the United States Army.

 Designed to permit valve closure after exposure to an Acetylene flashback

 Stainless Steel filter on the valve inlet

 Optionally integrated with CG-3 type fusible metal

 Lower stem for valves for “B” and “MC” style cylinders constructed from stainless steel to prevent stress corrosion and resist over-torque

 CED/Powder coated handwheel

 O-ring seal technology for safety and reliability over the entire service life

 Tested and certified by BAM Berlin

2022 GAWDA ANNUAL CONVENTION PREVIEW

Panelists

ing major change for over 35 years to advance growth, rele vance, and transformation. This past summer Dirk produced the We Supply America tour to champion the noble calling of distribution. Empowering others to thrive is at the core of what he does. He envisions a world where distributors thrive with every professional throughout distribution thriving. Dirk has authored four books including the bestselling INNOVATE! How Successful Distributors Lead Change In Disruptive Times and the self-published The Innovative Distributor Mindset. Dirk is the creator of The Innovative Distributor™ model, which provides a framework for distributor relevance, profitability, and sustainability.

ALLISON EARLBECK COO, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies

JIM EARLBECK CEO, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies

NICOLE KISSLER CEO, Norco Inc.

JAMES KISSLER Chairman, Norco Inc.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 8, 2022

5:30 – 10:00 p.m. held at the USS MIDWAY

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Cocktail hour and access to the Hanger Deck on the USS Midway. Grab a cocktail and examine vintage aircrafts from World War II.

6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Sunset bay views, dinner, drinks and patriotic entertainment on the Top Deck of the famed USS Midway.

The USS Midway is a short walk from the Marriott Marquis San Diego. Shuttle buses will also be available. Arrive early for access to the Hangar Deck exhibits, since this access will only be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Members will then move to the top deck of the famed ship for an unforgettable evening. Attire for the event is casual. Please consider mild winds when planning your attire. Flat comfortable shoes are strongly recommended for walking on the ship (uneven surfaces, holes and gaps) and stairs between levels. An elevator is available for those who require.

CRYOWORKS

PROVIDES

COASTAL WELDING SUPPLY Exceeding Customer Expectations Every Day

How Coastal Welding Supply has flourished for nearly six decades.

BY STEVE GUGLIELMO

Al Mazoch began his career in the gases and welding industry working as a sales representative for Linde Air Products Company, a division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation in Houston, Texas. In 1963, Al decided to venture out on his own, when he began Coastal Welding Supply in Beaumont, Texas.

Nearly 60 years later, the company continues to thrive under the leadership of Al’s son, J.C. “Chuck” Mazoch. The company has grown and evolved from a single service location in Beaumont to 200 associates and 13 distribution sites located along the Gulf Coast Petrochemical and Metal Fabrication corridor of the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

GROWTH AND EVOLUTION

“Coastal has always been heavily involved in the metal fabrication industries including barge construction, shipbuilding, offshore oil drilling and production platforms,” says President Chuck Mazoch. “Power generation and petrochemical plants have been an ever-evolving industry and offered us an ongoing opportunity for both pipe and

structural steel fabrication welding and industrial sales growth. We have used these business platforms to build upon throughout the years. Coastal has expanded our refinery footprint to include the production of high purity petrochemical refinery gases, calibration standards, and environmental monitoring gases.”

He continues, “Our growth has always been gradual but consistent and has allowed us to provide a high-quality product and high level of customer service.”

Of the company’s 13 distribution facilities, three have been acquisitions, while the other 10 were grass root startups. And while many of the core values that Al put in place when he opened Coastal in 1963 remain today, the industry has evolved in new and exciting ways.

J.C. “Chuck” Mazoch

Al Mazoch founded Coastal Welding Supply in 1963

“In my early days, one reason I was excited to be in this field was I could see the new developments coming down the road,” Chuck says. “Technology has been an important part of the growth and development of our industry and our organization. We still set a torch and regulator the same way, and we still cut with oxygen and fuel gases, but the development of processes like plasma/ laser cutting and welding are just an example of how far the technological changes have come. On the welding side, we have grown from manual stick welding to mig and sub-arc automation to the latest game changer, the introduction of welding Cobots.”

From its inception, Coastal has had a strong relationship with Linde/Praxair as its primary atmospheric gas partner.

“We have a very strong relationship with many major equipment companies like Lincoln Electric, ITW Miller Electric, ESAB, and Hypertherm Plasma,” Chuck notes. “These suppliers have all been excellent business partners by providing industry leading high-quality products, technical training, and excellent sales support. Coastal, from the beginning, has always strived to offer our customers the most current technology, highest quality products and superior service. These suppliers have always been there for us and have worked with us to maintain that level of both quality and service.”

CULTURE

In addition to offering the highest quality products from the most trusted brands in the industry, Coastal’s strong company culture and servant leadership have allowed it to flourish.

Six decades after its founding, Coastal continues to build on the mission and vision that Al put in place in 1963. The company’s mission statement is to, “Provide our customers with a single source for all their industrial and spe -

Beating the Texas heat! Filling Coastal’s Nitrogen tank once to a twice a week, at their Specialty Gas Facility in Beaumont, Texas.

Coastal has 12 retail locations located in Southwest Louisiana, Southeast Texas and along the coast in Corpus Christi.

Coastal’s Specialty Gas Division produces blends, mixtures and other customized gases for US and international customers.

cialty gas requirements in a safe, timely and economical manner, while working together with our customers to build a mutually beneficial partnership.

“Al Mazoch was not just a business owner, but a cultivator, teacher, and mentor to our staff and the organization,” Chuck says. “His roots run deep in our business, and we always strive to make him proud, even though he is not with us anymore. His business philosophy is alive and well in our organization.”

He continues, “We push to be the best and always strive to finish on top. We work to be the leader and best at whatever we do. I have always worked to continue that culture, legacy, and leadership within our organization.”

For 60 years, Coastal Welding Supply has prided itself on providing its customers with in-house technical expertise and a staff of seasoned professionals in all areas of its operations. From the industrial gas sector to the industry supply sector, continuous advanced training of Coastal’s staff has allowed it to provide cutting edge products and processes to its industry partners.

Says Chuck, “We have a fine group of senior and young talent that I know will help bring us to the next level in our growth and organizational development.”

To continue that pipeline and keep the culture strong, Coastal utilizes several sources for recruiting talent.

“We have added talent from local colleges, training facilities, military centers, and the online job recruiters,” says Chuck. “We are always on the hunt for good people. They come in a multitude of skill sets but we work to help them start a career they can build upon.

In addition to Chuck, Al’s daughter, Barbara Mazoch Nelson, and her son, David Nelson, are both active at Coastal, keeping the Mazoch legacy strong within the business.

In addition to its steadfast devotion to

ensuring a secure future for the company, Coastal has shown an equal devotion to ensuring the future of the industry. For more than a decade, the company has had a vision to host a one-day, annual event that would bring the local area school districts and technical school’s AG and welding instructors together to experience new advances in the industry. To recognize that vision, Coastal created the Emerging Technology in Metal Fabrication program at its Beaumont location, and partnered with national vendors for classroom information and hands on demonstrations.

Most recently, spearheaded by 19year Coastal Sales Representative and Education Leader Louis Fontenot , Coastal took this event to its newest Corpus Christi location. Partnering with Del Mar College, more than 30 educators attended to see equipment and new applications that were not available in their schools.

Twelve different manufacturers were on campus to show off the newest equip-

ment available and to provide a chance for teachers to learn the newest welding processes. Teachers and staff from 35 South Texas high schools as far away as the Rio Grande Valley as well as colleges from across the area were on hand for the expo. Coastal Welding Supply is proud to continue the support and awareness of the industry to educators and young welders, because, according to the company, “They are our future going forward.”

TECHNOLOGY AND MOVING FORWARD

“We will continue to build on our platform we have developed and look for continued growth opportunities,” says Chuck.

As automation in both the front and back office continues to grow, doing more with less has become the norm in large industries.

“The demand is placed on us to perform many of these functions or automate to do them for our customers,”

Coastal Welding Supply’s Team is active in all of their area schools and supports scholarships in colleges and tech courses.

says Chuck. “It’s a constant labor and computer challenge.”

And those technology demands extend beyond Coastal’s customer base to its own offices.

“I know we are missing out on some sales to the Internet shoppers,” Chuck

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• Logistics Management

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admits. “We are working on several platforms to compete with that and regain some of that market. Our biggest drive is to make it easy to do business with us.”

Some of that drive toward Internetuse and automation was exacerbated by COVID.

“COVID was a life-changing event for our country. Many of us lost friends, loved ones, and business associates,” says Chuck. “But I don’t think any of this is permanent or a ‘new norm.’ I believe we are on the road to recovery. Every day we are transitioning back to a normal work and family environment.”

Coastal’s corporate focus on providing safe, on-time delivery of high-quality products has always fostered its corporate goal of enhanced performance for the company and its customer business partners. With a strong bedrock of corporate tenets, supplier partners, experienced associates, and a proven ability to identify trends and evolve with them, Coastal is well-positioned to ensure that its next 60 years are even more successful than the first.

• Flexible Packaging Choices

P: 502-974-1852

F: 502-775-4107

KATHY DARBY

KDARBY@CARBIDELLC.COM

WWW.CARBIDELLC.COM

P.O. BOX 3727, LOUISVILLE, KY 40201-3727

Coastal Outside Sales Technician and Education Leader Louis Fontenot (front row orange shirt).

GAWDA and GAWDA Media Continue Their Tour of Long-Time GAWDA Members

GAWDA Executive Director John Ospina and GAWDA Media Executive Editor Steve Guglielmo visited two long-time GAWDA members following the Central Regional Meeting on Tuesday, August 9th. First, GAWDA visited O.E. Meyer Company’s Sandusky, Ohio, headquarters. O.E. Meyer has been a GAWDA Member since 1965. Currently, Company COO Eric Wood serves as GAWDA’s Second Vice President in line to be President of the Association. O.E. Meyer’s recently retired Chairman Craig Wood served as president of GAWDA in 2012-13.

In recognition of their long-time support of the association, John Ospina presented the company with a plaque. Eric and CEO Brian Belden were then gracious enough to take us on a tour of the company’s facility.

NEWS FROM GAWDA

Following the visit to O.E. Meyer, GAWDA drove to Detroit to visit Metro Welding Supply. Metro has been a member of GAWDA since 1948. GAWDA presented company President Greg Stoneback , Facility Manager Richard Turner, and HR Manager Lea Kingsley with a commemorative plaque to celebrate their long-time support of the association. Following the presentation, Metro gave GAWDA a tour of their newly renovated facility and loading dock.

Thank you to both O.E. Meyer and Metro Welding Supply for your incredible hospitality and for your ongoing commitment to GAWDA and the industry.

If your company would like to be visited by GAWDA, contact Natasha Alexis at nalexis@gawda.org.

2022 GAWDA Regional Meetings

GAWDA concluded its 2022 Regional Meeting slate by hosting its Northwest and Central Regional Meetings. To see full photo galleries from either of these events, visit gawdamedia.com. To see the 2023 Regional Meeting slate, visit GAWDA.org.

NORTHWEST REGIONAL MEETING

The Northwest Regional Meeting took place from July 2728 at the beautiful Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington. Attendees from across the Northwest were treated to educational presentations including a GAWDA Update from GAWDA President Bob Ewing, a presentation entitled “ Supply Chain &

Market Trends in Industrial Welding Distribution,” from Lincoln Electric’s Paul Hewitt, a presentation entitled “Best Job Ever... or Worst Nightmare?” from Assessment Pros LLC’s Jennifer Leake CMC, and a presentation called “What’s Trending in Fill Plant Technology?” from Cryovation President Ric Boyd

In addition to these wonderful educational opportunities, attendees were treated to a cocktail reception, as well as the option to participate in a bocce ball or golf tournament. A wonderful time was had by all. Thank you to all of the sponsors who made this event possible and to Northwest Regional Meeting Chair Brent Laing for doing such a fantastic job organizing this year’s meeting.

CENTRAL REGIONAL MEETING

GAWDA hosted its Central Regional Meeting from August 8-9 at the Maumee Bay Lodge & Conference Center in Oregon, Ohio. The event kicked off on Monday with a table-top booth program where 35 suppliers had booths and were able to network with distributor attendees. After dinner, the 126 attendees were treated to a GAWDA update from GAWDA First Past President Abydee Butler Moore, followed by a presentation from Absolute Air President Ned Pontius and Toll Company

President Chuck Allard on the journey Absolute Air has gone through from concept to launch. Ned described the concept and construction of the ASU, while Chuck was able to speak about the process from the perspective of an owner-partner

On Tuesday, attendees participated in a golf tournament on the hotel course. Thank you to all of the sponsors who made this event possible and to event co-chairs Bob Ranc and Mike Roach for planning and organizing this amazing event.

Relationship Selling

Trusted partner vs. Trusted Resource

BY JAY SPIELVOGEL, VENATOR SALES GROUP, LLC

Jay Spielvogel is CEO of Venator Sales Group (GAWDA member), a sales consulting and training firm specializing in boosting Welding and Gas distribution sales performance. Contact him at: Jay@ venatorsalesgroup.com

“My greatest strength is creating relationships.”

“My customers buy from me because they trust me.”

“I am in sales because I love building relationships.”

Sound familiar?

Relationship selling will always be a critical capability; after all, people buy from people. In fact, most salespeople would define their relationship skills as their most valued asset; even more important than their hunting, qualifying, and closing. When asked on a job interview, the most common response to interview questions about sales capability would be one of the answers above. Take it one step further and relationship selling has become a common excuse for pushing back on sales process training and utilizing CRM technology.

“I AM A RELATIONSHIP SALESPERSON”

While the ability to develop relationships has always been important in sales, there is debate over what a “great relationship” looks like. If you search for a clear definition of a great relationship, you find words like mutual trust, openness, communication, sharing and compromise.

Unfortunately, the relationships that most salespeople have with their prospective customers lack these critical factors. Rather than being defined

by mutual trust or bilateral communication, the relationships are transactional, based on quickly responding to any request made of them by a prospect. Whether the prospect is asking for an onsite visit, demos, references, or pricing, most salespeople will deliver without hesitation. The best-case scenario is the prospect reciprocates with a note of appreciation for delivering while the worst-case is the prospect disappears.

Delivering on all pre-sales requests has become the baseline for most salespeople who view themselves as relationship driven. Whether resulting in an actual sale or not, the sense of accomplishment is in delivering for a prospect rather than closing. In fact, most salespeople pay very little attention to the percentage of deals that fall apart. For this reason, many CRM applications are bogged down with opportunities that have aged far beyond the original close date and have little traction and possibility of closing beyond the delivery of the proposal.

“ALL SALESPEOPLE LIKE TO WIN”

While all salespeople want to cater to their prospects for the purpose of winning the business, issues arise from a lack of attention to the losses and the time wasted on opportunities that don’t close. Many salespeople reading this article would argue that it’s their job to fulfill requests made of them by a prospective client. While this is

true, if the relationship is so strong, what are the salespeople asking for – and getting – in return? Anything less than equal reciprocity on the part of the prospect would render the relationship conditional, with the salesperson acting as a resource rather than a partner.

THE PROOF IS IN THE PIPELINE

If there is any doubt regarding the challenges with these relationships, the proof can be found when doing pipeline and opportunity reviews. During these internal reviews, the salespeople whose relationships are defined by one-sided delivery will frequently pushback on sales coaching - especially when it requires them to ask for additional qualifying information prior to sending a quote or other requested information. It’s not for a lack of understanding the sales process and training material; in many cases, the salespeople are excellent at role playing and demonstrating incredible subject matter comprehension. Execution becomes a problem when there is a fear of upsetting the prospect and creating pushback when using the sales techniques learned.

For example, when asked if they qualified a prospect, inquired about budgetary constraints, other decision makers,

and competition, many salespeople will voice the concern of frustrating their main contact with these questions. This level of discomfort wouldn’t exist if the salespeople had the self-esteem and confidence to develop trusted relationships.

HOW DO I DEVELOP A TEAM OF SALESPEOPLE WHO CREATE TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS?

While it is possible to train a salesperson to be more assertive in their relationships with prospects, it can be a futile effort when fighting against ingrained self-limiting beliefs. The reality is there will be existing team members who simply lack in the ability to develop trusted relationships with their prospects. While these people may be an important longterm part of the team, any attempt to train and change them may lead to frustration. This is where it is critical for sales management to introduce checks-and-balances in the form of coaching routines. These include the following:

1. Pipeline reviews focusing on early and mid-stage opportunities in addition to the closeable ones.

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100 YEARS OF INNOVATION AND TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE

2. Frequent deal reviews with special attention paid to one-sided relationships.

3. Pre-call planning sessions for upcoming meetings, focused on the rep’s plan for reciprocation. Implementing routines and internal discussions will help reduce the risk that they deliver unilaterally without a process for qualifying. Additionally, reviewing opportunities prior to site visits, presentations and final proposals will help to ensure a plan for gaining reciprocity in the form of information and access.

UTILIZING BEST PRACTICES FOR RECRUITING AND HIRING

Beyond training the existing team and creating coaching routines, the ultimate solution to the relationship challenge is to hire salespeople who view themselves on equal footing with their prospects. When recruiting, it is critical to assess and evaluate candidates for their ability to create deeper relationships, ask tough questions, and challenge their prospects. Interestingly, years of experience, number of contacts and expertise are not indicative of relationship skills. Independent of these factors, are critical competencies that are must-haves.

Some important questions to ask yourself when hiring a candidate are the following:

1. Will they ask difficult qualifying questions on a sales call?

2. Can they posture themselves in a selling situation; even when selling to high-level stakeholders?

3. Do they have a high need for approval and low tolerance for conflict which will get in their way?

4. Are they good at negotiating a win-win throughout the sales cycle?

Most importantly, did the candidate confidently ask great qualifying and challenging questions throughout the entire interview process? Do they pride themselves on delivering for prospects or do they place the focus on their qualifying and closing skills?

A FINAL WORD ON RELATIONSHIP SELLING

We would never want to discourage our salespeople from developing relationships based on responsiveness, reliability, and personal connection. However, we do need to coach them to build reciprocal relationships where they negotiate for something in return other than appreciation and hope.

Randy MacLean is the founder of WayPoint Analytics, the inventor of LIPA, and best-selling author of a series of profit practices books. For more than a decade he’s been analyzing company results, thinking about, writing about and advising on profit issues in distribution and manufacturing. WayPoint software is used by hundreds of companies to control their profits, and their destinies.

You Need to Change

Or lose control of your future

BY RANDY MACLEAN, PRESIDENT OF WAYPOINT ANALYTICS

I’m not kidding. If you’re at the top of your company (or your department), your very job is all about change. That’s the principle functional difference between leaders and those who are led – leaders are responsible for finding new and better directions and guiding their teams to better results.

IT’S YOUR JOB

If you look around your organization and you see policies and processes that haven’t changed in years, you need to worry. If the consensus is you’re “under margin pressure” and “customer loyalty” has evaporated, those are warning bells alerting you to the lack of necessary and critical change in your company.

“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”

– JACK WELCH, CEO OF GENERAL ELECTRIC

INNOVATION?

The market is constantly evolving. New and improved products, services and methods surround us. Your most-capable competitors are experimenting with new processes and offerings, and the best customers are the best because they’re adopting the best new ideas before others do.

We grace this activity with the term “innovation,” but it’s really just the combination of: an institutional recognition of the importance of change; a vision that identifies new and better

ideas; and courage to risk mistakes in order to reap the rewards of getting there before the other guys.

THE MATHEMATICS OF CHANGE

Awarding a 3% annual pay increase will result in your payroll costs increasing 30.5% across ten years, and 75.4% over twenty! The same is happening in your suppliers and logistics partners, further amplifying your costs when they pass the increases to you. You can’t be competitive with a complement of increasingly expensive people costing more – unless your organization has also been improving efficiency, employing its more knowledgeable and experienced team to continually improve the productivity of your team.

ARE YOUR EXPERIENCED PEOPLE HELPING?

Regrettably, there’s a pretty common bias of long-term people to resist change, completely defeating their most important value – a deeper understanding of what needs to be done.

I’ll bet at least some of your long-term people already recognize each day as a new opportunity to contribute value by making the company measurably more capable. Making this universal throughout the organization is the key to profit and market leadership.

THE CHANGE PREVENTION DEPARTMENT

You really ought to have a hard look at yourself, too.

They say generals are always fighting the last war, and this is pretty darned common in distribution. Are you or other top people the

“Change-Prevention Department” in your business?

Is there someone at the top who’s “always right” and quick to deride or punish people who make mistakes, or color outside the lines? This is sure to lock the whole company into the “safe” practices of the past, and the inevitable downward spiral of profits and cash-flow.

It’s important to have a mistake-tolerant culture which rewards, rather than punishes, out-of-the-box ideas. Best practices are the result of trying a rich spectrum of ideas and experiments, along with a culling process to drop those that prove ineffective. Best practices also require the continual shedding of older ideas that don’t work as well as they used to.

Don’t think you can wait until others prove them, then safely copy. Adopting “best practices” after everyone else negates the competitive advantages they confer.

Failure to change with the market (really, ahead of the market) risks losing you control of the company. Resulting erosion of cash-flow shifts focus to pleasing the bank instead of the customers, and makes the company vulnerable to predation by competitors and acquisition by more adept players.

I know this seems dire, but this is how important constant change is. I’ve seen it happen repeatedly. (And so have you.)

“If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”

– GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF

HOW TO GET AND SUSTAIN CHANGE

The good news is the benefits of changing with the market are entirely within your reach. It’s something you can do right now. Today.

The primary attribute of super-profitable distributors is they’re really, really good at their core mission – moving product. Specifically, they’re more efficient than their peers, meaning they move more product value per dollar spent than their competitors.

This is much, much more important than “go-to-market strategy,” “sales excellence,” “relationship selling” or any of the other buzzwords that we all hear at the industry meetings.

Operational excellence directly results in high efficiency, creating cost advantages and superior cash-flow. This funds everything from competitive pricing to superior customer service, which drives market share.

CREATING A CHANGE CULTURE

There are three general steps needed to create and sustain a culture for change: implement operational performance measures; train and educate on those performance measures; and have a mistake-tolerant management attitude which encourages people to experiment.

The analytic here comes from the field of LIPA (Line-Item Profit Analytics). This is a whole new category of advanced analytics stemming from the complete quantification of costs and profits down to the invoice-line level. LIPA and advanced analytics are the subject of my book, referenced below. (LIPA is what our WayPoint Analytics system provides for our clients.)

There are two classes of performance measures you’ll use to rapidly improve.

The first are efficiency measures like OpCash Ratios and ROX metrics, used for managers at all levels, and in nearly all areas. (OpCash is the LIPA term for gross profit.)

OpCash ratios quantify the profit potential (divide OpCash value handled in the target area, by expense dollars expended in the area). OpCash ratios guide priorities toward best opportunity, and toward efficiency increases that can come from controlling expenditures. OpCash ratios set the stage for profits by maximizing product value moved per dollar expended.

ROX (Return on Expenses) metrics quantify the actual result (divide operating profit generated in the target area, by expense dollars expended). ROX shows the result of focusing on activities in areas of best opportunity, and also closely managing expenses in those same areas.

Improvements in efficiency measures support payroll increases and are useful comparatives for management effectiveness. (Hint: use efficiency measures for paying incentives and choosing which people to promote. You certainly want those with a track record for efficiency gains leading and mentoring subordinates.)

Neither of the two efficiency measurement classes are directly controllable but are, instead, affected by productivity measures, which are controllable.

Productivity measures divide a number representing value, by a number representing something you can count. Examples are: OpCash ÷ picks; OpCash ÷ deliveries; Revenue ÷ orders; OpCash ÷ warehouse sq ft, etc.

Productivity measures indicate areas of focus which will produce real gains, and may suggest where investments in automation, reorganization or training will have a positive impact on the downstream efficiency measures that drive company cash-flow and profits.

THE VALUE OF MISTAKES, AND THE DANGER OF AVOIDING THEM

Most often, a fear of being seen as making a mistake will completely hobble a company’s ability to thrive, or even survive.

An absence of mistakes is the hallmark of a company that’s doomed. Doomed to, at best, occupy a position in the tail-end of the pack or, at worst, to underperform until it’s acquired or fails.

A company avoiding strategic or tactical mistakes isn’t innovating, it’s waiting to see what others are doing and later adopting practices with wide industry consensus. Effectively, it’s “a day late and a dollar short”.

This is hardly a customer-attracting market position, with companies in this mode coasting on prior momentum while cash-flow evaporates, while margins and market share erode. This is clearly not a sustainable position.

WHAT’S THE TAKE-AWAY?

Far from being the safe position, stasis will kill your business. Change isn’t hard – it’s almost natural, and shifting to a

change culture can be richly rewarding.

Instituting a change culture by: implementing operational performance measures; training and educating on those performance measures; and creating an experiment-encouraging, gain-rewarding environment.

Your objective is to be the first to implement changes that enhance your operational efficiencies and your operational excellence. You’ll get the benefits of the new practices until your competitors eventually adopt them. Until then you’ll enhance customer success, driving gains in customer experience and company profits.

Mistakes are the price of admission. Get out there and make a few…

This article is adapted from a section in Profit-Driven Analysis & Practices: The CEO’s Guide to Record Profits by Randy MacLean (ISBN: 979-8589295375). The book explains the field of LIPA (Line-Item Profit Analytics), and how you can use its unique metrics and strategies to outperform everyone else in cash-flow, profits, and market share. (Get it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3tjr2VM) If you’d like to know more, you can reach me at 480-426-9955 or email me at info@waypointanalytics.com

Fighting Disintermediation

BY KEN THOMPSON

As an executive and advisor, Ken Thompson has been dedicated for over 60 years to strengthening manufacturers’ and distributors’ supply chain relationships through the sharing of best practices, managing disruptions, and coordinating visions and implementation of systemic technological change to further solid strategic alliances.

What is the common thread in mentoring our family-owned business successors and responding to forces seeking their disintermediation from the supply chain?

Disintermediation – what a mouth full of syllables – and, once we get it past the lips, do we know what it means? You bet! It means someone wants to remove you from your place in the supply chain and take your piece of the pie for themselves. Sound like “fighting words” to you?

Disruption comes in many flavors. And every time a new one surfaces, it forces us to look at ourselves in the mirror and reevaluate and measure our true value as a supply chain partner. What we may have considered a unique contribution a few years ago could have easily succumbed to new technology that has converted a complex task to something satisfied with a simple key stroke.

Several highly respected industrial distribution industry resources are creating serious awareness to the latest distribution business visions, strategies, and execution.

The digitization taking place in many distribution industry models is serious business and cannot be ignored. Modern Distribution Management, in a recent webinar, presented undeniable data relative to the enormous amount of Private Equity money and M&A consolidation efforts to disintermediate small, digitally challenged, under-capitalized players from the supply chains. Distribution Strategy Group suggested that small family-owned businesses must choose between serious commitments and related investments in digitization platforms or succumb to acquisition by larger dominant players.

Some in the packaged gases and welding supplies distributorship vertical will recall a similar

effort to disintermediate us from the supply chain in the mid-1980s. On that occasion, the Arthur Andersen Consulting Group sponsored ‘Facing the Forces of Change’ studies. Those studies suggested that the combination of exploding emergence of Industry Buying Groups, with the primary purpose of leveraging lower product costs, and the formation of supply chain integrators would encumber gross margins to the point that intermediate suppliers would be unable to fiscally prosper, or even survive.

During the 80s, GAWDA’s predecessor, NWSA, rallied the industry players to identify a distributor’s value proposition to both customers and suppliers. We played an important role, and it went far beyond the simple cost and selling price of goods and services. It meant identifying meaningful services provided and substantiating measurable value. Much of this work was accomplished by the second-generation owners who possessed skills and had tools available that did not exist for the benefit of Dads or Granddads.

Parallel to this, we witnessed the “aging out” of many owners without any sons interested in perpetuating the family business. Airgas surfaced as a major consolidator of family-owned businesses, and fairly compensated retiring owners in the acquisition processes. Others would follow the Airgas model, and our industry distributor population was reduced from a couple thousand to several hundred.

If we accept disintermediation as inevitable, another round of consolidation might occur.

However, a succession “safety valve” has appeared in two dimensions. First is a very significant emergence of highly qualified women with sincere interest in succeeding their male counterparts – be

MANUFACTURER

SUPPLIER DISTRIBUTOR

RETAILER CONSUMER

it dads or brothers. Our footprints have expanded to the point where the business models are no longer heavily concentrated in a less than attractive “arcs and sparks” atmosphere. Medical, research, cryogenic, and process gases, food and beverage CO2, safety and MRO supplies creates a pleasing mix that makes these companies and the relationships that accompany them pleasing to women. The second alternative to the absence of male-only family succession, is the adoption of ESOP models. This rewards a host of loyal business associates with an ownership stake, a route to security and professional growth, and removes the fear of integration into a foreign or unfamiliar business atmosphere.

In each instance, extension of the presence of successful small privately owned companies is a pleasing alternative to more consolidation.

‘trailblazers’ in NWSA/GAWDA. They enthusiastically supported our association with presence, resources, volunteerism, and ideas. Shannon Fanning, their sales executive, never missed a meeting, and clearly represented herself exceedingly well in both male dominated golf outings, as well as leaving the gin rummy table with a coin purse heavier than it was on her arrival.

Today, our ladies have built a strong Women of Gases and Welding resource group, offering multiple networking exchange opportunities, populating committees, and are well embedded in the chairs of leadership.

We have all been mentored by someone, and today are seen as a mentor by someone else. Some of these activities

We should pause for a moment and reflect on the value these ownership alternatives mean to our industry’s future. It effectively more than doubles the pool of talent necessary to carry our companies forward. Notably, in the case of women joining a formerly male dominated distribution vertical. Looking back, Women in Welding is not something brand new. The Stoddard family, owners and managers of H & M Pipe Beveling Machine Company is well into the third generation of a woman owned business. They were indeed

are formalized, others are simply habits, words, or actions observed and absorbed. Mentoring in today’s circumstances takes on growing importance. First, because growth opportunities are extended to a wider range of candidates. Second, because generational change has introduced a whole new set of technology tools where skill sets reside in younger associates’ repertoires. It is these skills that are necessary to keep pace with or remain ahead of the industry changing technology curves. Skill sets perfected by younger associates, experiences shared by veteran managers, and the welcoming atmosphere of trade association activities highlighting ladies’ interests is a mentoring mix hard to beat!

Keep it going, GAWDA!

Mentoring for Success

Counseling to victory

BY ART WASKEY

Art Waskey has over 50 years’ experience in the welding and gas industry. He travels across the country consulting and giving seminars on business skills and has published 3 books on sales skills stories. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master of Ministry in Leadership Development. You can subscribe to Art’s weekly sales/leadership tips and monthly articles on his website. Also, check out his Posts on LinkedIn. For services, contact Art at 720341-9405, artwaskey@ ispeakd.com, www. impactspeakingdynamics. com

Proverbs 11:14 — “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but, in abundance of counselors, there is victory.”

I find these words inspiring. The periods of greatest growth in my own career have occurred while I have been under the guidance of wise, mature leaders. Today, I work as a mentor to the owners of mid-sized distributorships, guiding the next generation of leaders to success. The people I work with appreciate that my counsel is borne out of years of experience in the distribution industry.

The objective of a mentoring program is to pass on the skills and knowledge of senior professionals to those rising through the ranks. A mentor’s job is to help a business leader answer the question, “What do I need to do to move me and my company forward?”

MENTORS AND GROWTH

An entrepreneur often creates a business by pursuing an unfulfilled passion. His/her original idea is the seed and passion, coupled with discipline, fuels its growth. Properly tended, that seed flourishes and you find your business moving from the garage to a bigger space in an industrial park.

A business grows as long as the entrepreneur feels in control of its assets, both physical and personnel. Growing pains and operational confusion can create anxiety and a loss of enthusiasm on the part of the principal. This can halt growth. At this point, the business either finds a way to get organized and restructure or it fails or is sold. An experienced mentor in your specific industry

can help a faltering business reorganize and prevent a failure.

IMPORTANT FIRST STEPS

Executive mentors can help guide your business to growth. Here are the initial steps the right coach should take you through.

STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES

All current growth issues should be summarized in a mind map. The goal of a mind map is to record key ideas/projects. Look for connections between them. In many cases, projects go unnoticed because they are never recorded or brought into focus. Most small or medium size distributors (SMBs) have 10 to 15 unrecorded projects.

If a business is growing faster than its ability to focus on the right projects at the right time, frustration ensues. Management feels a lack of control and problems can seem overwhelming. A mentor can guide you through the mapping process so that you do not waste precious time and energy. In “ The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, ” Stephen Covey suggests you can start the mapping process by putting first things first. He recommends listing projects under two categories — Important and Urgent, and, Important but not Urgent.

STEP 2: PRIORITIZE THE PROJECTS

An experienced mentor can help you prioritize and evaluate projects. Each week, he/she will ask your team to list, in order of urgency, the Top 5 Projects that need to be moved forward with specific actions.

STEP 3: CREATE NEXT STEPS

Each weekly Top 5 Project will likely require many actions. Use a mentor to assist you in planning each incremental step. Having seen/solved many similar issues before, your mentor can help you with the chronology of actionable steps.

STEP 4: IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS

An established distribution industry mentor comes with a network of suppliers, and equipment and software providers. Tapping into that network can help a distributor move more efficiently through project steps. For example, a distributor in the gas and welding industry may already have bulk CO2, and now wants to produce dry ice or supply the cannabis industry. If your mentor was involved with manufacturing dry ice or supplying cannabis businesses, he/she will know several suppliers who can provide the best equipment, installation, and cost. This expedites your start-up.

STEP 5: TRACK COMPLETED PROJECTS

There is no better motivation than visualization of past accomplishments. When a project is completed, it should be dated and listed on a mind map. I suggest recording them under the corporate divisions: Executive, Operations, Sales, and Administration.

Implementing the above steps, my clients find they can become a habit within six weeks. The owners I work with are amazed at what they can accomplish quickly using Covey’s method.

CHOOSING A MENTOR

If your company could benefit from some advice, look for a mentor with deep experience and success in a business like yours.

Serving as a mentor to emerging leaders in the atmospheric gas and welding supply distribution channel has been

one of my most rewarding professional opportunities. My biographic sketch, which follows, is an example of the caliber of senior mentors available to coach the next generation.

As a gas and welding distributor channel professional, I began with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I spent the first 13 years of my career climbing the corporate ladder at an international distributor supplier. When required travel became too extensive for me, I decided to take a more regional job. I joined a family held, independent distributor and for the next 34 years served as its Vice President of Sales. As VP, I helped grow the business from $5M to $65M. After retiring from that company, I became a consultant to owners of distribution companies under $10M.

AN AFFORDABLE CHOICE

If you feel your business has grown past your in-house leadership capabilities, take advantage of the knowledge a mentor has to offer. For the smaller, privately held independent distributor mentoring is an affordable and smart choice.

The objective of a mentoring program is to pass on skills and knowledge. I have found that most SMBs will grow rapidly with support from senior professionals. These executives have established networks, leadership skills, and a knowledge base of proven solutions. Tapping into that kind of expertise usually involves hiring a highly paid consultant. By enlisting the right mentor, you benefit from the expertise of a seasoned professional and one specific to your industry.

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SALES & MARKETING

For example, one of my distributor clients grew rapidly, opening three stores. He had a short-term vision of adding two more but was frustrated at how long it was taking to implement his plan. Since I had experienced the same issue in my career several times, I was able to advise him on solving that problem.

The highly talented executives I mentor share certain traits. They tend to be open to teaching, have a passion for learning, and ask a lot of good questions. Their other attributes include humility and a willingness to make sacrifices in order to succeed. Those characteristics enable a good coach to do his job.

Likewise, the mentee must also look for characteristics in an advisor that fit his personality and outlook. When choosing your mentor, be sure to seek someone that suits your needs.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Here are some qualities I suggest you look for in a mentor.

• Chemistry – The first consideration when looking for a mentor is personality fit. Do you have shared interests with this person? Is he or she suited to your approach to learning? Are your values and passions in alignment? Do you look forward to being in the presence of this person? What attributes does he/she have that will help you meet your goals?

• Competency – Choose mentors that are the most competent people you can find and invite them to share their knowledge with you. Don’t worry about finding everything you need in one person. Successful people tend to

have multiple mentors who offer different competencies. Currently, I have mentors for four areas of my life — professional, educational, spiritual, and physical.

• Humility – Choose a coach who is humble and willing to share his/ her failures. Vulnerabilities provide valuable lessons and illustrate how new paths can be forged. The right mentor will want you to learn from his/her failures and well as successes.

• Discernment – Look for specific characteristics when choosing a mentor. In Multipliers (thewisemangroup.com/books/multipliers), Liz Wiseman offers several insights on the makings of a discerning leader: “The right counselor is considered to possess wisdom

and be of good judgement; especially with regard to subject matter often overlooked by others. The right coach will extend a clear and concrete challenge. He will ask the hard questions that need to be answered to achieve the challenge and require the pupil to give the answers.”

• Trust – The right mentor will be a confidant, willing to listen, and able to be trusted with what they hear. A good advisor understands that confidentiality is paramount in his role as a teacher and coach. You will want to share both your ups and downs with your mentor. You should have confidence that in sharing your deepest concerns with this person, the information will stay between the two of you.

• Mutual benefit – Seeing someone prosper from my life’s experiences has been incredibly rewarding. Helping others brings unexpected mutual benefits, like joy and motivation. The late Zig Ziglar ( ziglar.com ) said it well, “You can get anything out of life if you just help enough others get what they want out of life.” Mentoring requires putting someone else’s well-being, growth, and happiness before your own.

• Availability – Be flexible with your time. Work within your mentor’s schedule, not yours. Be clear on what you would like to see as the final outcome from the mentoring experience. Know the direction you hope to be taking, including your goals for the next twelve

months. When you meet your potential mentor, be prepared with your questions.

ATTAIN SUCCESS

Successful people are always looking for someone who can make them even better. When considering a mentor look for someone who is enthusiastic, a good personality fit, considerate of others, and a respected expert in their field. They will agree, “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.” I find great satisfaction in counseling young businessmen and women and believe it helps them attain success.

Let’s Go Networking

BY JOHN TAPLEY

John Tapley is a Business Development Manager at Chart Industries with expertise in new business startup, innovative business growth and marketing strategies and digital/social media marketing. He has significant experience in all facets of the industrial gas industry, both domestic and global and can be reached at john. tapley@chartindustries. com and 470-332-4686.

don’t find ways to connect and expand to new areas for growth? Be your best self, elevate your brand and create the path to bigger successes. You could consider networking as your business agent, there to support you in winning new customers and expanding your boundaries to new levels.

And there are plenty of personal growth benefits. Learning new technologies, making new friends and solving new problems, to name a few. Networking is a genuine embrace to meet, listen, and develop relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

Some may dread the networking scene, just like public speaking. But, with practice, willingness, and an open mind, you’ll be on the right path. And, by the way, public speaking is a form of networking. More to come on this.

To further crystalize the importance, you could make the comparison that networking for sales success is akin to compound interest for investment growth. Think about that. Investing in your network, each new contact compounds the total value of your business growth.

Be intentional and consistent in your strategy to grow your network and organized in the path to move it forward. Let’s explore multiple

ORGANIZATIONS

Don’t just join and stay idle on the sidelines. Get involved in committees, step up for leadership positions, raise your hand, and get involved in discussions. This can be the center of your professional world. Take advantage of movement and trends in the industry you belong to. Set your target into developing as an SME and use that to establish leadership and promote growth in the industry. And encourage others. The best way to do this is by showing them how you get involved.

VOLUNTEERING. BE OF SERVICE

Yes, that’s right. When you put yourself out there to be of service, not only are you doing good for your community, but also expanding your network to other like-minded connections. And, to qualify this, I’m not suggesting you go into a volunteer gig just to expand your network. Do it for the good of giving back. Focus on the service aspect first. Be genuine and refrain from searching out service work just to build your network. But, by all means, accept and embrace the collateral benefits of all the new connections surrounding you.

ENTREPRENEURS ORGANIZATION

Get involved with an entrepreneurs networking group through the business school at a local university or a local business incubator. The reason I suggest this, is the no fear thinking, the strong positive mind-set of new business strategies. And this is an area where you can give back, as well, by providing real business experience to those dreaming about how to create a new business model.

BE SOCIAL

You knew this was coming. There are plenty of opportunities to expand your network and be present in infinite ways with social media. Of course, the holy grail of professional networking is LinkedIn, but don’t discount opportunities to connect and build brand awareness on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Because LinkedIn is so profound in this regard, here are a couple of specific areas to emphasize:

• Boost your connections. Follow industry sites and businesses where you can grow and leverage new contacts to support and link to new business opportunities. Focus on expanding your LinkedIn network with new connections daily.

• Post relevant content and topics of interest to a wider audience. It can be original or reposted from another site or news feed. Share all you can for benefit of others who can grow from the knowledge you have.

• Comment frequently with sincere and respectful feedback. Positivity breeds positivity. Connections want to hear from you and you from them, set a good example.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Probably the highest form of networking, standing before an audience and delivering a message, your message.

And this also conditions you for really opening yourself up to connect with anyone. This can be any forum: an industry meeting, a small group networking meeting, or a volunteer service gathering, to name a few.

CONNECT WITH A MENTOR

Find someone you admire and respect for their networking skills and align with them to guide you. Learn from the best and, if you really want to excel, teach others what the best taught you. Be a mentor to someone else.

There is a lot to consider here. Start small but start. And, after investing in and celebrating the growth and success, use your resources. Let me repeat, use your resources. You worked hard to

build relationships. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to your network connections for support where you need the right contact to move forward.

The world is a better place when we’re all connected. Keep it going. There is something to be gained from every networking experience. Be open and teachable, listening and learning. I refer to “networking” as an action verb. Go out and do some networking today. And then, go sell something.

What B2B Companies Need to Know About Local Search

BY THOMAS J. ARMITAGE, SITE-SEEKER, INC.

Tom Armitage is part of the sales team at Site-Seeker, a boutique digital marketing agency based in Upstate NY. He earned his master’s in integrated marketing communication from West Virginia University and bachelor’s in public relations from Utica College of Syracuse University. After holding marketing/PR roles at Sovena and Overit, Tom joined the Site-Seeker team in 2013.

If your business has a physical storefront, there’s a huge opportunity to get in front of more buyers by leveraging your digital properties.

You’ve probably noticed by now, Google’s algorithm and its approach to search have changed dramatically over the years.

It’s gotten smarter and a lot more sophisticated. For local businesses, that means being able to be found more often by users, but only if positioned properly.

That’s why it’s important to think through your business’s approach to local search engine optimization (SEO) and how you can be found more often for relevant search terms.

BACKGROUND

Remember Google Places and Google+?

Google went through many changes, tweaks, and updates before it finally got it right with the current Google Maps and Google My Business products.

Google is now able to better understand and better serve users who perform geo-focused (location-based) searches.

Specifically, it looks at the search term, the users’ location (if enabled), and signals from the web to create its ranking order. Naturally, it also distinguishes between ads, map listings, and organic rankings.

Because consumers and buyers search on Google regularly for local or regional information, there are a ton of searches performed each day that your business might be missing out on.

WHAT’S THE POTENTIAL?

One of our clients - a local car care company - has focused on local SEO for years now.

Why? Because they get more traction on their Google My Business page than their website.

In one month, they had 16,500 Google listing views (6,000 on search and 10,500 on maps) compared to just 800 website visitors.

Why such a difference? Users are satisfied with the information they are finding directly in search via Google My Business.

Name, address, phone number, reviews, photos, recent posts, etc. It’s what consumers need to help make a decision if they want to do business with them. In this case, the website is less important. The discrepancy in stats proves it.

Here’s another case.

Our software partner, Yext, which we use to help manage local listings, provided us with these stats.

In one service industry alone, there were 4.6 million impressions in Google Maps, and 2.66 million impressions in Google search. Among those business listings, there were 77,600 “Get Direction” clicks, 205,000 phone calls, and 189,000 website clicks.

Those stats are shared among 668 dealer locations in just a 30-day period.

The potential exposure and traffic can’t be overlooked.

It’s time to get things right.

5 STEPS TOWARDS BUILDING A STRONGER LOCAL PRESENCE

Pretend it’s 1985.

The market landscape was very different then. As a business, your formula for success was purely analog. A typical go-to-market strategy would have consisted of:

• Storefront signage

• Signs pointing folks to the right place

Because consumers and buyers search on Google regularly for local or regional information, there are a ton of searches performed each day that your business might be missing out on.

• Local radio and TV ads

• Community events and sponsorships

• And last, but certainly not least, yellow page listings

Although most publishers have killed off their yellow page books, a few are still in print today. In fact, I received one last week.

It worked really well holding down my garbage bag!

Today, the yellow pages have been replaced by digital marketing. In particular, local SEO.

Local search is a wonderful tactic because - although it comes at a cost in terms of time and labor - there are no direct advertising fees, it’s appropriate for any local business regardless of size, and it’s measurable.

If you’re looking to improve your local search presence, get more visibility among buyers, drive more relevant local traffic, and get more conversions, focus on these five areas.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

First, set up and optimize your Google My Business page(s).

As one might expect, Google gives its own Google My Business listings preferential treatment in the index, serving those listings higher than other listing sites like Facebook or Yelp.

Claim your profile and complete it with all necessary information. Address, photos, services, website URLs, etc.

You should set up individual pages for each distributor storefront that has a physical address (and manage them all under the same parent brand account).

If you have more than a few, consider using a tool like Yext or the import tool, which allows for bulk changes or updates.

In recent years, Google has built out its Insights area too. Keep tabs on how many impressions your listings are getting and how many are converting into phone calls and website clicks.

CITATIONS

How does Google’s algorithm rank its organic listings?

Well, that’s been a mystery for two decades now, but most SEO professionals have a decent understanding - based on

research, testing, and the recommended best practices put forth by Google’s search team over the years.

For global/general searches, we know that a website’s metadata, content, backlinks, and domain authority are just a few of the factors that play into the rankings.

At the local level, those same rules apply, but it takes into consideration a few additional elements, too. That includes the users’ location, Google My Business information, as well as how well the business is optimized across the web for NAP (name, address, phone number).

Google scours the web for this information, so it’s best for it to be both present and accurate.

There are more than 50 citation sites out there that it looks at. Amazon Alexa, MapQuest, EZLocal, Citysearch, and 123local are just a few. One could manage these listings and this information manually (which would take a while!) or use a third-party tool - like Yext - to manage in bulk from a central spot.

Not only that, but Yext can help suppress inaccurate information that’s been submitted to the sites from users and remove duplicate listings to keep your web presence accurate at all times.

OPTIMIZED LOCAL PAGES

Local listings feature great information about your business.

They can provide - directly in search - the info that users are looking for without the need to click through to your website.

But that doesn’t make your website any less important.

Not only does your website provide MORE information and the ability for users to convert in different ways (watch videos, download PDFs, review spec sheets and other product info, fill out a form, etc.), but local listing sites are LINKED to your website.

They don’t compete against each other, but rather, they complement each other.

It’s best to have a well-optimized website to go along with your local listing efforts.

Make sure you have local pages built out for your individual locations - featuring photos, address, phone - and ensure your site is optimized around your local areas and local search terms.

REVIEWS

Reviews play a dual role.

First, there’s certainly an argument to be made about reviews being used as a Google ranking signal. How much weight do they carry? It’s hard to say exactly, considering sometimes a business with 20 reviews outranks a business with 40. But

marketers are confident that they do act as a search signal, so it’s important to have reviews and ensure they are positive.

Second, and more importantly, reviews help provide wonderful credibility and allow users to read about your business before they buy. If you’re a great organization, those reviews will be positive and only do you favors in generating referral business.

Set up a reviews program.

Make sure auto emails or auto texts are sent to customers immediately after doing business with you, asking for a review, with direct links to your Google My Business page.

Also, make sure your sales or customer service reps are asking for reviews following a positive experience. This can go a long way.

BACKLINKS

Finally, just like a global search, Google will look at a website’s backlink profile.

This is made up of links that are directed to your website. Larger, more well-known sites typically have more backlinks, which indicates a richer presence.

Build your backlink profile and keep other local websites in mind as ones that should link to you.

Use tactics like direct outreach (i.e., ASK!), public and media relations, sponsorships, and content marketing to help generate links.

Remember that it’s more about quality than quantity.

If you’re actively seeking out links, focus on trusted, reputable websites rather than cheap, spammy sites. A link from an area college (.edu) or a local news site will carry A LOT more weight than a random irrelevant blog.

Finally, don’t pay for backlinks. This could have a negative effect on your site, and you run the risk of Google pulling your site out of the index completely.

SUMMARY

Local SEO isn’t a new game. But the rules have certainly changed in recent years.

Google My Business, local pages, and local reviews all need to work together to help allow your prospects to more easily find your digital properties when they are in the midst of their buying journey.

Take these tactics into consideration and decide whether or not a third-party local listing tool would be in your best interest.

If you need any support, make sure to reach out for help!

upcoming industry events

Here are some of the events scheduled for 2021 and beyond. Check the EVENTS tab on the GAWDA website at www.gawda.org for more information.

OCTOBER 2022

GAWDA Annual Convention San Diego, CA

OCTOBER 5-8, 2022

IOMA Annual Meeting

Sintra, Portugal

OCTOBER 15-19, 2022

Winning the War for Talent –Session 5

Virtual Event

OCTOBER 19, 2022 – 3:00 P.M. EST

NOVEMBER 2022

IWDC Owners Meeting Park City, UT

NOVEMBER 1-4, 2022

FABTECH

Atlanta, GA

NOVEMBER 8-10, 2022

DECEMBER 2022

Winning the War for Talent –Session 6

Virtual Event

DECEMBER 14, 2022 – 3:00 P.M. EST

APRIL 2023

AIWD Annual Convention

San Diego, CA APRIL 14-17, 2023

MAY 2023

GAWDA Spring Management Conference

Philadelphia, PA MAY 6-8, 2023

JUNE 2023

GAWDA Midwest/East Regional Meeting

Seven Springs, PA JUNE 7-9, 2023

JULY 2023

GAWDA Northwest Regional Meeting

Coeur d’ Alene, ID

JULY 19-23, 2023

SEPTEMBER 2023

FABTECH

Chicago, IL

SEPTEMBER 11-14, 2023

OCTOBER 2023

GAWDA Annual Convention Maui, HI

OCTOBER 2-5, 2023

IOMA Annual Meeting

Washington, D.C

OCTOBER 18-22, 2023

NOVEMBER 2023

IWDC Owners Meeting Cape Neddick, ME NOVEMBER 7-9, 2023

Hard Hats – Keep Your Head in the Game!

BY PAUL BERNIER, ASP

Paul Bernier, ASP, is the Safety Manager for Southern Colorado at General Air Service & Supply. He has worked in the safety industry since 1996.

One of the more common safety items we see in almost all construction images is a worker wearing a hard hat. This is because they are required by OSHA in every setting where an object might fall from above onto a worker’s head, anytime there is a potential for a worker to bump their head against a fixed object, such as pipes and beams, and if there is a possibility of head contact with an electrical hazard. So, this obviously includes a huge portion of our industrial customers.

• CLASS C – General service. This is the most common hard hat used in construction, and manufacturing, but has limited voltage protection.

• CLASS E – Electrical Protection. Designed to protect workers against electrical shock and falling objects.

Now comes the question on whether you want to keep inventory and support head safety in your stores? Well, there are a few points to mention that you should consider, besides the obvious one; most of your customers need them and are buying them form someone, so why not you? But here are some other great reasons:

• Almost all hard hats expire in five years, thus becoming repeat sales.

• All hard hat head gear has got to be replaced every year.

• They can have logos printed on them easily.

• Most fabricators and construction sites require a hard hat be worn while welding.

Image of manufacturer date imprinted on hard hat; this shows a manufacture date of mid-July, 2012. Expires mid-July of 2017 and must be removed from service.

As simple as it may seem to provide hard hats, there are many different options and requirements that need to be understood when selling them, such as type of hat, color, and class. Hard hats fall into three main classes:

• CLASS C – Conductive. Very lightweight hat, but limited protection.

Other than class is type. Hats come in type 1 or type 2.

• TYPE 1 – intended to reduce force of impact resulting from a blow only to the top of the head, such as an item falling from above.

• TYPE 2 – intended to reduce the force of lateral impact as well as top. This would add protection to worker from falls and contact with beams.

Hard hats do come with labeling to make your job easier. On the next page is an example of a label on an MSA hard hat, showing Type 1, class E, circled in red. Also, please note the circle image. This is an image of two arrows reversing, letting you know this helmet can be worn backwards, which is especially important for welders.

Now, let’s consider the different colors and what they may mean. There is not a requirement that determines the color. Many different companies will use their logo colors, but there is a typical or understood method in determining the right color by job duty. This can be important in case of an emergency, allowing first responders or others to locate who they may need quickly:

• WHITE – Typically worn by site managers, engineers and supervisors. This can signify quickly who is in charge.

• YELLOW – Typically worn by manual laborers such as machine operators, trench diggers, and other physical types of labor.

• BLUE -Mostly worn by electricians on site, but also used often for general workers.

• GREEN -Inspectors on site typically wear green, also safety supervisors.

• ORANGE - Think of this color for communicators such as crane directors, traffic workers, or other signalers that need to be seen easily.

• RED - Fire marshal color, easily recognized in a crowd.

• BROWN - Welders will wear brown often because it reduces glare from arcs, and adds protection from sparks.

• GREY - Mostly worn by visitors on site.

• PINK - Not seen very often, but some companies have been known to use pink to identify a new worker on site. A new worker may have to wear pink for several weeks.

Lastly, there is another type of hard hat becoming more and more prevalent in construction settings, which is the climbing style hat or helmet. The benefits include a lower profile, chin strap, and light weight. Most people agree that they are more comfortable, but they are generally much more expensive.

The most significant advantage of this climbing style hat is that it will not fall off in case of a fall. Recently, we had a worker die locally who fell off a 4-foot-high truck bed while adjusting his load strap. He was wearing a hard hat, but the hat fell off his head and the worker died of a head trauma injury. In this case, a climbing helmet could have saved his life.

So, there are many different types, styles, options, and manufacturers of hard hats and this can be a drain on warehouse space, but it is a required safety item in our industry and can be a true benefit for your customers to be able to recommend and sell them. I have found that most of our local construction companies have them imprinted with their own logo and the margins can be significantly higher when done so.

SEARCH ENGINE TRENDS

for the Gases & Welding Industry

BY STEVE GUGLIELMO

Part of developing a comprehensive digital marketing campaign is understanding how customers and potential customers are using the Internet to find your products and your website. The graphs and information below all come from Google Trends, which analyzes the popularity of search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. The graphs scale “Interest Over Time” which represent search interest relative to the highest point in the chart for the given region and time-period. So, a value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term.

Another alternative is “Google Keyword Planner.” To use this tool, you must have a Google Ads account. The Keyword

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Planner lets you search keywords and suggests other words or phrases related to your products and services. It lets you research the trend information for how often certain words are searched and how those searches have changed over time and also gives you suggested bid estimates for each keyword so you can determine your advertising budget.

In today’s digital environment, we strongly encourage members to capitalize on this growing trend and ensure that your company is visible in the place where people search the most.

TRENDS & TECHNOLOGY

DISINTERMEDIATION

• Average Search Volume has increased 29.8% YoY

• Average Search Volume has increased 669.2% over the past 5 years

CO 2 SHORTAGE

RELATED TOPICS AND QUERIES

1. Disintermediation definition

2. What is disintermediation

3. Disintermediation risk

4. Reintermediation

5. Channel conflict

• Average Search Volume has increased 642.9% YoY

• Average Search Volume has increased 1,633.3% over the past 5 years

WELDER

RELATED TOPICS AND QUERIES

1. Shortage of CO2

2. Is there a CO2 shortage?

3. CO2 Shortage 2022

4. Why is there a CO2 shortage?

5. Beer shortage

• Average Search Volume has increased 3.8% YoY

• Average Search Volume has increased 6.6% over the past 5 years

RELATED TOPICS AND QUERIES

1. MIG Welder

2. Welding

3. Lincoln

4. TIG Welder

5. Welder jobs

Building a Bridge for Future Generations

BY RANDY SQUIBB

This year’s GAWDA Annual Convention theme of “Building a Bridge for Future Leaders” couldn’t come at a more opportune time for our association. I want to commend this year’s President Bob Ewing for crafting such an appropriate theme for our Convention.

Even though many of our GAWDA members today are third or sometimes even fourth generation family-owned businesses, transitioning a business today is a different beast than it was 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. The industry has changed so much since then that what worked for the last transition won’t work exactly the same when it comes time to transition to the next generation.

However, having said that, the basic principles of a successful transition are still the same. I have written about family business dynamics for Welding & Gases Today before, but I have tended to do it from the point of view of the older generation. Today, in the interest of building that bridge, I want to offer advice for the outgoing generation, as well as the incoming one.

HAVE A PLAN

First, as simple as it sounds, it is important to have a plan in place as early as possible. At Welders, we were certainly an outlier. My dad was 40 years old, and I was a senior in high school, in 1970 when he announced to the employees that

he planned to retire in 1985. I don’t know how many 40-year olds are thinking long-term enough to start that transition. But by 1985, there wasn’t a single employee or customer of ours who didn’t know the plan and wasn’t ready for the transition.

Start the process early so that there is plenty of runway. It’s never too early to start planning. And have a contingency plan in place, as well. God willing, you can retire and ride off into the sunset secure in the knowledge that your son or daughter (or whoever is set to take over the business) is as well-prepared as possible with hardly a fly in the ointment on the day you leave. But life is short and unpredictable. You could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and then what? I promise you, if you don’t have a plan in place today, a plan will be made for you in the car behind the limo on the way home from your funeral. Have a plan and start the wheels in motion early.

A LASTING IMPACT

One of the advantages of a family business transition is that even if you have a “no shop talk around the dinner table” rule like my family did, the next generation has still grown up around the business. They are still picking up minutiae, even subconsciously. But the downfall is that employees have long memories. Kids will be kids, but if you’re running around the warehouse making trouble when you’re 16, it doesn’t matter

Randy Squibb is available for Customer Relations presentations and can be reached by email at crsquibb@aol.com.

how strait-laced and buttoned up you are when you’re a 40-year-old president. It’s tough to shake a first impression. And because this is the best industry in the world, we have very little turnover. Keep that in mind.

THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW HISTORY ARE DESTINED TO REPEAT IT

Another piece of advice to the younger generation: understand your history. You need to know where you’ve been in order to know where you’re going. Make sure to understand the history of the industry as well as of your business.

Many ascendant presidents and CEOs come in with hard charging ideas for big sweeping changes they want to make to put their mark on the business. Many times, they are ideas that have been tried, and failed, before. I can’t tell you how many mistakes I made when we transitioned our business. Thankfully, nothing that threw us off track too badly. Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Make sure you’re learning from the mistakes of others and not making the same mistakes twice!

DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE OF THE BUSINESS

The beauty of being a member of GAWDA is that you can develop lifelong friendships and business relationships at their events. Even though our industry has changed and evolved over the years, it remains, to this day, a relationship-based industry. Relationships with our employees, with our vendors, and with our customers.

Just as I cautioned you to learn from the mistakes your parents made, develop a network within GAWDA so you can learn from mistakes your peers have made, as well. I was the luckiest guy in the world. I was able to build relationships with the likes of Bill Higley,

Chip Valentine , Jack Butler , Dave Mahoney, Wally Brant and so many others. Notice a trend? Every single one of those fine gentlemen was a past president of NWSA and is a leader in our industry. And I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up the phone when I’m faced with a challenge and call Bill up in Marinette, Wisconsin, totally out of my marketplace, and pick his brain about that issue. And 9 times out of 10, they had faced the exact same issue at their company, and they were able to explain how they addressed it.

You get out of your GAWDA membership what you put into it. You can make these life-long connections too. And they will help you immensely. But you have to put yourself out there and network at the Conventions and meetings.

HAVE PASSION

And finally, none of this advice matters if the next generation isn’t invested in the business. It isn’t fair to the outgoing generation, to the employees or even to the incoming generation if it’s not being done for the right reasons. Blood, sweat and tears were poured into building your company into what it is today. If it’s just a paycheck to you or an impressive line on your resume, don’t do it. If you aren’t having fun at your job, do everybody involved a favor and quit. Go find something else to do and be happy.

But if you are champing at the bit to continue that legacy, follow these steps and build that bridge between generations and maybe, in 30 or 40 years, you will be writing a similar article about lessons you learned along the way.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Six Distributor Best Practices to Improve Employee Engagement

BY MIKE MARKS, INDIAN RIVER CONSULTING GROUP

Indian River

to distributors and manufacturers. He specializes in helping distributors and manufacturers accurately diagnose problems and identify risk-bound alternatives. Contact him at mmarks@ircg.com or visit ircg.com.

Employees don’t want to be worker bees – they want to feel like they are part of something important. Great leadership and communication play key roles in employee engagement. Although many top executives love to talk about their “open-door” communication policies, how many follow through?

According to one Gartner survey, only 13% of employees are completely satisfied with their workplace experience. In addition, McKinsey & Company also found that a third of employees who recently left a job quit because they didn’t have caring leaders. Another third left due to a lack of career development and advancement potential, and 35% more said they quit because they did not have sustainable work expectations.

Monetary compensation is no longer enough to attract and retain great employees. To cultivate a thriving culture in the “Great Attrition,” leaders must go above and beyond to create an environment that values transparency, integrity and communication.

TOWN HALL MEETINGS VS. THE GRAPEVINE

Successful companies are made up of forward-facing employees who genuinely care about where the company is going and how they can play a part in its success. Unfortunately, getting people on board with a company’s vision can be challenging, especially if there is a lack of transparency.

Most businesses have two types of communication: official communication and the “grapevine.”

A grapevine occurs when employees talk amongst themselves about management, company policies and where the business is headed. It’s the perfect place for rumors to start. Without inter-

vention, a grapevine can lead to unfounded fears about layoffs, poor management and budget cuts. Without clear communication, good employees may lose confidence and leave.

Nature abhors a vacuum and if management is not forthcoming with what staff wants and needs to know, the grapevine will create the answers. This then puts executives on the defensive trying to deny the rumors.

Companies that focus on communicating with their employees with “town hall” meetings and one-on-one interactions generally don’t have a problem with grapevines because employees aren’t left to wonder about the company’s future. Instead, they are given information upfront and encouraged to be open and honest about their issues and concerns.

When distributors value clear and transparent communication, employees feel more engaged, valued and purpose-driven, which will benefit your organization. So, how can you improve your company’s communication strategy?

SIX BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPROVING COMMUNICATION & EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

With so many people working in remote and hybrid environments, companies must work harder than ever to keep up communications and encourage engagement. I’ve outlined several steps you can take to drive employee engagement and establish transparent communication in the workplace.

1. CONDUCT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS

Conducting an employee engagement survey every two to three years is a great way to get a pulse on your workplace culture. Ask employees

Mike Marks is co-founder and managing partner of

Consulting Group, a consulting firm

if they know and understand the company’s values and vision and allow them to grade your management. Surveys can provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of your leadership, communication initiatives and employee satisfaction. Identify areas that need improvement, and make a plan to address them. Sometimes it hurts. We recently had a distributor owner rated in the bottom decile of all CEOs by his employees.

2. ALLOW EMPLOYEES TO PLAY A ROLE IN SHAPING GOALS

Employees who have a role in defining their company’s goals will have a sense of ownership and be more engaged and committed. Remember, there is a difference between being compliant (following along with someone else’s objectives) and being fully committed. Employees who are actively engaged in their company’s future have higher labor productivity and make fewer mistakes.

3. IN VOL ATILE TIMES, DOUBLE DOWN ON TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS

When COVID-19 hit, many businesses focused on what was happening around them instead of looking inward. Supply chain constraints, customer relationship management and revenue losses demanded their attention. Unfortunately, this meant that distributors weren’t paying enough attention to their team; great employees left to find better opportunities, and mediocre ones stayed behind to collect a paycheck.

In volatile times, distributors must intensify the focus on transparent communication and employee engagement. When customers are struggling, you need your best team members on the job to find solutions. Sit down with your employees and explain where you are going, what roadblocks the company faces and what they can do to improve things. You’ll be surprised by your employees’ resilience when they feel indispensable.

4. REMOVE AMBIGUITY BY DEVELOPING A CLEAR PLAN WITH EMPLOYEE INPUT

Confidence comes from communication. Create a crystal-clear vision for where your business is going, what that will look like and how employees can be involved. Then, communicate that vision to your team and give them the ability to provide feedback. Embrace employee-driven innovation – they’re the most familiar with day-to-day issues that need attention.

The best way to remove ambiguity in your organization is to:

• Define your “North Star”

• Communicate goals with your team

• Give employees the tools to develop a plan

HUMAN RESOURCES

Monetary compensation is no longer enough to attract and retain great employees.

5. HAVE “HUMAN” LEADERS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

According to Gartner, a “human” leader is authentic, empathetic and adaptive; they act purposefully, show genuine care and respect for their employees and support their team’s unique needs. Unfortunately, only 29% of Gartner survey respondents said that their leaders were “human” leaders.

Outstanding leadership goes hand-in-hand with productivity and team performance. Great leaders will be open and transparent, create growth opportunities for their team and be open to feedback. Human leadership is only possible in an organization that has embraced transparent communication.

6. CREATE A SCOREBOARD TO GIVE EMPLOYEES SOMETHING TO STRIVE FOR

People are naturally competitive. One McKinsey study found that more than half of employees are driven by non-financial recognition. This means engagement often comes down to factors other than money, such as the chance to be seen and recognized by management and peers. Encourage engagement by creating a scorecard to reward motivated employees.

THE NEED FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN DISTRIBUTION

Widespread labor shortages have wreaked havoc on the global economy. Employees don’t just want bonuses and pool tables – they want flexibility, ownership and open communication. If you don’t make changes, you may wake up one day to find that your best employees are gone.

Distributors who want to stay in the game must do something different; go the extra mile and create a roadmap towards establishing clear and transparent communication at every level of your organization.

Think about all the studies cited about poor leadership and frustrated employees. What is the commercial impact if a firm had strong human leadership? What would that cost compared to other investments?

NEW MEMBERS

The following businesses recently joined the Gases and Welding Distributors Association. For more information about the benefits and services available to members, please contact GAWDA at 844-2513219 or visit www.gawda.org.

DISTRIBUTOR MEMBER

COUNTY WELDING EQUIPMENT CO.

1701 N. Powerline Road Pompano Beach, FL 33069 www.countyweldingequipment.com

954-978-9494

Steven Segal, Owner stevensegal.cw@aol.com

SOLVENT DIRECT INC.

2711 N Sepulveda Blvd., #237 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 www.solventdirect.com

323-401-9436

Lexis Shontz, Founder and CEO LS@solventdirect.com

TRIGAS COSTA RICA

La Lima de Cartago, Peq. Mundo 300 O 300 N

Cartaga, Costa Rica

www.trigaslatinamerica.com

305-515-8597

Ron Miller, Director rmiller@trigaslatinamerica.com

SUPPLIER MEMBERS

ANALYTICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES GROUP

2 Spring St Newton, NJ 07860-2077

www.anascitech.com

888-363-2541

Stephen Bogusta, Sales & Marketing sbogusta@anascitech.com

AOTAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD,

233 West Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70005

www.aotaiwelding.com

Grace Luo, Vice President luka@aotaiwelding.com

COMEAUX CAPS

44043 Stringer Bridge Rd St. Amant, LA 70774

comeauxcaps.com

225-644-6821

John Francis, National Sales Manager john.comeauxcaps@gmail.com

HYUNDAI WELDING PRODUCTS, INC

355 Satellite Blvd NE, Ste 400 Suwanee, GA 30024

www.hyundaiwelding.com

770-614-7577

Nicholas Jung, President njung@hwpusa.com

SAS SAFETY CORP.

3031 Gardenia Ave. Long Beach, CA 90807 sassafety.com

800-262-0200

Joe Mueller, VP of Sales joe.mueller@sassafety.com

SPECIALTY PRODUCTS AND LEASING

19329 S. Lake Road Taft, CA 93268 specialtyproductsandleasing.com

714-642-4171

Steve Bogard, President sbogard@ speicaltyproductsandleasing.com

TRUST PROTECTION COMPANY

250 Portwall St., Suite 200 Houston, TX 77029

310-283-9489

Blake Brown, President blakeba6@gmail.com

Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Survey

This year, GAWDA once again took part in the CrossIndustry Compensation Study, the first time GAWDA has participated since 2020. Many GAWDA members requested that GAWDA participate in this year’s report, which is now available for purchase on GAWDA.org.

Demand for qualified employees is outpacing labor supply and quit rates are near all-time highs. Providing a competitive total reward packages is vital to attracting and retaining key employees. The results of this study provide the steps and resources for evaluating the competitiveness of your compensation levels and benefit offerings.

Business owners and HR managers can use this information to better their organization’s compensation practices and policies. The results of this study can be used to answer key questions such as:

• Are you leading, matching, or falling below the market in terms of your compensation offerings?

• How are companies attracting and retaining employees?

• What are the top concerns/threats in your industry?

• Is your turnover rate comparable to what others are experiencing?

• How long does it take to fill an open position?

The Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Report answers these questions and many more in helping companies evaluate their compensation practices versus their industry and market areas.

Based on 2021 statistics, the 2022 Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Survey report provides a detailed analysis of key compensation and benefits related statistics for the distribution industry. The results are based on confidential surveys from 959 distribution companies, representing over 10,000 locations. GAWDA was one of 22 distribution related associations that sponsored the 2022 Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Survey and offered it to their member organizations as a value-added benefit of membership.

The 2022 Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Survey was compiled, tabulated, and analyzed by Industry Insights,

Inc. (www.industryinsights.com), an independent professional research and analytics firm that provides research services focused on financial and operating performance, compensation and benefits, market assessments, customer satisfaction, educational programs, and other forms of customized research for associations and their members.

THE ECONOMY

Before analyzing compensation information for any industry, it is important to understand the performance of the overall economy. This section of the report will examine several indicators which are typically correlated with compensation levels and their corresponding trends. It is important to note that these correlations may not apply to every geographic location or individual distributor. However, these indicators do provide sound information and their projections for 2022 will serve as a good gauge for compensation estimates moving forward.

Due to unprecedented government stimulus packages, the economic recovery from the pandemic has exceeded most expectations and the economic growth continued its strong pace into 2021. It was a bit of “rollercoaster” year in 2021. As we came out of 2020’s pandemic, there was optimism that life would begin to return to normal as vaccines became readily available to the nation. Early to mid-2021 saw strong growth in GDP but supply chain and inflationary concerns began to increase by late summer and into the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw strong growth return, though this was against the backdrop of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant. The remainder of 2022 and the next few years continue to bring a larger list of uncertainties than in most pre-pandemic years. How these uncertainties play out will determine whether we continue to have consistent long-term growth or hit a recessionary period.

SLOWING ECONOMIC GROWTH

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022. While some are pointing to this as a sign of a recession coming, there are a few

this remains at the highest levels seen since the 1980s. The Fed has firmly entered a monetary tightening cycle with two rate hikes as of May 2022—including 50 basis point jump in early May. Multiple increases are planned by the end of 2022 in an attempt to get inflation back into the 2% range as quickly as possible. It is anticipated that the monetary tightening will begin to take effect in the 2nd half of 2022 and start to pull inflation down to 3.6% by the end of the year.

UNEMPLOYMENT

INFLATION

reasons that are likely temporary contributors to this decline. The fourth quarter GDP was somewhat artificially inflated as companies ramped up inventory purchases. At the same time, additional supply chain issues decreased inventory spending in the first quarter 2022. An increase in COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant caused additional restrictions in January 2022. Net exports (exports – imports) also contributed significantly to this decline. The trade deficit widened to a record high in the first quarter. It is believed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have prompted businesses to push forward purchases in fears of additional anticipated supply chain ripples. In mid-2021, Real GDP growth for 2022 was forecasted to be in the high 4% range. Now, primarily due to inflationary concerns and geopolitical events putting strains on an already stressed supply chain, most are forecasting a slowed pace of 2.9%.

U.S. inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has been relatively passive in recent years due to modest economic growth and lower commodity prices. Unfortunately, the government stimulus injected into the economy plus a strained supply chain and tight labor market has created an environment of strong demand far outpacing supply. In April 2022 the 12-month CPI growth of 8.3% was reported. While this was a slight improvement over the 8.5% increase in March,

Following the pandemic induced spike in unemployment, the labor market has steadily shown strong improvements. The unemployment rate has essentially reached pre-pandemic levels. Labor demand has far outpaced labor supply. The number of job openings is double that of unemployed people seeking employment.

The unemployment rate only reflects the percentage of those actively seeking employment who are unemployed. It does not account for anyone who has decided to stop seeking employment due to difficulty finding a job. This means that the reported unemployment rates are likely artificially deflated from real unemployment levels. Another useful employment measure is the labor force participation rate, which tracks the percentage of the population that is either employed or actively seeking employment. From 2002 – 2008, the labor force participation rate was around 66%. From 2014 – 2019, labor force participation fell to a range between 62%-63%, the lowest since the 1970s. In the peak of the pandemic, April and May 2020 both reported participation rates below 61%. The participation rate has been improving and reached 62.2% in April 2022 but is still well below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4% in February 2020.

TURNOVER RATES

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 brought record turnover rates as millions of employees were laid off/furloughed. Post pandemic, the demand for labor has far outpaced labor supply which has created an environment of increased wage pressures. In what many have termed “the Great Resignation,” 2021 saw quit rates surge to 32.7% nationally.

Respondents in the 2022 Cross-Industry Compensation & Benefits Survey reported average turnover of 20.6% and a quit rate of 14.8% for non-management employees.

To read the full report, including the supporting statistics, graphs and charts, and find out how your company stacks up with others in our industry and similar industries, purchase the full report today in the GAWDA.org Members-Only section.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Central Welding Supply Opens in Fairbanks to Expand Service to Alaska Interior

Dale Wilton, CEO of Central Welding Supply, announced the opening of a new location at 3209 Industrial Ave, Fairbanks, AK. Wasilla, AK was Central Welding Supply’s first location in Alaska, opened in February 2017. The opening of this second Alaskan branch in Fairbanks extends retail, industrial, equipment, gases & safety sales for walk-in customers and direct gas delivery to the Interior Region of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Tenana Valley. Fairbanks, AK represents Central Welding Supply’s 26 th location in a 3-state territory that includes Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.

FIBA Recruits Staff and Plans More Growth

FIBA Technologies is continuing to expand across its six U.S. locations, having already recruited many new hires in recent weeks. The Littleton, MA-based business is enjoying increased demand for its products and services, so plans to continue recruiting to enable a further expansion.

A FIBA spokesperson said: “We are increasing our headcount at all locations and there continues to be a recruitment drive company wide. FIBA Technologies is now actively sourcing welders and general technicians at all our locations, throughout the United States. With further growth planned it’s a great time to join FIBA.”

Jeremy Ramage Joins Wright Brothers, Inc. as CEO

Wright Brothers, Inc. is pleased to announce Jeremy Ramage has been named CEO. Jeremy has been in the industrial gas industry since 2001 and has worked for several industrial gas companies.

In this role, Jeremy will lead all operations out of the Cincinnati production and transportation hub as well as the Kentucky retail location and future expansion. Jeremy adds a unique addition to the Wright Brothers, Inc. team

allowing the team to continue to excel with its many opportunities. Additionally, Jeremy will be a great resource to Wright Brothers Global Gas including the telemetry product, Vendor Managed Gas™ (VMG). Charlie Wright will remain involved as an owner, coach, and member of the Board of Advisors.

Tim Springer Joins IWDC as Senior Accounting Manager

Tim Springer joined IWDC as Senior Accounting Manager. Tim will report to Steve Sandler, IWDC Controller, and will lead the IWDC accounting team responsible for co-op-wide accounts payables, accounts receivables, and centralized invoicing processes. In this role, Tim will be accountable for driving accuracy and productivity as well as enhancing the invoice processing support IWDC’s Members and Vendor partners rely upon.

AWG Names Brinkley Brown as VP of Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange

AWG is pleased to announce the promotion of Brinkley Brown to Vice President of Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange (TICE), a division of American Welding & Gas, Inc. Brinkley has been in the AWG family since December of 2004 as Customer Service and Logistics Coordinator, as Director of Customer Service and currently, as Director of Sales and Operations for TICE. Brinkley also serves as cochair of the AWG Women’s Committee. Brinkley has led tremendous growth and diversification in TICE’s customer base and has exceeded earnings quality of the entire business. Brinkley will continue reporting to Jason Krieger , AWG’s President and CEO.

Mark Simon Named Vice President Operations & Manufacturing for Nikkiso Clean Energy

Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group is pleased to announce that Mark Simon has been named Vice President, Operations & Manufacturing for the Pumps Functional Unit.

In this role, Mark will lead global operations for the Cryogenic Pumps Business Unit and work to align and adjust the Group’s sites for growth, quality standards, safety, and reporting. He will develop and implement the global manufacturing strategy and operational excellence management system.

Tim Springer

Oxygen Service Company Announces Opening of Appleton, WI Store

Oxygen Service Company is excited to announce that it is officially opening in Appleton, Wisconsin. OSC’s new store location will be 2932 N. Tempest Ct, Appleton, WI. 54913

“We are looking forward to opening our seventh location in the Midwest and our second in Wisconsin. We currently have several customers that operate in the area and employees that live in Eastern Wisconsin. We feel that the Fox Valley is a strong market, and we are well-positioned to be successful here.” said President Ryan Diekow. “I am looking forward to growing the Oxygen Service customer base and bringing new jobs to the area.”

Superior Products Team Announcements

Superior Products announced that Allyson Kostalnick has been promoted to the role of General Manager of Superior Products, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Allyson joined the Superior Products team in February 2015 as a Product Manager and became the Sales & Marketing Manager in 2020.

The company also announced that it had hired Melissa De Jesus to the role of Sales Manager. Melissa was the Strategic Sales Manager at Phoenix Lighting/Phoenix International and brings 9 years of sales experience and 8 years of experience in the industry. Melissa received a Master’s in Business Administration and Management from the University of Phoenix in 2018.

Introducing Hypertherm Associates, the New Corporate Name of Hypertherm Plasma

Hypertherm is changing its corporate name to Hypertherm Associates, a name that represents the company’s evolution from a manufacturer of plasma cutting products to a multi-technology provider of industrial cutting solutions, with its people (“Associates”) at the heart of everything it does to support and

solve customer challenges.

Along with the new name, Hypertherm Associates is introducing a new corporate logo and updated logos for its technology brands. The Hypertherm Associates logo, designed to resemble a nest of cut parts, serves to visually link the corporate brand with the company’s respected technology and product brands. At the same time, it demonstrates the company’s industry and technology leadership—and its commitment to lean manufacturing, sustainable practices, and innovative engineering—as well as the strength of cross-technology offerings that solve customer challenges.

CPV Manufacturing Announces Ryan

Howard as Regional Sales Manager Gulf Coast

Admiral Valve, LLC dba CPV Manufacturing announced the appointment of Ryan Howard as Regional Sales Manager – Gulf Coast.

Ryan obtained a B.B.A from Texas State University and brings 7 years of sales experience in the industrial market. Throughout his career, he has gained a great knowledge about valves and fittings used in industrial applications, specifically in the vast Oil & Gas and Petrochemical industries.

Ryan will be the first employee at CPV hired for this position that will not be based out of headquarters in Kennett Square, PA. The hire of Ryan is a monumental step for the expansion of CPV into new territories that hold significant growth opportunities for the company’s reliable valves and fittings.

Norco Announces New Executive Management

Norco announced that Larry Booth has been named Executive Vice President of its Industrial Division. He was most recently Norco’s Welding and Automation Product Manager and brings significant industry knowledge and his 37 years of experience to this new role.

Larry began his career at Norco in Boise, Idaho, on June 5th, 1985. His first job included putting away freight and stocking retail showroom shelves. His next role at Norco was on the

Allyson Kostalnick

Melissa De Jesus

Ryan Howard

Larry Booth

INDUSTRY NEWS

purchasing team where he continued to learn more about the business. A move to Elko, Nevada to help with a new Norco location, resulted in even more opportunity. While there he was an integral part of the store’s operations, first in a sales role and later as the branch manager. After ten years, he and his wife Heather, who he met at Norco, returned to Boise with their growing family, when he accepted the position of Industrial Product Manager.

Harris Products Group Names Dave Thayer Director of North American Sales

Dave Thayer has been promoted to Director North America Sales at The Harris Products Group. Thayer previously was Regional Sales Manager–West for parent company Lincoln Electric, where he worked for more than 25 years.

In his new role, Thayer is responsible for executing Harris’s corporate sales and customer service strategies, ensuring customer needs are met through the company’s full suite of product offerings and custom, turnkey solutions. Harris manufactures a wide range of gas distribution and regulation products as well as brazing and welding equipment and consumables.

New Appointments and Promotions at Ratermann

Ratermann appointed Tony Rios as National Sales Manager for Branding Solutions; Madeline Westerhoff as Customer Service Representative; and Eric Mensik as Cryogenic Outside Sales Account Manager for Ratermann’s Cryogenic Division.

The company also announced the promotion of Sean Barry to Purchasing Manager. Tony, Madeline, Eric, and Sean will be indispensable players in Ratermann’s continued success.

Surewerx USA Inc. Welcomes Aidin Prince & Jose Zavala to the Team

Aidin Prince joined the SureWerx USA Sales team as a Territory Account Manager for the Southwest on April 4, 2022. Aidin joins the team with over 17 years sales experience, having most recently worked for Weiler Abrasives as a National Account Manager. She has also held sales positions with Stanley Black & Decker and Fastenal to name a few.

Jose Zavala joined the SureWerx USA Sales team as a Territory Account Manager for the Western Region on April 4, 2022. Jose joins the team having most recently worked for Walter Surface Technologies as a Territory Account Manager. Prior to that, Jose held positions as a Territory Manager for Pearl Abrasives and Klingspor Abrasives.

Premier Cryogenic Expands Repair Capabilities in Delphi, Indiana

Premier Cryogenic Services, LLC announced the move of their recently acquired West Lafayette, Indiana cryogenic repair business into a larger facility located at 1338 N Washington St., Delphi, IN 46923.

The prior cryogenic repair facility served customers with an 8-bay shop. CEO Mark Morreale apprises that “the larger 35-bay Delphi cryogenic repair shop permits us to better serve existing and new customers in the region.” Moreover, “the recently opened 35-bay shop is already filled,” reports COO Joe Morreale , “and we are eager to provide quality and timely cryogenic repair services throughout the region.”

PCS also announces the hiring of Curt Hillenberg to manage the Delphi shop. Another recent and notable hire at the Delphi facility, with significant cryogenic engineering expertise and experience, as well as industry name recognition, is Everett Snoeberger.

Anova Welcomes Matthew Toone as CEO

Anova announced that Matthew “Matt” Toone has been appointed CEO. An experienced and entrepreneurial business leader, Matt succeeded Chet Reshamwala and assumed responsibilities as of July 18th.

Matt Toone is a highly entrepreneurial, motivational leader with deep experience in industrial technology markets and product development.

Matt was previously the CEO of Bacharach, a leader in gas analysis which was acquired by MSA, Inc. in 2021. Prior, Matt spent 11 years with Emerson, Inc. in a variety of progressive leadership roles, including leading Cooper Atkins, Vilter manufacturing and Sales and Solutions for the group’s Cold Chain platform.

Aidin Prince

Matthew Toone

Jose Zavala

Dave Thayer

Meritus Gas Partners Welcomes Allen Jezouit and Dan Snitzer

Meritus Gas Partners is pleased to announce two new management team additions that took place during June and July.

Allen Jezouit joined Meritus in June as Vice President, Product Management and Digital Marketing. Allen comes to the company with over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, business development and e-commerce. He also has significant experience in the packaged gas industry.

Dan Snitzer joined the team in July as Director of Engineering & Project Execution. Dan has over 10 years of experience in the industrial gas industry focused on project management, plant engineering and design, construction, commissioning, and startup.

SuperFlash Promotes Brittany Fichter to Sales and Marketing Representative

SuperFlash LLC announced the promotion of Brittany Fichter to Sales and Marketing Representative. She will continue her marketing role with the exciting addition of a sales representative.

Fichter joined the company in 2018 as a customer care representative and was quickly added to the marketing team. She has been able to work closely with each department in the company to understand the needs of each. In this past year Fichter has shown her dedication and interest in the industry by taking an 8-week welding course where she was top of her class.

Gas Innovations Announces Wade Welch Appointed Director, Mexico & Latin America

Gas Innovations is excited to announce that Wade Welch has been appointed Director, Mexico & Latin America. Wade joins Gas Innovations following a 29-year career at Air Products, where he held both marketing and global product management responsibilities for product lines including commodity chemi-

INDUSTRY NEWS

cals and electronic specialty gases. Wade’s extensive international background with customers and distributors will further boost the company’s growing presence and commitment in Mexico and Latin America.

MWSCO to Open New Appleton, Wisconsin Store

Mississippi Welders Supply Co. is excited to announce we are opening our newest store in Appleton, Wisconsin. Our new store location will be at 3900 N Providence Ave, Appleton, WI 54913 and is planned to open August 2022.

MWSCO continues to grow in distribution and service, providing solutions for industrial gas, welding, automation, vendor managed inventory, fire protection, and beverage CO2. We have four stores in Minnesota, one in Iowa, and this will be our seventh in Wisconsin.

IN MEMORIAM

John Thomas (Jack) Tilley

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of John Thomas (Jack) Tilley, who passed away at the age of 78.

Jack was a long-term veteran of the industry, having worked in industrial gases for the past 47 years, and he was well-known throughout the industry. Jack was a New York-native who lived in South Carolina for the past 27 years while he was employed by CTR. He started his career in the gases industry with Airco Gases and remained into the BOC years.

Jack played a critical role in the development and growth of CTR. He was a very knowledgeable and creative individual who loved the outdoors and was an avid outdoorsman. He will be missed by all who knew him, but never forgotten.

Brittany Fichter

Wade Welch

SCORECARD A M

Holston Gases Acquires

Alpine Gas Company

Holston Gases completed the acquisition of Alpine Gas Company with operations headquartered in Carrolton, Georgia. Holston Gases will consolidate their operation into the Holston Gases facility located at 25 Brightwave Blvd., Carrolton, GA 30117.

Holston Gases President Robert Anders said, “We are very pleased to add the 3,100 propane customers of Alpine Gas to those of Holston Gases. Alpine Gas, Inc. has been servicing the North Georgia area for over 58 years and has a great reputation and loyal customers that we are excited to bring into the Holston family.”

Chart Industries Acquires Fronti Fabrications

Chart Industries, Inc. completed the acquisition of Fronti Fabrications, Inc. for $20 million (subject to customary adjustments). Fronti is a specialist in engineering, machining and welding for the cryogenic and gas industries, and also supplies new build pressure vessels

and performs repairs with certification to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code. With over 20 years of experience in liquefaction, heat exchangers and cold boxes, Fronti adds a known team to expand Chart’s cold box manufacturing capacity and capability, including work currently underway on Chart hydrogen and helium liquefiers. Given continued demand for Big LNG, small-scale LNG and hydrogen/helium liquefaction, having more than one United States cold box fabrication facility adds agility and capacity to further improve Chart’s delivery lead-times and be prepared for the anticipated increase in demand in the coming years.

Weldstar Acquires DSK Gas and Gear

Weldstar announced the acquisition of DSK Gas and Gear LLC in Congerville, IL. In addition, the company announced that DSK owner, Dale Knapp, joined its team. Dale will maintain responsibility for the Congerville location which services the Bloomington and Peoria markets. Dale brings exten-

sive experience in the welding and gas markets. Congerville marks the tenth location for the Weldstar Company.

DSK will join the Depke Gases and Welding Supplies team which became part of the Weldstar family in 2018 of Weldstar. “Dale’s knowledge of the industry and the local markets, accompanied by Weldstar’s team, infrastructure, assets, and vendor base will greatly increase the offering. We expect significant growth in this new market area,” says Curt Towne.

Weldstar continues to look for opportunities to partner with like-minded distributors to add to its family of companies.

Protective Industrial Products Inc. Acquires Industrial Starter

Protective Industrial Products, Inc. announced that it has acquired Industrial Starter, S.p.A, headquartered Vicenza, Italy, which includes all of the Industrial Starter affiliates throughout Europe.

Industrial Starter is widely recognized in Europe as a quality provider of PPE, workwear, footwear and fall protection – selling principally under

the ISSALINE® and Akrobat® brands. Current commercial operations include locations in Valencia, Spain; Altavilla Vicentina VI, Italy; Sosnowiec, Poland; and Ostrava, Czechia.

SureWerx Acquires Footwear Specialties International

SureWerx announced that it has acquired Footwear Specialties International (FSI). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Portland, Oregon, FSI is a leading safety footwear company, with solutions marketed primarily under the highly successful brands Avenger Work Boots and Nautilus Safety Footwear. Under the leadership of their President Aaron Atkinson, FSI has launched dozens of new, innovative safety footwear that has propelled the company into a leading position with respect to creativity, innovation, comfort & performance.

WEH Technologies Partners with Tekno Valves North America

“Tekno Valves North America is excited to partner with WEH Technologies to better service the Independent and OEM marketplace for their compressed gas quick connects. The commitment WEH has shown to provide quality products for our industry is what makes this partnership possible. TVNA will maintain the existing business relationships with WEH customers and provide the highest level of customer service and support for our new customers. We look forward to serving you!” says, Tekno Valves Executive Vice President Justin Guitreau.

Otodata Holdings, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of AIUT’s LPG Branch

Otodata Holdings, Inc. announced that it has acquired AIUT’s LPG branch, a leading supplier of IoT ecosystems

for the global LPG remote monitoring and metering market. For over 15 years, they have been cooperating with leading companies in the global LPG market by equipping their customers with advanced data readout, monitoring, metering, and analysis solutions.

American Welding & Gas, Inc. Acquires Assets of NFC Company, Inc.

American Welding & Gas, Inc. is pleased to announce that NFC Company Inc., headquartered in Chicago, IL since 1974, has joined forces with AWG. NFC has built a strong reputation for prompt, professional service for its gas customers. NFC Company Inc. is locally owned and operated by Norb, Dorothy, Ben and Dan Francis.

“Today we have the pleasure of welcoming the Francis family and employees of NFC Company into our AWG family. Over 46 years ago, they started NFC Company with the thought of providing service to customers in the Chicago area and have been growing their business ever since. Combining NFC and AWG positions us to expand our capabilities to serve all our customers throughout Chicagoland. Our thanks to Norb, Dorothy, Ben and Dan Francis for partnering with AWG in this endeavor. We appreciate this opportunity to further enhance the service to our new customers,” said Jason Krieger, President & CEO AWG.

1. SafTCart Propane Cage: SPC-12-20

The SPC-12-20 is a new cage designed to hold twelve 20 lbs. propane cylinders. A first of its kind for SafTCart, the SPC-1220’s open design, when compared to other propane cages that are enclosed, allows for easier access while remaining secure.

Propane is an important part of SafTCart’s product line. In addition to its propane cages, SafTCart also offers propane variants of just about every product it makes. For most products, simply add “-P’ to the end of the part number. Call SafTCart today to fulfill your propane needs.

2. Harris Products Group’s Trade-In Program Offers Incentives to Replace Industrial Gas Equipment

Distributors can now give customers an incentive to trade in any brand of gas regulators, flowmeters and cutting torches and replace them with new equipment through The Harris Products Group’s new “Beyond Repair” trade-in program.

Harris is offering Premier distributors a discount on its

trusted products when customers make the upgrade. With quality manufacturing and industry-leading warranties, Harris products provide a long-lasting solution while allowing distributors and end users to avoid the hassle and uncertainty of repairs. Participating distributors will receive marketing tools for each branch location, including a trade-in bin, door clings, shelf danglers, gondola headers and counter cards. Distributors can choose whether or not they pass on the savings to customers. Harris products that qualify for the discount include the best-selling 25GX Industrial Regulator, Models 355 and 351 Flowmeter Regulators, Models 62-5 and 42-4 Hand-Cutting Torches, Model 801 Compact General Purpose Regulator, and handles and cutting attachments.

3. ES Tech Brings Automation to Life with New Integration

ES Tech Group’s latest integration with HubSpot marketing software has been developed and made available to all customers on its proprietary eCommerce platform, EvolutionX. Users can now leverage automated workflows on HubSpot’s

NEW OFFERINGS

marketing software once a customer makes a purchase on a distributor’s website. Here’s how it works:

• Distributor connects their EvolutionX eCommerce site to their HubSpot account by way of ES Tech’s integration

• Customer makes a purchase on the distributor’s website

• The customer and order information is fed from EvolutionX into HubSpot

• Distributor can create workflows that automatically send reorder reminders, marketing emails, customer surveys, internal sales notifications, and much more

The futuristic feel of this integration comes from the automation that’s attached to the workflows. Emails and other notifications are sent to the customer automatically. Distributors can even add logic that allows customers to be sent down different “paths” depending on what they purchase or how they interact with the website.

Perhaps the most clever piece of automation comes in the form of customer surveys. Customer service and sales reps can be immediately notified of a good or bad shopping experience based on how a customer responds to the survey.

4. Lincoln Electric Expands Virtual Reality Technology

Make virtual welding training smarter, faster and more efficient with Lincoln Electric’s latest simulator, the VRTEX® 360 Compact virtual reality trainer. This new addition to the VRTEX virtual reality welding simulator family reduces the footprint needed for training while offering the same powerful software and benefits as other VRTEX training models – in a much smaller, compact size. Schools can easily set up virtual

welding labs by purchasing a VRTEX 360 Compact trainer bundled in five, 10, 15 and 20 units, allowing each student to have their own VR welding trainer.

The VRTEX 360 Compact trainer assists welding students by building confidence and proficiency as they safely train in a variety of virtual situations and orientations. It helps welding students build confidence and reduce mistakes as they safely train in a variety of virtual situations and orientations. They can practice repetitive welding without taking time to tack plates and toss scrap for GMAW, GTAW, FCAW and SMAW.

The VRTEX 360 Compact virtual reality welding trainer provides students with an immersive, multi-sensory, experience in a safe and controlled environment. It sustains student interest by adding highly realistic visual and auditory components to the traditional classroom teaching model.

5. Admiral Valve, LLC dba CPV Manufacturing New Ergonomic Valve Handles

CPV Manufacturing has reimagined the design of its O-SEAL® and G-Series® valve handles to deliver unparalleled efficiency to operations in piping systems. CPV is delighted to finally introduce the new, functional, ERGONOMIC handles to customers worldwide.

The next generation of handles provides less hand discomfort and easy operation to workers that maintain CPV valves on a regular basis. These innovative handles will now be included with the purchase of the full-size range of CPV O-SEAL® and G-Series product lines, in place of the old handles.

CPV’s Next Generation of handles are better, safer, and

NEW OFFERINGS

more dependable than the previous handles in every single way. With a sleek design, the new handles are made with an anti-slip material and utilize smooth edges, allowing for a better grip. This makes operating the valves that much easier. The handles are available in 4-Prong and 2-Prong configurations to suit specific valve sizes.

6. New Sizes of LOX-8 Full Density OxygenSafe PTFE Tape Now Available from Fluoramics

Fluoramics has added additional sizes and lengths to its selection of LOX-8 Full Density PTFE Tapes. At the request of customers, Fluoramics now offers ¼” wide oxygen-safe LOX-8 Tape in lengths of 260” and 520”. This width was previously extremely difficult to find in the full density, oxygen-safe formula. Fluoramics LOX-8 Full Density PTFE Tape is now available in 1/4″ , 1/2″ , and 3/4″ width in two different lengths of each size. Specifications of LOX-8 Full Density PTFE Tape:

• Temperature range of -400° F (-240°C) to +550° F (+287°C)

• Use in cryogenic applications

• Waterproof

• 1.20 to 1.55 g/cm3

• MIL-T-27730A • A-A-58092

• FDA approved for food use 21 CFR 177.1550

• PFOA-free

PTFE Fluoramics’ LOX-8 Full Density

PTFE Tapes are approved for oxygen service to these specifications: Steadystate oxygen service temperature limit per ASTM G63 equals 701° F (372° C); and Steady-state oxygen service pressure limit per ISO 21010 equals ≤ 345 bar (≤ 5004 psig).

7. American Torch Tip Presents: Centerfire Direct Fit Style Consumables

American Torch Tip Co. announced immediate availability of Bernard® Centerfire™ style consumables, providing welders with an economical, high-quality made in USA option for MIG consumables that is fully compatible with OEM.

“We are excited to offer manufacturers and fabricators an opportunity to boost their bottom line without sacrificing the performance they expect,” said Bill Schriver, Sales & Marketing Director at American Torch Tip Co.

Bernard® Centerfire™ style consumables may be ordered today from any of American Torch Tip Co.’s global distributors.

GAWDA members shared the below posts and pictures using Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We encourage GAWDA members to keep the conversation going all year long by using #GAWDA next time you post.

@alcompressedgases

2022 NW GAWDA Bocce Tournament! Thank you to GAWDA and all of our sponsors and players! It was an amazing time!

@stateofarcwelding

@cryindsolutions

Arcos Delivers Solutions to Stainless Steel Alloy Welding Challenges.

Arcos Industries, LLC offers over 100 stainless steel electrode products to handle the countless array of demanding welding applications that challenge you daily. Our reputation for exceptional quality and outstanding service ensures that you can depend on Arcos to provide you with the finest in bare wire, covered and tubular stainless steel alloy welding electrodes.