Breaking News
  New Anti-Spam Law
  Developments Bode
    Well for Business

Quality Nickel and Stainless Welding Wires and Electrodes

BREAKING NEWS

New Anti-Spam Law Impacts Electronic Marketing

A new federal law, intended to curb the growing nuisance of e-mail spam, went into effect January 1. The law, known as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, sets rules for senders of all marketing related electronic mail and preempts any existing and forthcoming state laws regulating the use of e-mail for commercial use. According to the Act, a "commercial electronic mail message" is defined as any electronic mail message whose primary purpose is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service. The definition also states that transactional or relationship messages, defined as messages whose primary purpose is to complete a previously agreed upon commercial transaction, provide additional information and similar types of messages related to previous relationships do not fall under the new regulations.

The new law dictates specific content and procedures that must be adhered to for any commercial e-mail as well as the civil and criminal penalties for failing to comply with its provisions. For a synopsis of the new law's requirements and potential penalties, click here. To view the entire Act, click here.

10 Developments from 2003 Bode Well for Small Businesses

While last year was not easy on small businesses, a number of economic and legislative developments that came into play in 2003 have primed the business environment for healthy growth this year. According to The Small Business Survival Committee, 10 positive factors have set the stage for a robust year of business.

1. Pro-Growth Tax Cuts
2. Faster Economic Growth
3. Job Creation on the Rise
4. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
5. Free Trade Accords
6. Repeal of Steel Tariffs
7. Robust Stock Market
8. Low Interest Rates
9. Defeating Costly, Misguided Climate Measures
10. Winning the War.

Click here for a detailed discussion of the Committee's "Terrific Ten" for 2004.

MAKING THE SALE

Tec Welding Helps Alaskans Beat that Sinking Feeling

Cordova's bridges were falling down, falling down; or to put it another way, the bridges' pilings were sinking into Alaska's melting permafrost. The state's warming trend, welcomed by some, was wreaking havoc with commuters, truckers and local officials who just wanted to keep their bridges above water.

H&M modified a larger band for its beveling machine to vertically cut the bridge's existing pilings.

Having built a solid reputation throughout the Pacific Northwest supplying contractors on major projects, including bridge earthquake retrofits and new bridge construction, the majority of Seattle's downtown high-rises, and stadiums such as the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field and the new Seahawks' Stadium, Tec Welding Sales of Auburn, WA, was already involved in the Cordova retrofit project when an urgent situation arose.

Contractor Malcolm Drilling needed a specialized beveling machine, one capable of cutting the existing 70.8 inch piling, thus allowing the piling to be lengthened. The job was red label; the entire project had come to a halt, as work could not proceed until the piling was cut. Malcolm Drilling had confidence in Tec Welding, based on the two companies' history of working together on a number of previous retrofits. In addition, the companies are located within five miles of each other, just south of Seattle.

It was October 20, 2003, and Tec Welding President Butch Clarberg had 24 hours to deliver the beveller to the job site. He turned to a trusted partner of his own, H&M Pipe Beveling Machine Company.

"We've worked with H&M many times," explains Clarberg. "We've sold their machines." Clarberg contacted H&M's Vice President of Sales and Marketing Patrick Dougal, outlining for Dougal the cutting requirements and, most important, the immediacy of the situation. Clarberg placed his call to H&M at 10 a.m. on October 20.

The 70.8 inch OD piling provides additional support for Alaska's sinking bridges, caused by the warming trend of recent years.

There was one challenge, however—H&M did not have the exact stainless steel band required for its otherwise well-suited motorized band type machine. H&M's Dougal informed Clarberg that the company could quickly modify a larger band to fit the project's specifications. H&M completed the modification very quickly, and the complete motorized band beveling machine with cutting torch was on its way to Alaska via express freight by 3 p.m. that same day. Malcolm Drilling took delivery of the $3,255 beveling machine at 1 p.m. the next day, and work resumed on the retrofits.

Tec Welding's success on the Cordova retrofit demonstrates the power of long-term relationships. The company has built an excellent reputation supplying bridge retrofit and new construction, as well as high-rise and stadium construction through the use of a simple formula. By building trust through a history of dedicated service to customer Malcolm Drilling, and then by placing trust in its own longtime reliable vendor, H&M Pipe Beveling Machine Company, Tec Welding has positioned itself in just the right spot to be called upon the next time a bridge needs to go retro.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Jones Welding Acquisition, New Facility (Albany, GA) • New territory and new markets are the order of the new year for Jones Welding & Industrial Supply. The company, which acquired Allied Industrial Gases of Warner Robins, GA in August 2003, is preparing to move this branch and its staff of seven to a new location in Warner Robins. Remodeling of the new site will be completed by February 1. Jones Welding's five South Georgia locations cater heavily to the farming industry, and the Warner Robins branch, located 15 miles outside of Macon, gives the company a presence in the industry-rich central portion of the state.

SGD Moves to New Facility (Emerson, NJ) • Specialty gas equipment supplier SGD moved its operations to a larger facility. The company, which designs and builds specialty gas handling systems and produces a range of related products, is actually moving just across the street to a building with twice the square footage of its prior home. "The new facility allows us to better organize our inventory and workflow to provide customers with even better service than they experienced in the past," explains SGD President Frank Scornavacca. SGD's new location is at 23-27 Bland Street.

Legislative Wrap-Up for 2003, Outlook for 2004 • In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed landmark legislation that will help small business owners save on taxes and begin to control healthcare expenditures. For a complete legislative wrap-up of 2003 from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and information on what's in store for 2004, click here.

Westair now operates nine locations in the Southwest, including this Yuma branch.

WestAir Unveils Web Site (San Diego, CA) • WestAir Gases & Equipment ended 2003 by unveiling a new company Web site. The reworked www.westairgases.com includes a panoramic, virtual tour of WestAir’s Yuma, AZ store. This store, one of nine WestAir locations throughout the Southwestern part of the United States, was designed with the customer in mind and features some unique attributes geared toward customer service, many visible for customer view from a computer screen. In addition to a complete description of WestAir’s products and services, www.westairgases.com features an MSDS library, which customers can search by product type, product name and manufacturer name. According to General Manager Ron Savage, WestAir’s growing presence as a regional company, along with its advancement into the biotech, bioresearch and healthcare markets, were important reasons to update the site.

GAWDA NEWS

XML Standards for Industry Transactions Completed • GAWDA's Management Information Committee completed work on establishing schema for GAWDA and other industry trading partners to electronically exchange several types of business forms, including purchase orders, invoices, price/availability inquiries, and order status inquiries. Unlike traditional EDI, XML transactions are real time, allowing trading partners to query information from each other in seconds, rather than hours. For more information on these standards, click here or contact GAWDA Technology Consultant Scott Ehrnschwender at scottea444@aol.com.

New Hours of Service Rules for Drivers • The new Hours of Service rules went into effect on January 4, 2004. Please be sure to read the December 2003 Traffic Bulletin for more details and a comparison between the old rules and the new rules. If you have any questions, contact GAWDA DOT & Security Consultant Mike Dodd at 573-785-5111 or MLDSafety@hotmail.com.

Webinar Education for Distributors to Increase • In 2003, GAWDA initiated a successful series of six webinars designed to educate GAWDA members on specific topics. Now, GAWDA is broadening the scope of webinar education topics to include all industry issues and will begin offering a series of ongoing semimonthly webinars to provide education and information to GAWDA Distributor Members, presented by Associate Members. For further information, please click here or e-mail GAWDA Technology Consultant Scott Ehrnschwender at scottea444@aol.com.