Breaking News
  Trucking Regulations
      Struck Down
  Democratic Platform
  Steel Strike May
      Affect Prices

Quality Nickel and Stainless Welding Wires and Electrodes

BREAKING NEWS

Trucking Regulations Struck Down

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously struck down the new truck driver hours of service rules, calling them "arbitrary and capricious" because they failed to take into account the health of drivers. The rules, which went into effect in January, allowed truckers to drive up to 11 hours, but prohibited driving after being on duty for 14 hours, and required 10 consecutive hours off duty. They will remain in place while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considers its legal options.

Democratic National Platform

At the Democratic Convention two weeks ago in Boston, presidential hopeful John Kerry led his party's plan for America. Some highlights of the Democratic National Platform that may impact GAWDA members include:

• Reviving the manufacturing sector, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and cutting taxes for companies that create jobs in the U.S.
• Establishing new investment corporations to give small and medium-sized businesses access to capital
• Encouraging small business growth with a plan to make it easier for small businesses to secure capital and loans
• Doubling funds for technology to promote growth of small manufacturers
• Reforming the health care system and cutting taxes to help small businesses pay for health insurance.

The Republicans will develop their platform in New York City beginning August 30.

Steel Strikes May Cause Price Spikes

According to The Wall Street Journal, strikes at several iron ore mines are threatening steel production and may drive up prices even further. About 1,400 workers at Iron Ore Company in Newfoundland, along with 575 workers at two Wabush Mines locations in eastern Canada, went on strike in July. The labor disputes, affecting up to 25% of North America's iron ore supply, have not yet impacted prices because most steelmakers stock surplus iron ore. However, a strike of more than 30 days could be problematic. Steel companies can deal with depleted iron ore supplies by either decreasing steel production or by increasing steel imports, either of which may result in higher prices for customers.

Trivia Question: A Welder in the House. Who Am I? Unable to afford college tuition at the time, a current U.S. Democratic Senator learned to weld and worked during World War II to help build the "Liberty" and "Victory" ships in the construction yards of Baltimore, MD, and Tampa, FL. He served in Congress for 51 years, 45 of them as a senator. In addition to fulfilling his Senate responsibilities, he earned his law degree from American University in 1963 after 10 years of night classes. If you know who this welder is, tell us by clicking here.

SAFETY & COMPLIANCE NEWS

OSHA Reform Bill Means Tougher Penalties • Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced legislation that seeks to improve hazard communication and provide incentives for employers to use third-party safety and health consultants, while making it a felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison if a worker dies as a result of a willful violation of OSHA standards. Under current law, the maximum criminal penalty for willfully violating OSHA rules is a misdemeanor conviction and six months in jail.

MAKING THE SALE

Vancouver Welding Helps Customer Frame Its Market

If you were on a bike, a racing mountain bike that happened to be headed straight down a ski slope at 60 mph, you just might want to know whether the weld wire holding your frame together came from a) 100% AWA-traceable domestic ingot; or b) foreign ingot from any number of countries whose producer decided not to bother with pesky traceability details like lot, batch and heat numbers.

That was the issue at hand for distributor Vancouver Welding Supply Company, of Vancouver, WA, when it was approached by its longtime customer, a Pacific Northwest aluminum fabricator with a special focus on bicycle frames. The customer was gearing up to build a specialized high stress frame for downhill snow racing. Obviously, this well-known company would be performing comprehensive testing, both destructive and nondestructive, of all materials used in the frames.

As the highly valued 14-year distributor for the bicycle maker, Vancouver Welding was given the chance to provide the special weld wire required for this project. Sales Manager Ernie Foster had no hesitation in contacting Gulf Wire Corporation, whose President Nick Dietzen and West Coast Account Manager Mike Levine had worked with Vancouver Welding and this same customer on several previous wires related to bicycle frame welding.

Having visited this and other clients numerous times with Gulf Wire's Levine, Foster had come to consider Gulf Wire as a virtual extension of his own company. The two made a presentation to the customer on all aspects of the unique 4643 wire to be used on the racing frames. Foster explains, "We presented to them everything they needed to know about this wire: the wire itself, its reliability, particularly the cast and helix, and also the cleanliness of the wire, and most importantly, the wire's traceability as domestic ingot with complete lot, batch and heat numbering."

Of course, there was one little item remaining—that being the customer's requirement for 10,000 pounds of the product on site. Not a problem for Gulf Wire, which delivered the product on time to complete Vancouver Welding's deal, worth about $80,000. One crucial aspect to the deal involves just what the customer has come to expect from both Vancouver Welding and Gulf Wire, and that is the extensive follow-up provided in tandem by the two companies.

Foster summarizes Vancouver Welding's approach to this and all customers succinctly. "We give them the product they need, when they need it, at a reasonable price, and do follow-up." Foster visits this customer once or twice a week to check up on the current frame welding operation, as well as a variety of other procedures at the plant, as Vancouver Welding handles all of this customer's welding machine and gas business, and most of the supplies at the plant. On Gulf Wire's part, Levine accompanies Foster on plant visits every three months, and Dietzen visits on a yearly basis.

Oh, and those 10,000 pounds of wire? They're expected to last the company until this fall, when next winter's crop of daring young men and women will line up 15,000 feet above sea level and begin clamoring for a fresh supply of traceable domestic ingot.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

GAWDA welcomes new Associate Member 3M Company, Occupational Health & Environmental Safety Division of St. Paul, MN.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Publisher Expands (Dewitt, NY) • To facilitate growth and to accommodate an increased number of employees, ten-year-old Data Key Communications, publisher of GAWDA's official member journal, Welding & Gases Today, and its newsletter, GAWDA Connection, moved its publishing operations into an expanded facility. The company's new address is 5794 Widewaters Parkway, Dewitt, NY 13214. The phone number remains the same, 315-445-2347. Judy C. Flanagan, founder and president, says of the move, "Our new space facilitates increased efficiencies and can accommodate a projected 65% growth in employment to take place by year end."

Joe Campbell

Campbell Named Vet of the Year (West Allis, WI) • Joe Campbell, president of Machinery & Welder Corporation, was selected as the Wisconsin Vietnam Veteran of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America. Campbell was a Specialist 5th Class in the U.S. Army in 1966-1967 and served in Germany and Vietnam.

New Program Launched (Parsippany, NJ) • Matheson Tri-Gas's Enable Distributor Development Program, to be formally introduced at GAWDA's 60th Annual Convention, provides distributors with service to increase their ability to compete against larger national companies within their local markets. The council provides a forum for distributors to conduct peer level meetings for business strategies promoting long-term goals for increasing their growth.

Scott Heckert

ABICOR-Binzel Hires Specialist (Frederick, MD) • Scott Heckert joined ABICOR-Binzel Corporation as robotics laser specialist, and will focus on the laser welding, cutting and brazing products and services primarily within the automotive segment of the welding industry. Heckert also represents ABICOR's MIG, TIG and Robotic product lines.

Hartzell Joins Acme (Lehigh Valley, PA) • Acme Cryogenics appointed Franklin T. Hartzell to director of the supply chain. Hartzell now leads the company's purchasing and procurement efforts, and plays a leading role in new business development.

Joe Mullally

Norton Abrasives Appointment (Worcester, MA) • Joe Mullally was appointed to national accounts manager, distribution, for Norton Abrasives, North America sales and marketing. Mullally will focus on the welding, composites and industrial channels, and his responsibilities include distributor marketing activities.

Revco Distribution Center (Paramount, CA) • Revco Industries closed escrow on a 24,000 square foot distribution warehouse in Memphis, TN, providing twice as much inventory space as the previous warehouse.

Praxair Opens Hydrogen Plants (Danbury, CT) • Praxair's two hydrogen plants in Texas City and Port Arthur, TX, produce a total of 200 million cubic feet of hydrogen per day, increasing Praxair's hydrogen production capability along the Gulf Coast by nearly 55%. In addition to supplying major refiners, the plants will supply other customers along the 300-mile hydrogen pipeline system. "We expect demand for hydrogen to increase more than 20% per year for the next several years," said Dan Yankowski, vice president, South Region, North American Industrial Gases.

Air Products to Build Hydrogen Plants (Lehigh Valley, PA) • Air Products Canada Ltd. will construct a plant to supply more than 80 million standard cubic feet of hydrogen per day for the Suncor Energy Products and Shell Canada Products refineries (Sarnia, ON, Canada). It is expected to open in May 2006. Also, Air Products and Chemicals will construct a plant in Louisiana to supply 110 million standard cubic feet of hydrogen per day to the Motiva Enterprises LLC and Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC refineries, and to its Mississippi River corridor pipeline system. The facility is expected to open in November 2005.

Hydrogen Safety Studied • As GAWDA Distributors are looking toward hydrogen, the automobile industry is exploring whether using the gas is a good idea. According to a July 26 article in Automotive News, federal regulators are concerned about hydrogen's flammability and have planned a four-year research effort to ensure that hydrogen-powered vehicles are safe. As almost all automakers are developing hydrogen vehicles to possibly replace gasoline-powered vehicles, hydrogen must be proven to be as safe as or safer than gasoline, feds say.

Gullco Turns 50 (Newmarket, ON, Canada) • Gullco International Limited is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Over the years, the company has seen considerable growth in product and facilities. Gullco has locations in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, India and China.

Al Swenson Jr.

Swenson Promoted (Grandview, MO) • Al Swenson Jr. was promoted to vice president of Commando Products Inc. His responsibilities include the daily operations of the manufacturing and assembly departments and overseeing quality control on incoming and outgoing deliveries.

Airgas Completes Acquisition (Radnor, PA) • Airgas completed the acquisition of The BOC Group for about $175 M cash, plus up to $25 M to be paid on or about November 15, 2005. About $7 M was paid by National Welders Supply Company (Charlotte, NC). This acquisition was first announced January 27 and includes more than 1,000 employees, 120 retail stores, warehouses, fill plants and other operations in 21 states involved in distributing packaged industrial, specialty and medical gases, and welding equipment and supplies. The acquired operations in Hawaii will form the newest regional company, Airgas Gaspro. Two branches in southern Virginia employing about 40 employees have been sold to National Welders Supply Company. Additionally, BOC and Airgas signed reciprocal long-term supply agreements. Airgas will become the supplier for a substantial portion of BOC's resale packaged gas needs and BOC will supply liquid bulk gases to support the operations it is selling to Airgas.

In Sympathy

Earl Craig Kennedy Earl Craig Kennedy, 81, founder of Red Ball Oxygen Company in Shreveport, Louisiana, passed away July 19 after suffering a heart attack on his birthday. A man with great determination, Mr. Kennedy moved to Shreveport in 1952 to work as a salesman for Air Reduction. In 1969, he formed Red Ball Oxygen Company. In 1971, he purchased Red Ball Battery and in 1981, he began Red Ball Medical. Today, Red Ball Oxygen has 13 branch locations in three states, and of all the independent welding supply companies that existed when Mr. Kennedy purchased the company, his is the only one to survive. Mr. Kennedy turned the operations of the business over to his two sons, Gary and Larry, in 1995, but continued to be involved. Family, friends and employees describe Mr. Kennedy as a remarkable, charismatic, dependable, honest man. "His philosophy was that Red Ball was not his company; it was his employees' company," says long-time employee Eddie Deemer. "He always strived to instill in his employees that the number one concern was our customers." He is survived by his wife Gloria, children Gary, Larry, Judy, Jerrie, Linda, and 12 grandchildren.

GAWDA NEWS

Plan Now For 60th Convention • Registration is up and running for GAWDA's 60th Annual Convention, October 3-7 at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Visit www.gawda.org today to register online and receive up-to-the-minute information regarding the Convention. Registering online is easy, quick and convenient. Book five room nights at Caesars Palace by August 15 to be eligible to win a complementary stay during Convention, two tickets to a Las Vegas show and many more great prizes. You won't want to miss this fun and educational opportunity. Please click here to register now. Click here to make your hotel reservations.

Profit and Compensation Reports Available • The 2004 Profit Report and 2004 Compensation Survey are now available for purchase. Those who participated have received their copies. The 2004 Profit Report is available to non-participants for $195; the 2004 Compensation Study is available to non-participants for $195.

• Profit Report—Results profiled in this report are based on income statement, balance sheet and operating data provided by GAWDA participating distributors. Typical and high profit firms are highlighted. Trends highlight how performance has changed over time in each of the key performance areas. The Profit Planning Group also addresses steps firms can take to improve profit.
• Compensation Report—Reviews results from the cross-industry Employee Compensation Survey completed in March 2004. The survey was sponsored by GAWDA and 31 other distribution associations. A total of 2,087 firms participated in the survey, including GAWDA members. Detailed information on executive and employee compensation, including salaries, bonuses, commissions and perks are covered for GAWDA participants and for the larger group. It also includes details on fringe benefit packages, such as retirement programs, health insurance, vacations, etc. The next report will be in 2006.

GAWDA Lowers Cost of Medical Gas Program to Give Industry Greater Access • In anticipation of the publication of FDA's new cGMP guidelines, GAWDA has decided to lower the cost of its Medical Gas Program and SOP Manual to allow more of its members to purchase this essential compliance solution at this critical time. Effective July 1, the cost of renewing a subscription to the SOP Manual, and its support consulting and automatic update services, has dropped from $2,995 to $1,200. In addition, GAWDA's Medical Gas Consultant, B&R Compliance Associates, will now be offering a one-day on-site implementation training in Year 1 for $800, plus reasonable travel expenses. (Members who are in Year 2 of their subscription and have not yet received on-site implementation training may take advantage of this special price at any time during Year 2.) The cost of receiving the SOP Manual in Year 1 is unchanged at $2,995. B&R Compliance Associates, with Bob Yeoman and Ron Ball as its principals, remains as the cornerstone of GAWDA's Medical Gas Program, providing ongoing consulting support and guidance, plus manual updates and a full range of additional medical gas compliance services. GAWDA members who have already renewed their subscription to the Medical Gas Program will receive a pro-rata credit that will be applied to their Year 3 renewal.

The GAWDA SOP Manual for Medical Oxygen, supplemented with modules for other medical gases and equipment, creates for GAWDA members and the industry a common compliance platform recognized by the FDA and recommended by major gas companies.

Recently, GAWDA launched the Partners in Compliance Program that authorizes its Medical Gas Program subscribers to offer the same program to their home healthcare, EMT and DME customers, who also need compliance guidance. The cost, including the SOP Manual and support services by B&R Compliance Associates, is $1,600 per company. For more information and to subscribe, contact GAWDA Medical Gases Consultant Bob Yeoman at 610-837-6782.

Advanced Sales Training • GAWDA's three-module Advanced Sales Training CD is now available. This course provides your employees with tools to increase your company's selling effectiveness, while becoming a more assertive part of the distributor's selling system. Advanced Inside Sales explains to your sales force how to look for and take advantage of opportunities to grow accounts, diagnose changes as problems or opportunities, and continuously improve the company's relationship with the customer. Please click here for details and to order.

Group Life Insurance Dividend • Trustees of the GAWDA Group Life Insurance Program approved a 30% dividend to be applied to the 2004 premium. The program has now paid a dividend in all but one year in its 45-year history. The program, through MetLife, insures 126 companies, 5,286 employees, 3,700 spouses and other dependents. To learn more about this excellent member benefit, please contact GAWDA Group Life Insurance Consultant Dave Irving at 610-566-4851.

Southern California Regional Meeting • Join Paul Cramer of Cramer-Decker Industries as he hosts the Southern California Regional Meeting and Golf Tournament August 26 at Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, CA. It's the perfect place for GAWDA members to meet industry vendors and local welding distributors in a casual atmosphere to exchange ideas, offer advice, make new friends and just have fun. For more information, contact Cramer at 949-461-5900 or paulcramer@cramerdecker.com.

(l-r) Golf Winners Bob O'Brien, Gas & Air Systems, John Hindle, Corp Brothers, and Charlie Bucks, Techalloy.

Regional Meeting Photos • A successful Northeast Regional Meeting was held July 22 at the Blissful Meadows Golf Club in Uxbridge, MA, hosted by Regional Chairman Peter Keough of Corp Brothers. It had been at least 10 years since the last meeting was held, and 34 people representing 10 distributors and 13 manufacturers attended. Speakers included Avery "Whip" Seaman, GAWDA's first vice president, who reminded the audience of the value of membership and highlighted the upcoming Annual Convention. GAWDA DOT and Security Consultant Mike Dodd offered a primer on how to survive a DOT audit. The meeting featured an afternoon of golf with 26 players, dinner, prizes and raffle presentation. To view photos from the gathering, please click here.

John Chambers

Chambers to Speak at Convention • The cover story in this month's Fortune magazine is about John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems and a keynote speaker at GAWDA's 60th Annual Convention. Cisco was founded in 1984 and has expanded from four employees to over 32,000. The company helped build the Internet foundation by creating the routers that fuel it. Chambers joined Cisco in 1995, and led its growth from $1.2 B in sales to about $18.9 B today. Cisco reached its height in revenues and profits in 2000, then the bubble burst. Stock fell, employees were laid off, product lines were cut and the supplier base was reduced. Chambers, however, has spearheaded a massive turnaround and has vast plans for the future. According to Fortune, Cisco has been the best-performing major high-tech stock for the past two years, better than Intel, Dell, Microsoft, HP or IBM. Join John Chambers at the Annual Convention on October 5 as he presents "Driving Change and Productivity for Competitive Advantage." To read more about Chambers, please click here.

GAWDA Online Directories GAWDA now offers a variety of ways to find your fellow members online at www.gawda.org. You can search our database online or print out a copy of the directory for yourself. It's all very easy and now all of your employees can have access to the directory at the same time. The following services are available: Directory Search—You can search through our member listing online, linked directly to our database to provide the most up-to-date information. It is the most convenient way to find GAWDA members. Search by company name, individual name, city, state, region, etc. Online Printed Directory—This is our printed directory in a PDF format. All member companies are listed in alphabetical order by company name. All you need is Adobe Acrobat Reader and you can view it online or print it out. Distributors by City—This PDF document lists GAWDA Distributors by zone. Each zone is arranged in alphabetical order by state with each member location in that state listed by city. This document serves as a quick reference to help the user identify members in a specific area. Hard Copy Directory Order Forms—GAWDA still produces a printed directory. Because we have not mass produced the directory since 2001, it is printed and assembled in small quantities on an order-by-order basis. The member cost is $50, which covers printing, binding and shipping. All of these options are available only to GAWDA members. You will need your Web site login to access these documents. If you do not have a login or have forgotten yours, please contact GAWDA headquarters via e-mail at gawda@gawda.org. Note to Key Contacts: You can update your company profile at any time on the Web. Please make sure we have the most up-to-date information on your company and contacts. Also select the individuals you would like to appear in our online directories.

    WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

Future Channel Trends and Strategies
Mark Dancer, Vice President and Principal, Pembroke Consulting
September 14, 12-1:30 p.m. ET
Channels are evolving at a breakneck pace fueled by a combination of ever-increasing customer demands, technological innovation and emerging competitors. Join this executive-level webinar co-sponsored by GAWDA to review the latest market-leading research and learn practical strategy implications for wholesaler-distributors. Registration is $149 before August 14. To register now, please click here.