Breaking News
  Online Contact
    Booth Program
  Brant's Term Ends
  Board Changes
  Convention Update

Quality Nickel and Stainless Welding Wires and Electrodes

BREAKING NEWS

Online Contact Booth Program Goes Live

Check out the new GAWDA Online Contact Booth Program, an online trade show featuring exhibitors who will be present at the Contact Booth Program at GAWDA's 60th Annual Convention in Las Vegas. Learn more about the exhibitors and plan your Convention strategies. View the Online Contact Booth Program here or open the Online Booth Program link on GAWDA's Web site.

Wally Brant Reflects on Past Year

Wally Brant

As Wally Brant prepares for the end of his term as GAWDA President, he describes the past year as one of achievement and continued improvement.

One of this year's highlights was April's merging of the Spring Management Conference with the AWS Annual Trade Show in Chicago. The result was a packed house and rave reviews. There are plans to repeat this merger in Dallas next spring.

This was a breakthrough year in GAWDA's negotiations with FDA. Our Medical Gas Consultants continued discussions with FDA to safeguard the best interests of our members as FDA prepared the new cGMP guidelines for medical gases.

In response to fume litigation, GAWDA offered hard-hitting, factual seminars and articles, and created a Welding Fume Litigation Reference Library on the GAWDA Web site. To keep our members on the technological cutting edge, GAWDA authored XML standards for the industry, enlisting the support of GAWDA's software vendors for a broad-based XML initiative.

Five webinars covering a variety of topics were conducted. GAWDA continued development of the Medical Oxygen SOP Program, with extended availability to our healthcare, EMT and DME supplier customers.

"These are definitely exciting times," Brant says. "It has been a humbling, yet thrilling, privilege to serve as GAWDA's President. The time to continue GAWDA's leadership in our industry is now." GAWDA thanks President Brant for his tireless work this past year.

Board Prepares for Change

GAWDA would like to thank the Board members whose terms expire this fall for their dedication and service: Second Past President James Madison of Prest-O-Sales & Service Inc. (Long Island City, NY), Southeastern Zone Vice President Duell Stone of Oxygen Service Company, Inc. (Macon, GA), Southwestern Zone Vice President Scott Chenoweth of Texas Welders Supply Co., Inc. (Houston, TX) and Western Zone Vice President Joseph Churilla of Cameron Welding Supply (Stanton, CA). They have served well and the effects of their work are seen throughout the association. Thank you!

James Madison

Duell Stone

Scott Chenoweth

Joseph Churilla

60th Annual Convention Update Viva Las Vegas • GAWDA's 60th Annual Convention at Caesars Palace and Hotel in Las Vegas October 3-7 is just weeks away! Register now for this exciting event of the year you cannot afford to miss. "Betting on Better Times" will provide learning, exploring and networking opportunities you won't find anywhere else. To register for the Convention and make hotel reservations now, please visit this page.

SAFETY & COMPLIANCE NEWS

Cylinder Safety Alert • DOT Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) issued a safety alert regarding cylinders requalified by New England Ski and Scuba, LLC, 520 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT. RSPA obtained evidence that the company marked and certified an undetermined number of cylinders as properly tested in accordance with the HMR without conducting proper testing. The company requalified cylinders under the name of K&B Enterprises and used the RIN number of C626. For more information, please view this page.

EPA Extends SPCC Rule • The EPA finalized an extension for affected facilities to amend and implement their Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan. This 18-month compliance extension follows a previous 18-month extension announced in April 2003. The new compliance dates are now February 17, 2006, to amend an existing SPCC Plan and August 18, 2006, to implement a plan. Affected facilities that start operations between August 16, 2002, and August 18, 2006, must prepare and implement an SPCC Plan by August 18, 2006. Affected facilities that become operational after August 18, 2006, must prepare and implement an SPCC Plan before starting operations.

MAKING THE SALE

Jackson Welding Supply Cleans Up

Rich Furstoss, sales rep at Jackson Welding Supply in Rochester, NY, knows his customers well. One of them is a grocery store chain located throughout the Northeast. The grocery stores are large, inviting, innovative, and committed to quality and superior customer service. The customer prides itself on its ability to meet almost every need of its own customers. For years, Furstoss has been supplying the grocer's main plant with gases and welding supplies, and visits the facility at least once a week.

Furstoss also knows his products very well. Upon learning from J. Walter District Sales Manager Patrick Linehan that a new product was available for the metal working industry, Furstoss was intrigued. Bio Circle 585 cleans metal parts with bio-remediation technology, rather than solvents. Furstoss learned everything there was to know about the process, and convinced his boss to purchase one of the machines. Jackson Welding Supply President Robert Jackson Jr. says, "We purchased it without having a buyer." He adds that Furstoss wasn't so concerned. Furstoss had the perfect customer in mind.

The grocery chain's main facility houses machines that bake bread, cut fruit, cook meat and perform other food-processing tasks, and they had to have a machine that not only met the requirements for cleaning, but did the job meeting their very high standards. Jackson, Furstoss and Linehan suggested a comparison test between the grocer's regular parts cleaning machine and their Bio Circle process, with the customer providing the two tester parts. "They were pretty rotten-looking parts," adds Jackson. One went through its current cleaning process with solvent cleaner; the other went into Bio Circle 585.

It was no surprise to the Jackson/J. Walter team that their product was the clear winner. The customer bought the $2,500 system on the spot and plans to purchase more for its other locations.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

GAWDA welcomes new Associate Member Central Welders Supply Inc. of Watsonville, CA.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Airgas Gaspro Names President (Radnor, PA) • Jeff Finch was named president of Airgas Gaspro, Airgas' newest regional company in Hawaii. It became the 13th regional company when Airgas completed the acquisition of BOC's U.S. packaged gas business, including all operations in Hawaii. Finch served as division vice president in the West Division of Airgas for the last six years. Finch will relocate from Houston, TX, to Honolulu, HI, and lead an organization with more than 125 employees, 9 retail stores and 6 cylinder fill plants.

Airgas Adds Branch to Gulf States (Radnor, PA) • Airgas Inc. acquired the assets and operations of Welding Supply House, including a branch, warehouse and fill plant in Lafayette, LA, which have been integrated into Airgas Gulf States. Bill Delcambre, second-generation owner of Welding Supply House, was appointed area sales manager for the Lafayette and New Iberia branches.

BOC Increases Distributor Focus (Murray Hill, NJ) • Following a Distributor Advisory Council meeting, BOC will increase its focus on its independent distributor channel and has identified key improvement opportunities. The council, which is made up of BOC representatives and 11 of its key distributors from around the U.S., discussed improving supplier–distributor relationships and identified key areas for improvement, including the small bulk program, cGMP medical gases compliance and the Airco Distributor Association.

Pall Partners with Matheson Tri-Gas (Parsippany, NJ) • Pall Corporation and Matheson Tri-Gas entered a strategic alliance to jointly develop, manufacture and sell gas purifiers to the semiconductor industry. Both companies have access to the other's purification media to improve semiconductor manufacturing by eliminating particulate and molecular contaminants, including oxygen, moisture and hydrocarbons, from process gases. The companies have been working together since 1997, when Pall began distributing Matheson's NANOCHEM point-of-use gas purification systems.

MGM Acquired by Acme (Lehigh Valley, PA) • Acme Cryogenics acquired Oklahoma-based Medical Gas Management (MGM). MGM will provide medical gas system service and training programs as well as act as a resource for project planning and pipeline equipment selection. Acme will manufacture bulk medical gas supply and delivery equipment and select pipeline products. Medical Gas Management will continue operating under the MGM name as MGM, LLC and will retain all present employees. All product and service locations will remain.

GAWDA NEWS

Alan Beaulieu

Beaulieu Leads Workshop • For nearly 15 years, Alan Beaulieu has been an economist with the Institute for Trend Research, which analyzes market and economic trends. As principal, he has been consulting and advising companies throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan on how to plan for and prosper through the business cycle. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and other media channels. Participate in Beaulieu's workshop, "Projecting When Economic Cycles Will Change," at GAWDA's Annual Convention on October 5. Read Beaulieu's article, "Projecting When Business Cycles Will Change," in the Fall issue of Welding & Gases Today.

Northwest Regional Meeting • Regional Chair Rich Hargett Jr. of Kent Oxygen (Kent, WA) hosted 125 attendees at GAWDA's Northwest Regional meeting at The Resort at the Mountain in Welches, OR, July 21-23, which opened with a reception and barbecue. The July 22 golf tournament kicked off with a shotgun start, followed by a buffet lunch and general session meeting. Speakers included GAWDA President Wally Brant of Indiana Oxygen Company (Indianapolis, IN), First Past President Jim Kissler of Norco (Boise, ID) and Patrick Gleason of Schaefer-Smith-Ankeney. Lowell Gordon, owner of Gordon Sales, volunteered to chair the 2007 meeting. For more information, contact Hargett at 253-852-5820 or Rich@kentox.com. View photos from the gathering.

Check Out the Latest Edition of Welding & Gases Today • You cannot pick up a current magazine without reading about the hottest topic in supply chain management, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). How and when will this technology change our lives in the gases and welding industry? As RFID technology matures, and as RFID tag prices drop, our industry will have an excellent opportunity to track and account for its largest asset, cylinders. Look at RFID as it exists today in the Fall issue of Welding & Gases Today. Also, prepare for the Annual Convention with a program guide and check out who will be in Las Vegas for GAWDA's Contact Booth Program. Read the magazine in its entirety now.

GAWDA's Welding Fume Litigation Library GAWDA's mission is to promote the safe operation and economic vitality of distributors of industrial gases and related welding equipment and supplies. In accordance with that mission, we strive to provide our members with the most accurate and timely information possible on a variety of safety and compliance, regulatory, and legal topics. With that in mind, GAWDA has created the Welding Fume Litigation Library available at www.gawda.org. The Welding Fume Litigation Library provides updates on the status of welding rod litigation and basic information on how you can protect your business. There are Web links to current cases, industry articles, judicial sites and links to GAWDA University presentations about Welding Fume Litigation. There are several areas where GAWDA members should review company policy and approaches: Litigation defense Insurance coverage Product warnings Corporate restructuring. This is a very important time for all of our members to stay current on these issues. Regardless of the outcome of any litigation, the costs associated with defending your business can overwhelm any company. For more detail on the above items, log on to www.gawda.org and click on the Welding Fume Litigation Library, or contact Rick Schweitzer, GAWDA general counsel and Government Affairs consultant, at 202-223-3040.

    WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

Cylinder Tracking in the Real World
Tim Fusco, TrackAbout, Inc.
October 21, 11 a.m. ET
Keeping track of cylinders is one of the largest responsibilities facing any gas distributor. Disputes with customers cost time and can damage your customer relationships. Inefficiencies in managing and locating cylinders cost thousands of dollars a year. In this one-hour webinar, you will learn about the challenges and opportunities of cylinder tracking, how next generation software handles these challenges and how companies have successfully implemented cylinder tracking. For more information, please visit this link.