BREAKING NEWS

Dear GAWDA Members,

On behalf of your GAWDA Board of Directors, I am requesting that our membership assist us in a very important project.  We feel that our GAWDA consultants are one of the biggest assets that we offer to our membership.  We would like you, our members, to help us determine the strengths, value, and shortcomings that we may have with the current consultant offerings.

Even if you have never used GAWDA's consultants or your use was only in the past, please complete the survey as your input will still be helpful.

If you could please take the time to complete the survey, we would greatly appreciate it. Average time to complete the survey is about 15 minutes.  I want to again emphasize the importance of this project and thank you in advance for your valued input. A large percentage of your dues are allocated to paying our consultants. Our goal is to make sure that your membership dollars are spent wisely.

GAWDA has contracted with the Allegheny Marketing Group to conduct a research study with members. You should have recently received an e-mail from them with your password and the survey link.

Thank you in advance for helping us with this important research study.

Gary Stoneback, GAWDA President

SAFETY & COMPLIANCE NEWS

Shipping Paper and Cylinder Decal Changes • As of January 1, 2008, the following entries are removed from the Hazardous Materials Table 172.101 and will revert back to the appropriate Compressed Gas, N.O.S. descriptions:

    – Rare Gases Mixtures, Compressed UN1979
    – Rare Gases and Oxygen Mixtures, Compressed UN1980
    – Rare Gases and Nitrogen Mixtures, Compressed UN1981
    – Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide Mixtures UN1015
    – Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Mixtures, Compressed UN1014
    – Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Mixtures, Compressed UN2600.

The Rare Gas items will affect many gas distributors and will require shipping paper changes and new cylinder decals to match. As of January 1, 2008, you must use the new descriptions on any cylinders that you ship from your locations.

There is a special permit (SP-14494) from DOT that allows you to bring back cylinders from the field with the old decals and to use the old descriptions on your shipping papers. To take advantage of this special permit, you will need to apply for and receive back from DOT a grantee letter that has your company name listed and then follow the terms of the special permit.

To apply for grantee status, follow the instructions found in 49 CFR 107.107, which are very simple to do. Please see the December 2007 Traffic Bulletin for more details on this special permit.

If you need any help on this subject, please contact your DOT & Homeland Security Consultant, Mike Dodd, at 573-785-5111 or e-mail MLDSafety@hotmail.com.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Michael S. Mintun

Lincoln Elects North American Sales VP (Cleveland, OH) • Michael S. Mintun was elected vice president, sales, North America, for The Lincoln Electric Company and is now responsible for Lincoln’s U.S. and Canadian sales organizations. Mintun joined Lincoln in 1984 as a sales trainee and advanced through a number of positions within the sales organization. Most recently, he served as sales manager for North America.

Hoffmann Joins Gas Innovations (Houston, TX) • Jim Hoffmann was named vice president of sales at Gas Innovations Inc. Hoffmann will work with distributors to grow their propylene fuel gas business while also managing Gas Innovations' product development, asset utilization and distribution activities. Hoffmann worked at Praxair for 30 years. Most recently, he was in branch operations with Airgas.

Norm Greenlay

Tregaskiss Appoints Manager for Western Canada (Windsor, ON, Canada) • Norm Greenlay, who has 20 years experience in sales and engineering, was named the Tregaskiss regional business manager in western Canada. He will be reporting to Darren Grey, director of Canadian sales.

VNG Acquires Portland Welding Supply (Washington, PA) • Valley National Gases acquired Portland Welding Supply, an industrial gas and welding supply and tool distributor with annual sales in excess of $30 million, 11 operating locations and 130 employees throughout Maine and New Hampshire. Michael Ziegler, Valley National CEO, says this is VNG's largest acquisition to date and will significantly expand the company’s presence into New England through access to new markets. "VNG will continue to pursue its strategy of growth through selective, high-quality acquisitions by seeking complementary opportunities in New England and in other regions." Joost Thesseling, principal at CI Capital Partners LLC, adds, "The acquisition of Portland Welding Supply is the third add-on acquisition since CI Capital Partners’ acquisition of Valley National Gases earlier in 2007. We look forward to continuing to work with Mike and his team to build the company organically and through a disciplined acquisition strategy."

Five Most Popular Articles in Welding & Gases Today Online During the Last Two Weeks Scaling New Heights GAWDA Distributors explore new avenues for growth in 2008. Total Quality Management Implementing a TQM program can result in significant improvements. Buzzwords For 2008 Suppliers increase Efficiencies and Communication. 2008 Board of Directors Meet the volunteers who are leading the association into 2008. Welsco, Inc. Distributor's emphasis on employees and education paves the way to success for this company. Click on the titles above or here to view other articles in Welding & Gases Today Online

GAWDA NEWS

SMC Housing and Registration • Housing and Registration for GAWDA’s 2008 Spring Management Conference – Chicago is now available. GAWDA’s First SMC of the year is taking place March 9–11 in Chicago, IL. This is a great opportunity to network with your peers from around the country, as well as get a fresh focus on the issues and concerns to the Gases and Welding Industry. Please visit the GAWDA Web site for the schedule of events, registration and contact booth forms.

The second SMC will be held at the Intercontinental Miami Hotel, Miami, FL, on April 20–22. The Miami SMC will feature speakers such as Alan Beaulieu with the Institute for Trend Research; Meagan Johnson, who will present the ins and outs of the younger work force; and Buzz Campbell, with CryoGAS International, who will provide an important gases industry update. Program details and registration forms will be available on the GAWDA Web site in mid-January.

Hotel Reservations - Book Your Rooms for the 2nd SMC! • A special GAWDA rate of $249, single occupancy, is available to conference attendees at the Intercontinental Miami Hotel. This rate is available three days prior and three days after the conference subject to availability. Please make your reservation directly with the Intercontinental Miami Hotel on or before March 21, by calling 866-577-3753. When making your reservation please be sure to mention the GAWDA conference rate of $249.

Plan Improvement for GAWDA/Met Life, Group Life Insurance Program • At a recent GAWDA Insurance Trustees meeting, the trustees voted to increase the Dependent Life insurance portion of the program applicable to children up to age 19, from $2,000 to $5,000, effective January 1, 2008.

All 117 participating companies were notified of this benefit enhancement. It is estimated that over 80% of those companies providing Employee group life insurance do not provide Dependent life insurance. The GAWDA program does insure spouses for $10,000 (unchanged) and makes no premium charge for either the $10,000 spouse and now $5,000 child (ren) insurance.

Charles Miesch, Purity Cylinder Gases, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI), was named 2008 Insurance Trustee Chairman, replacing 2007 Chairman David Weigel, Oxygen Service Company (St. Paul, MN).

For more information, please contact GAWDA's Group Life Insurance Consultant David Irving at 610-566-4851 or e-mail davebarbirving@aol.com.

2008 GAWDA Compensation Survey for Distributor Members • Hiring and keeping good employees is essential to the profitability of your business, especially in today's economy. To achieve that goal, you must consider your overall employee compensation plan—not just your pay scales, but your benefits program as well—in comparison to other firms in distribution. How does your firm's employee compensation package stack up in the industry? To help you evaluate your situation, GAWDA is co-sponsoring the 2008 Employee Compensation Study conducted by Profit Planning Group. Approximately 2,500 firms in over 35 distribution lines of trade will be participating.

To ensure a comprehensive report, we need your participation. Go to this page to download the survey and for additional information. The Excel format of the 2008 Employee Compensation questionnaire, which can be easily completed and submitted to Profit Planning Group, is available at http://www.profitplanninggroup.com/pages/xcomp/gawdaxq08.xls. Questions? E-mail Malvenia Avery at mavery@fernley.com.

WORKSHOPS, WEB CONFERENCES & SEMINARS

Compliance Update Teleconference
Thursday January, 17, 2008
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 Noon Eastern
(To avoid missing any of the presentation, we suggest calling in at 10:55 a.m. Eastern)
Ring in the new year with the GAWDA Consultants, some of industry’s leading compliance and regulatory experts, and listen to them discuss what 2008 has in store for independent distributors. Topics to be covered during the presentations include: DOT, Homeland Security, OSHA, EPA, FDA, FMCSA and Welding Fume Litigation. There will be a 10 to 20 minute overview on each topic to introduce new and changing requirements members are likely to be facing during the coming months. The presentations will be followed by an open question-and-answer period from the audience. Handouts will be available from the GAWDA Web site for reference during the presentations. To access the meeting, dial 800-791-2345 and enter the code 47395# .

GAWDA Consultants Forum
April 1 – 4
Indianapolis, IN
The GAWDA Consultants will present the new security regulations now going into effect, changes to DOT requirements, upcoming changes to the USP/NF medical gas monographs and how that will potentially affect how medical gases are analyzed, and an in-depth session on establishing and managing an effective lockout/tagout program. General registration will open on January 15.

The GAWDA Connection is distributed on the 8th and 23rd of each month to all GAWDA members as a membership service of GAWDA, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association, 100 N. 20th Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19103-1443. Neither GAWDA nor Data Key Communications, LLC, their officers, directors, members and staff are responsible for contents or opinions other than those concerning Association activities.

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