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INDUSTRY BEAT Weldinghouse Relocates (Corpus Christi, TX) • Weldinghouse moved its main store to 705 N. Navigation Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX, 78401. The federal Community Renewal Act of 2000 granted $2 million in tax reductions for the move. At 14,000 sq. ft., the new location includes a cylinder-filling facility, saving Weldinghouse the cost of traveling to have its cylinders filled. Earlbeck Hires Mayne (Baltimore, MD) • Earlbeck Gases & Technologies hired Jesse Mayne, a degreed welding engineer. Mayne previously worked at Babcox & Wilcox’s nuclear reactor fabrication facility. He is positioned to expand Earlbeck’s welder training and certification capabilities.Purifier Being Built for Gas Innovations (La Porte, TX) • Gas Innovations’ partner, Diversified CPC, a UL, ISO 9002 certified supplier of liquefied petroleum gases, is building an ultra-high purity fractionator (purifier) that will produce 99.99% plus purity hydrocarbons at high capacity. Gas Innovations will be distributing the hydrocarbons. "This is a major development for the high-tech firms that need pure gases for their process," says Ashley Madray, vice president of Gas Innovations. Additionally, Gas Innovations celebrated the expansion of its facilities with a 3-day open house for local dignitaries, distributors and suppliers.
Lee Joins Valley National Gases (Independence, OH) • Steven C. Lee was hired as vice president and general counselor for Valley National Gases. Lee has in-house corporate and law firm experience across multiple industries, including retail, industrial distribution and manufacturing. VNG also acquired Beaver Valley Welding Supply, a distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases in addition to welding equipment and supplies, located in Aliquippa, PA. TW Price Increase (Mechanicsburg, PA) • TW Cylinders, a division of Taylor-Wharton International, announced price increases as of August 4 for all acetylene and high pressure cylinder product lines. Scott W. Boyd, vice president of sales and marketing, explains, "The persistent price escalation for alloy steels, as well as acetone and component parts, again exceeded our ability to absorb the increases." Price increases range from 4% to 23% and are contingent upon the applicable steel, acetone and component part content.
Van Auken Appointed President of Norris (Longview, TX) • With 30 years of experience, Jerry Van Auken was promoted from general manager to president of Norris Cylinders. Van Auken's responsibilities as president include strategic direction, profit and loss reporting, sales and marketing, operations and human resource initiatives. While general manager, Van Auken helped to increase Norris's unit capacity by 23% while supporting the expansion of the ISO-cylinder product line. Airgas Acquires Port Huron Welding (Radnor, PA) • Airgas Great Lakes acquired the assets of Port Huron Welding Supply in Port Huron, MI. Founded in 1923, Port Huron was a fifth-generation welding and safety distributor. President Dennis Nicholson retired but will continue to operate Fire Safe, a retail fire equipment distributor. Airgas also reports that first quarterly net earnings grew 33% to $68.9 million and sales grew 22% from the prior year to $1.1 billion. Acquisitions contributed 15% to the increase.
Lincoln Electric Constructs Facility in China (Cleveland, OH) • Lincoln Electric Holdings is building a state-of-the-art welding consumables facility in the Jiangning District of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, in China. As part of Lincoln’s Asia Pacific subsidiary, Nanjing Lincoln Electric, the facility will address the growing needs of Chinese customers for higher productivity and more advanced welding processes and applications. Construction began in July 2008 and completion is scheduled for July 2009. Also, President Bush visited Lincoln Electric’s facility on July 29 to speak on the need for Congress to pass a trade agreement with Columbia and to support offshore oil exploration. Air Products to Sell U.S. Healthcare Business (Allentown, PA) • Air Products & Chemicals plans to sell its underperforming U.S. Healthcare business after failed efforts to improve the business's profitability. The company is negotiating with potential buyers and signed a preliminary agreement to sell the U.S. Healthcare business in the metropolitan New York area and in New Jersey. The transaction is expected to close by 2009. Tom Barnhart Joins US Tank (Lewisburg, TN) • Tom Barnhart was hired as vice president of sales for US Tank & Cryogenic Equipment. Formerly employed by Cramer Decker Industries and Kaplan Industries, Barnhart has 10 years of experience in the industrial gas business. As vice president of sales, he will work to increase US Tank's overall market share of bulk tank/cryogenic cylinder refurbishment. Linde Builds First Australian Helium Plant (Murray Hill, NJ) • The Linde Group, through its subsidiary BOC, is constructing the first helium plant in the southern hemisphere in Australia for all of Australia’s domestic helium needs. The plant will also export helium to New Zealand and Asia. Steve Penn, head of global helium at Linde, says, "Helium demand increased in Asia with steady demand growth expected for the next five years. A new Asian-Pacific helium source will be beneficial for global supply." The plant will begin operations in July 2009 and is expected to produce approximately 150 million cubic feet of helium—3% of the world's helium demand—per year. In other Linde news, Linde Canada acquired P&B Sales, a distributor of welding gases and equipment in Subdury, ON, Canada.
GAWDA NEWS GAWDA Names New OSHA & EPA Consultant • GAWDA is pleased to announce that Michael Dodd of MLD Safety Associates LLC is now the OSHA & EPA consultant for the association in addition to being the DOT & Security consultant, a position he has held since 2000. Mike is well known for his quick response time and easy access as well as bringing simple yet concise answers to members' questions. He can be reached at MLDSafety@hotmail.com or 573-785-5111. Convention Early Registration to End Soon • Early registration is closing August 11 for GAWDA’s 64th Annual Convention in the Bahamas on September 21-25, 2008. Register now and save! After August 11, the registration fee will increase by $100. The exhibition fee for the Contact Booth Program will also increase by $100 after August 11. Convention Hole-In-One Contest • We have added a Hole-In-One Contest to this year’s Convention golf tournament at The Ocean Club in the Bahamas. Money raised for the contest will go to "GAWDA Gives Back."
Attention Volunteers • Interested in helping to grow our membership? We are looking for volunteer leaders to be a part of the GAWDA Membership Committee. If interested, please contact Membership Director Kate Cole at (215) 564-4672 or kcole@fernley.com. HR Report Available • The August 2008 HR Manager's Legal Reporter is now available for download at www.gawda.org. GAWDA Clearinghouse • The GAWDA Clearinghouse has been updated for the month and is available here. GAWDA Launches Online Career Center • The Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) has launched its interactive job board, the GAWDA Career Center. With its focus on gases and welding distributor companies and professionals, the GAWDA Career Center offers members—and the industry at large—an easy-to-use and highly targeted resource for online employment connections.
Take Advantage of GAWDA University Online GAWDA U is an easy-to-use and inexpensive online training tool for your employees. The educational content of GAWDA U was developed to support GAWDA's primary mission of providing information to assist you in improving your company's safety and compliance. GAWDA U Online will be an ever-changing and growing program. The initial course offerings will concentrate on training for new employees during their first 90 days. The second generation of content will focus on more advanced training that will build upon the earlier basic/elementary courses. This summer, we will be seeking training material from our members that can be adapted to the GAWDA U platform and will expand the program to include supplier-based training on company-specific products and services. We are conducting weekly Webinars to introduce members to the functions and content of GAWDA U and to answer any questions. Please contact GAWDA Membership Director Kate Cole (kcole@fernley.com) to sign up for the introductory webinars or to find out more about this exciting opportunity!
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