BREAKING NEWS

Revisions to EPA's Hazmat Chemical Reporting

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out with minor revisions to its Emergency Planning Notification, Emergency Release Notification and Hazardous Chemical Reporting regulations, codifying statuary requirements, and clarifying interpretations and policy statements. Changes include:

• Finalizing some of the proposed revisions on applying threshold quantity and the reporting of mixtures under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act sections 311 and 312.
• Removing Tier I and II inventory forms and instructions from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and some minor changes to the forms and instructions.
• Re-writing the regulations in CFR parts 355 and 370 in plain language.
• Adding tables in order to improve the clarity and understanding of reporting requirements.

The changes were published on November 5 in the Federal Register and can be seen here.

FTC Delays “Red Flag” Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) delayed enforcement of "Red Flag" regulations until May 1, 2009. "Red Flag" regulations require companies that maintain customer accounts used to make periodic payments, transfers and transactions to develop formal policies to detect the warning signs or "Red Flags" of potential identity theft and set up procedures to prevent and mitigate identity theft occurrences. The FTC initially gave companies until November 1, 2008, to assess whether "Red Flag" regulations apply to them and, if so, create a compliant identity theft prevention plan. The FTC estimates more than 11 million businesses may be impacted, including any business that provides customers with any type of account permitting the customer to make payments or enter into financial transactions. Read more about the "Red Flag" regulations delay on the FTC's Web site.

Albright Celebrates 80th Anniversary (Wooster, OH) • On December 11-12, Albright Welding Supply Company will celebrate its 80th anniversary with an open house. The company was founded in 1928 by Arden F. Albright and has remained a family-owned business. The open house will feature alternative fuel applications and maintenance alloy selection training classes in addition to equipment demonstrations in Albright’s product demonstration lab. Between 400 and 500 customers are expected to attend.

Greg Boston

Expanded Responsibilities for Boston at Tomco (Loganville, GA) • Greg Boston, industrial sales manager for Tomco Equipment Company, will take over sales responsibilities for the welding and gas industry. These responsibilities include initiating a contact program with welding and gas customers. Boston has been with the company since 1997.

Advanced Gas & Welding Solutions Acquires Repair Company (Eastlake, OH) • Advanced Gas & Welding Solutions acquired Electric Welder Repair, an authorized field service station and repair facility based in Cuyahoga Heights, OH. Electric Welder Repair has been in business for over 40 years. "This acquisition is about better servicing new and existing customers," explains Advanced Gas & Welding Solutions Co-Partner Jim Mikus. "If they have problems with their equipment, we can now fix it for them."

John Sennett

Sennett Joins ATTC (Bradenton, FL) • American Torch Tip Company hired John Sennett as inside sales representative for the midwest region. Sennett has an industrial engineering degree and worked for several years in the automotive industry. He is responsible for helping customers solve application problems concerning plasma, MIG, TIG, oxy-fuel and laser replacement parts and consumables.

Linde Facility Receives Certification (Murray Hill, NJ) • Linde North America's CO2 plant in South Bend, IN, was certified under the American Chemistry Council's Responsible Care program. Responsible Care is a management system offering an integrated, structured approach for continued improvement.  

Construction at Rockford Industrial’s new Bloomington branch

New Branch For Rockford Industrial (Rockford, IL) • Rockford Industrial Welding Supply is building a new branch at 916 Avalon Way in Bloomington, IL. "We expect the branch will expand our geographic concentration and marketing area to incorporate new growth in our southern region," says President Gary Bertrand. The 17,200 sq. ft. building is expected to open by January 1.

AWISCO Holds Race Night (Maspeth, NY) • Over 200 customers came out for AWISCO's 2nd annual Race Night at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, NY, on August 2. The company-sponsored 31st Lap Bar and Grill provided attendees with steak sandwiches while the AWISCO booth gave away vendor catalogs and prizes. Despite the fact that the night was cut short due to rain, West Milford, NJ, Branch Manager Andy Cullen says the event was "a rousing success."

Lawrence Allen Creager In Sympathy Lawrence Allen Creager, 62, passed away on October 2 in Fenton, MO, from complications due to surgery. Mr. Creager was a district sales manager for the midwest region at ABICOR Binzel USA (Frederick, MD). With over 25 years of experience in the welding industry, he also held sales management positions at Tweco/Arcair and OKI Bering. "He was a great and well-liked salesman," says Mary Westerhold, director of marketing communications for ABICOR Binzel. "The whole industry will miss him." Mr. Creager is survived by his wife Karen, 2 daughters and sons-in-law, and 4 grandchildren.

GAWDA NEWS

2008-2009 Dues Reminder • It's time to renew your GAWDA membership and receive 2 additional months of membership for free! The 2008-2009 GAWDA dues renewal invoices were mailed to all member company key contacts. For your convenience, dues can now be paid online. You will need your company’s login information to access the online dues page. Please pay your annual dues promptly so that we can continue to provide you with membership benefits.

Don’t forget that the fiscal year and membership year were changed to a calendar year! As a result, this year's dues will cover November 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009. For questions about membership dues, please contact GAWDA Membership Director Kate Cole at 215-565-3484 ext. 2209 or kcole@fernley.com.

Help Redesign GAWDA’s Web Site • Have you visited GAWDA’s Web site? Now is your chance to help redesign it!

Volunteers are needed for the Web Site Task Force, which will last 6-9 months. The Task Force will:

• Develop a survey to determine member usage, what they need from the Web site and their ideas for making it better.
• Look at other association Web sites for “best practices.”
• Provide a detailed review of what to keep, what to toss and what to add.
• Develop a Request For Proposal to send to Web site development companies.
• Select a company to develop the new Web site.
• Manage the development and testing process.
• Present to the membership at Annual Convention in San Antonio.

The Web Site Task Force will meet once in Philadelphia, PA, in January 2009 and again at the Spring Management Conference in Asheville, NC. The majority of the work will happen during conference calls and through e-mails. To volunteer, contact Kent Van Amburg at kvanamburg@fernley.com.

GAWDA Edge Advisory Committee • The GAWDA Board of Directors is seeking Young Executives to serve on the GAWDA Edge Advisory Committee. The committee will act as a consultant to help GAWDA Edge succeed as the premier publication for the industry's young professionals by providing feedback and story ideas. Please contact GAWDA Edge Editorial Assistant Amy Kulow at editor@gawdaedge.org or at 315-445-2347 if you are interested in serving on this committee.

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 is an ever-changing and growing program. The initial course offerings 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. We are 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!

Click here to view course listings.

WEBINARS, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

Getting the Right Attitude: 7 Keys to a Customer Service Culture (Webinar)
December 2, 2008
Nancy Friedman, aka The Telephone Doctor, will share the 7 characteristics of a positive mental attitude to facilitate a true customer service culture. Fee is $149 per site. Click here for more information.

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. 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.

GAWDA HEADQUARTERS
100 North 20th Street, 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1443
phone 215.564.3484 - fax 213.963.9784
gawda@fernley.com