Story After Story, Our Customers Results Exceed Expectations

A Cost Effective and Safe Alternative to Micro Bulk For more than 60 years, Noble Gas Solutions has delivered gases, as well as hard goods, to customers throughout upstate New York’s Tech Valley region and into southern Vermont and western Massachusetts. It does so from its location in Albany, NY and from a branch location in Kingston, NY. David Mahoney, President of Noble Gas Solutions, notes that his business model started beating to a different rhythm in 1996, shortly after he acquired his Kingston branch location. That new rhythm has led to a notable percent increase in his specialty gas business in the last 15 years, fueled in part by a 200% uptick since 2008, in gases provided for research and development applications. Mahoney stated that while his business mix of 40-percent hard goods, 60-percent gases (up from 45 percent gases prior to 1996) is healthy, he would have no problem if his gas business grew to be 65 or 70 percent of the company.

Startup Independent Distributor Takes Off in California Gas deliveries for Encore Welding and Industrial Supply in Signal Hill, California started just a couple of years ago and within the company’s first year of operations, its supplier of filled cylinders no longer could keep pace with orders. Last April the company’s new fill plant was completed and the marketplace for industrial and other gases couldn’t be happier.

Automation Keeps WestAir on Top of Biotech Market. Recent years have seen U.S. based WestAir Gases & Equipment invest mightily in new technology to fulfill its mission of providing quality products and exceptional service to their customers. The primary end-use market driving WestAir’s efforts is Southern California’s wildly active biotech industry. For years the firm served that market from its facility in El Cajon, CA. Primary products include liquid nitrogen and UHP helium and nitrogen, as well as argon and other spec gases. But by the early 2000s WestAir had outgrown that facility and clearly needed to upgrade. “The El Cajon plant was operating 10 to 12 hours/day to keep up with production, giving us little to no chance of continuing to grow with the market,” said Romesberg. “When we decided to upgrade our capabilities, we looked for technology that would allow us to double our production.”

Focused on Value for their Customers. Oregon’s largest independent welding equipment and gas supplier, Industrial Source, headquartered in Eugene, OR, is on a mission to be “a relationship-based company delivering exceptional customer service and value.” According to their risk and distribution manager Steve Baker, that mission is paying big dividends. It all started with their new fill plant and analytical lab at its location in Portland, OR.

Look out southern Indiana, there’s a new gas filler in town. Koehler Welding and Supply, a leading supplier of welding, maintenance/repair and other industrial products since 1929, now has expanded their services to include high-pressure-gas and liquid-cylinder filling.

Holston Gases has been family owned and operated for well over 50 years, serving customers from 25 locations in four states. “Our mission is simple; To take care of our customers in the timeliest fashion possible,” stated Robert Parsons, Holston’s Operations Manager. “That strategy covers distribution in industrial, medical and specialty gases.”

Filling, Testing and Now: Automated Sampling at Linde’s New Specialty Gas Facility The recently completed 4000-sq.-ft. addition to Linde’s 35-yr.-old production facility in Hammond, IN establishes the firm’s foothold in U.S. production of specialty gases. When the new spec-gas facility launched production in February 2014, plant manager Jack Taylor told local media: “This new facility melds perfectly with Linde’s goal to be a total gas supplier, and reinforces our commitment to our independent distributor network.”

Automation, backed by workmanship and commitment to quality, secures a bright future for Colorado distributor.

A New Hydrogen Fill Facility Takes Shape. For years nexAir had been growing their hydrogen business organically, but the volumes were not enough for them to commit to the capital necessary for a new Hydrogen Fill Facility. After performing a deeper analysis of their true costs they identified an annual freight expense to ship hydrogen into the area in excess of $80,000. Armed with this information nexAir sought out a knowledgeable partner to work within the design, installation and long term support of the program. They turned to Weldcoa.

Mapping the Road to Successful Growth Gas & Supply, a distributor of welding equipment and gases that was founded in Louisiana in the early 1980s, has been strategically fostering it’s future by investing in states with rapid GDP growth. “In the last 10 years we’ve doubled our number of stores, targeting expansion in the growth areas of the country,” explains COO John Rogstad. “We’ve focused on Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma.” The firm’s foray into Oklahoma began in 1996 in Oklahoma City, and more recently spread to Tulsa in 2010. Rogstad notes that servicing the Tulsa market with industrial gases from its fill plant in Oklahoma City (a 1996, vintage swing-arm setup) limited its ability to grow in the region. “From 2011 to 2012, gas sales from our Tulsa location grew by 275%. We had to do something to handle that growth and enable future growth, besides leaning on the Oklahoma City fill plant.”