“Depression Babies”

Since 1929, near the start of the Great Depression, these GAWDA members have been there, done that, and continue to thrive.

Times are tough out there. More than one person during the last year has lamented what some are calling the worst economy since the Great Depression. A disturbing comparison, sure. But the flip side is that the Great Depression was even worse. Yet, more than one current GAWDA member survived those hard days and has lived to tell the tale.

Time and again, great companies have grown from seeds planted in challenging times. The two companies whose stories follow are prime examples. Each was formed in 1929, the first year of the Great Depression. By learning from these “Depression Babies,” we can learn how to persevere today.

Stock Is Rising for Gano Welding Supplies
On the day after the stock market crashed in 1929, brothers Ken and Oscar “Duke” Gano knew they needed to scramble to make money somehow. As family legend has it, Ken borrowed his parents' car, bought a couple of gas cylinders and started a welding supply business out of his machine shop. “That was his story, anyway,” laughs T.K. Slaughter, Ken's grandson and Gano Welding Supplies vice president.

From those humble roots has sprung a thriving company that employs 16 people and supplies acetylene, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and argon to customers in a coverage area with a 100-mile radius. “We're full service—from the tube trailers that we go out and test the pipelines with all the way down to the B-cylinder that a medical patient needs,” Slaughter says. This cuts to the heart of Gano Welding Supplies' reasons for success through the Depression and today: product diversity and customer service.

Thanks to its mix of products, Slaughter says the company has been somewhat insulated from the current economic downturn. “We've had times when business has been better, but we haven't seen a hard time. We're very diversified; there's a lot of things we'll do around here for a buck,” Slaughter adds.

Whether the sales come from hardgoods, welding machines or gases, customers receive the same level of service. “We care a lot about our customers,” Slaughter says. “I love being part of the American dream that I see in action with our customers. Watching companies start and being part of their long-term success is great. People appreciate that we're still a family-oriented place.”

Third-generation family members and company vice presidents Pat Slaughter (left) and T.K. Slaughter are building on the legacy at Gano Welding Supplies.

The founders' legacy also lives on in the work ethic of Gano Welding Supplies employees. Upon Ken's death several years ago, employees wondered what would happen to the company. “We told them to be there Monday morning and don't be late,” Slaughter recalls. “I have Ken Gano's blood in my veins, and we have a lot of the same values and the same tenacity.”

It's a simple formula, and Gano Welding Supplies has used it to survive and thrive for 80 years. “We're always looking forward, but we can't forget where we came from,” he says.

Maine Oxy's mobile training unit features eight independent stations for on-the-spot welding training at locations throughout New England.

Maine Oxy: Serving Customers,
Employees and Country
Living the mantra, “Customers are our reason for being,” is what Maine Oxy-Acetylene Supply Company (Auburn, ME), or Maine Oxy, has done to remain a viable and expanding business 80 years after its establishment in 1929. As 30-year company veteran Carl Paine, director of business development, explains, “We have always differentiated ourselves by taking care of customers and servicing their needs. When a customer phones in, he or she is the only person in the world who matters at that moment. That's what our employees feel and believe, and that's what they do.”

That accountability permeates the staff of 140 employees, especially since Maine Oxy became an employee-owned company six years ago. “We are an open book company, and we have extremely empowered employees. They understand where money is made and lost and can modify their direction from there,” Paine says.

The customer service team at Maine Oxy's Auburn, Maine, headquarters helps the company provide its most important product: quality customer service.

At Maine Oxy, empowerment leads to camaraderie, which is exemplified by the company's program to support U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Four Maine Oxy employees served in Iraq, and staff mailed monthly packages the entire time they were there. It's a testament to the Maine Oxy culture that the staff still sends care packages to soldiers even though all the employees have come back home.

With nine locations—five in Maine, three in new Hampshire and one in Massachusetts—Maine Oxy takes pride in its status as an independent distributor, opening its own acetylene plant 12 years ago and a spec gas division in 1993. Maine Oxy also started the New England School of Metalwork, a welding training institution that has since been spun off into a nonprofit.

It's a far cry from the simple beginnings providing home propane delivery under founder Joseph Albiston, grandfather of current CEO Bruce Albiston, but Paine says the company is much the same now as it has always been. “We've stayed very true to our core businesses of welding supplies, industrial gases and safety, and that concentrated focus has allowed us to grow.”

On its 80th birthday, Maine Oxy is looking to stay on an upward path. “Turning 80 isn't really a focus for us. The important thing is always reviewing everything to make sure we're doing everything we can to meet our customers' needs. That's what's important,” Paine says.

Maine Oxy trainer Kenny Scribner has worked at the company for 44 years. Continuing education is a key to Maine Oxy's success. Here, new and veteran employees take a course on cutting equipment.