News
How Technology Can Enhance Growth at Home and at Work
By Dave Marquard, WEMCO Tech Chair June 8, 2019 Curiosity has often driven me to action. In 1982 I purchased one of the worlds first portable computers, the Osborne 1. It weighed almost 25 pounds and didnt have an on-board battery. It had to be plugged into a wall outlet to power up and use. However, it was still classified as a portable computer because it could be hand-carried. The Osborne 1 shipped with a large bundle of software worth almost as much as the computer. That software included some of the most powerful and pioneering programs of the day such as D-Base2 for data sorting; SuperCal, an early spreadsheet, and WordStar, a leading word processor application that had a dominant market share that lasted until the mid-1980s. I was a young VP at a small welding equipment manufacturing company, which while a market leader in its small niche, could never seem to break out of a slow growth cycle. My new computer aided ability to process large amounts of data, prepare what
SuperFlash CEO Announced as a winner in 2019 Smart 50 Awards
Victoria Marquard-Schultz/OxyGo Announced as a winner in 2019 Smart 50 Awards. The Smart 50 Awards, presented by Smart Business, honor the top 50 executives in the Greater Cleveland region. Westlake, OH. May 1st, 2019 OxyGo LLC, the parent company of SuperFlash, a leader in lightweight portable oxygen concentrators, announced today that Victoria Marquard-Schultz,CEO, was named a Smart 50 winner by Smart Business Magazine. The Smart 50 Awards presented by Smart Business honor the top executives of the regions smartest 50 companies for their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations. Being honored with a Smart 50 among these inspiring, successful business leaders and their organizations is truly such an honor, said Victoria Marquard-Schultz, CEO of OxyGo and SuperFlash.It means so much. I am very grateful and especially proud that our company isbeing recognized. SuperFlash is a leaderin oxy-fuel welding safety and custom gas mixers that allow
Introducing the iMixone Gas Mixer!
iMixone with integrated high-pressure regulators and flow control Gas mixer with diffusion-mixing system for two gases with up to three pre-set mixing ratios, especially for welding processes. The SuperFlashiMixoneis used, for example, in the production of mixed gases for protective gas welding and covers the most frequently used gas mixtures for the MIG, MAG, TIG welding. Due to the mixing principle, this mixer also ensures a constant gas mixture even if the volume of gas withdrawal changes. Avoid additional energy costs with the iMixone! ADVANTAGES High mixing precision even if the volume of gas withdrawal changes Up to 3 mixing ratios can be pre-set according to customers requirement Cost savings due to the avoidance of storage of different premixes Gas inlet filters protect the device against contamination Diffusion-mixing principle, no power supply required Withdrawal of mixed gas from 5 l/min up to maximum capacity Sturdy, compact design Low maintenance EASY HANDLING Direct
How to Prevent Personal Obsolescence
Here are three simple actions you can take to help prevent your own personal obsolescence.Warning: Personal obsolescence in a leader / manager can manifest itself in organizational underperformance, less than optimal personal compensation, and even unemployment. EMBRACE YOUR INDUSTRY MARKET: More than 2,500 years ago the great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (544 BC to 496 BC) wisely observed: If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. To modify this ancient axiom a little, You need not fear a hundred salary reviews, decisions, or market / industry changes, if you know the industry and the market. Having worked a dozen years for a large conglomerate before founding my own companies, I witnessed a common mistake by new division executives who often believed they didnt need to put in the considerable extra time required to learn the industry, market, and or even their products. This mistake was most often rooted in the erroneous belief
Chance to WIN a $250 Amazon Gift Card when you share your flashback near miss story
Win a $250 Amazon Gift Card and help protect welders from serious injuries or worse by sharing your experience with a near miss and / or accident that either could have been prevented or was prevented by a SuperFlash or IBEDA Flashback Arrestor. Four (4) $250 Amazon gift cards will be awarded to anyone who shares a near miss, or where a flashback arrestor prevented a near miss and / or accident that we could use in trade publications. The goal is protect welders from serious injury or worse. Submitting your experience is a win-win for you and millions of welders who are protected by SuperFlash IBEDA gas safety products. Or those who should be.. Please email all submissions to sales@oxyfuelsafety.com for your chance to win!
My Thoughts on the Blockbuster Air Liquide Purchase of Airgas
Bonjour everyone! Pass the Dijon mustard! Congratulations to Airgas founder Peter McCausland for the recent sale of Airgas to the French company Air Liquide for $10.3 billion. Has there ever been a larger sale in the history of the welding industry? I doubt it. In my view, this created an enormous amount of value for Airgas shareholders, employees, vendors, customers, and our country by implementing a very significant strategy known as overcoming business fragmentation. I first read about this strategy at the Harvard Business School in a famous book titled Competitive Strategy by Professor Michael E. Porter. As I see it, is a great example of brilliantly implementing this very effective strategy in the real world. In Competitive Strategy, Porter describes four critical business advantages that I think are illustrated by this purchase. EXPERIENCE CURVE: Experience is everything. But it can take awhile to acquire. When two companies combine, you can accelerate down the experience curve.
Five ways to keep your job
Is Technology Helping You Lose Your Job? By Dave Marquard, CEO and owner of SuperFlash Technology, most of us will admit is rapidly increasing the speed of change because it makes decision making information and data available faster and more complete than ever before. Examples abound, such as digital reporting of phone activity, web browsing, input and output metrics, ERP / CRM software, lean manufacturing such as TPS, DBS, etc. Recently, I visited one of our regular suppliers and was surprised to discover a new interim manager at the front desk. The previous manager lasted about nine months, and the manager he replaced had a seven year run before being terminated. Your first thought might be that is a tough place to manage or be managed and I think you might be wrong on both counts. Both managers were surprised when their regional vice president showed up unannounced mid-week and unceremoniously terminated them. Termination, if you have never experienced it from either side, is the
Introducing the NEW SuperFlash IBEDA Inline Fuel Gas and Oxygen Filters
SuperFlash / IBEDA Inline Fuel Gas and Oxygen Filters By Dave Marquard July 30, 2015 Westlake, OH SuperFlash Compressed Gas Equipment, manufacturer of compressed gas safety and control devices, announces the introduction of their new GF-25 Inline Gas and Oxygen Filters designed for use in pipelines. The new GF-25 Inline Gas and Oxygen Filters are designed for use in pipelines. Very user friendly and can be used with a variety of gases, including oxygen and many other technical gases. Fuel Gas Model, 1 NPT F x 1 NPT F - Part #: 0701-3393 Oxygen Model, 1 NPT F x 1 NPT F - Part #: 0701-3394 Replacement Filter Element - Part #: 0701-3399 See below for additional information: Gas Oxygen Filter: GF-25 Model For installation in pipelines: for installation in horizontal and vertical gas pipelines. can be installed in existing gas pipelines and is immediately ready to operate. easy to assemble. available for many technical gases allowing for a wide range of applications. flow enhancing
NEW Flashback Arrestors and Check Valves for Fuel and Air Gas
SuperFlash has a new product line for thermal process systems and heating processes with fuel gas and air mixtures. The new product line consists of check valves (GRV Series) in accordance with EN730-2 so-called safety devices without integrated flame arrestor as well as models with check valves and an integrated flame arrestor (GRS Series). The new products are characterized by minimal cracking pressures between 4 and 6 mbar as well as extremely low pressure losses. These products can be used in thermal process plant applications with a natural gas supply as well as heating processes for welding, cutting, and related processes that are operated with mixtures of fuel gas and air. In this area the safety devices are used to safeguard plants, pipeline systems and tapping points and prevent gas return (check valves, model: GRV) or gas return and flashback (flashback resistant gas non-return valve, model: GRS). The safety devices satisfy the requirements specified in all relevant international
Stainless Steel Flashback Arrestors
In addition to our standard high flow stainless steel flashback arrestor (model DG91NSS), we now offer three additional versions to cover a much larger range of flow rates and situations. Choose from our model DGN for standard flow applications all the way up to our models ESF and Demax designed for high flow manifold applications. Now no matter what application you have, we can provide a flashback arrestor made from stainless steel and suitable for use with higher purity gases, and in more demanding environments. Stainless steel flashback arrestors are designed for oxygen, hydrogen and other flammable gases where all stainless steel type 316 with Viton or other elastomers are desirable. These arrestors are standard with NPT connections; however they can be specially adapted and tested in our lab with a wide variety of connections, including Swagelok tube fittings.
