AIWD Buying Group

WHO'S GOING TO THE GAWDA AND FABTECH SHOWS? Drop a comment below! AIWD Exec Dir Kelly Horton will be at the GAWDA National Convention in Phoenix, AZ Oct 11th-14th and FABTECH Expo in Orlando, FL Oct 15-17. Come see us at booth 005, inside on the right if you're in Phoenix and after FABTECH Expo, we'll be making visits to store members. We want to see you! Come say hi! #fabtech #gawda #arizonawelding #arizonagas #floridawelding #floridagas

Breakfast at The Ruby Slipper in downtown Mobile AL with AIWD Director of Operations & Events Diane Calhoun, and Member Willie Anderson (far right,) owner of @TexGas in Houston. Willie and his family were driving back thru Mobile from Montgomery after a family celebration. Great to see y'all! 💯❤️

TAKING EXTREME OWNERSHIP A poignant lesson in team leadership, from AIWD Executive Director, Kelly Horton - "Recently, I attended a leadership summit where they mentioned some books they recommended to their management and team members to read. One of them they had read in past years was "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Before reading this book, when I was evaluating a situation or a problem, I looked at things to find someone to blame, someone who did not complete their part. I had every intention to help improve the situation but felt blameless that we were in the situation we were in because it wasn’t “me” who messed up or fell short. The further I got into this book, the more I realized, I was to blame when someone came up short and caused us to fail at something we were doing as a company (historic reflection) or a group (current reflection). It was not that someone did not do what they needed to do, but that I failed in some way to make sure that part of the team was able to accomplish their goal to make the entire project successful. [When something fails], we should ask, what can we do differently to help that person accomplish their part and find success as a team? I think it is important that we all take extreme ownership of the realm we are responsible for. When something fails, look inward first to see how you or I could have improved the situation to reach a goal. I have found this to be applicable to everything I do. I think you will also." @khorton2911 #gawda #aiwd #leadership #weldingindustry #weldingbusiness #businessconnections #memberappreciation #businessrelationships

PEOPLE WORK WITH PEOPLE At AIWD, we thrive on connecting real people in the Gas and Welding supply and product industry to each other face-to-face. Members and Vendors meet every year at our annual convention and Members get to vote on who their preferred suppliers are giving huge buying and selling benefits for both parties. We are a people oriented buying group and aim to give people, not corporations, back the power to grow their businesses to the fullest potential. If you'd like to find out more about us or pass us onto a colleague, visit AIWDgroup.net #buyinggroup #weldingandgas #weldingsupply #gassupply #aiwd

GAWDA's ACE DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAM - FREE WEBINAR There's still time to sign up! What: ACE DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAM When: August 22nd (Thursday) @ 11:30am Eastern Where: Zoom How: Sign up using this link: https://lnkd.in/e6PTb6Uh Details: GAWDA has partnered with the National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) Administrative Compliance Experts — aka ACE — to guide our Members to prepare for State CDL or HME exams with Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT). Getting CDL licensed is an ongoing issue in our industry. The ACE Service Program is proven and effective at getting drivers on the road quickly, easily and safely. NPGA ACE is designed to assist in navigating ELDT’s red tape – providing quality instruction, getting your employees on the road faster at a fraction of the price, providing savings of up to $3,000 per driver. And by using NPGA ACE’s service, members will receive expert services in completing the regulatory requirements set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). ACE and NPGA will serve as your Registered Training Provider (RTP).

MORE BUYING POWER with AIWD. With over 350 Member locations across 48 U.S. States, Ontario and Puerto Rico, AIWD aims to be the most sought-after buying cooperative in our industry by providing the best value to our members and supplier partners. Visit AIWDgroup.net for more info on the benefits of becoming a member. Have a great week everyone! #buyingpower #buyinggroup #weldingstores #compressedgasstores #smallbusinessesbigpower

CONNECTIONS! At our annual conventions, store owners and vendors connect face-to-face on the convention floor and through various events. Giving suppliers and buyers the chance to connect and get to know each other personally makes business much smoother, adding value for everyone involved. Want to get involved? Check out our member and vendor applications at www.AIWDgroup.net #aiwdgroup #buyinggroup #facetofacebusiness #weldingnorthamerica

AIWD Member and 4G Service & Supply owner Tommy Gay, gave Events/Operations Director Diane Calhoun, a tour of his new shop in Tahlequah, Oklahoma recently. Tommy had surgery the day before to repair a detached achilles tendon (ouch!) but was a real trouper and gave her the royal tour on his handy knee scooter. You rock, Tommy! #oklahomaweldingsupply #alwaysonduty #aiwdnetworking #weldingbusiness #aiwd

MEET THE BOARD AT AIWD Tim Robb, our outgoing North Region President, shared some deep insight about the power of changing mindset about "competition" in business in our last quarterly newsletter. Here's an excerpt: To get into the gas business, I had to befriend one of those competitors, a major that didn’t care about any of the low hanging fruit I was rounding up. What they did care about was sharing advice with me that helped them grow their own once-small business into the success it is today. By taking this advice to heart, I built my business to the point where I was able to hire one of my competitors and they became teammates. Then I was educated about buying groups by one of the ex-competitors, and he suggested the AIWD. It expanded my world to the other competitors out there. I went in just to get better pricing and rebates. Initially thoughts were just about comparing businesses and knowing that I already knew everything I needed to know. As with my sports career, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The new competitors were not really competition at all. They were new teammates that had done all the things I had done, and more. Some were less mature companies than mine, and some were more mature. Some were asking me questions about how I did things, and I was asking questions to others that had gone through the same things I was going through. We were all sharing buying stories and what the next steps were to be more competitive in the market. We were now buying and selling to each another and sharing information on customers. will say in conclusion that being able to serve a term on the Board of the AIWD, has really given me the ability to grow my relationships within the group, and in turn expand my business. Learning how the group really functions and sharing to our teammates the benefits of the group is easy when it benefits both parties almost 100% of the time. If you get the opportunity to serve on this board, please do, and I am sure your experience will be as great as mine!!!" To read more, visit the "newsletter" section at AIWDgroup.net #wiseadvice #weldingbusiness #compressedgasbusiness #goodbusiness #businessgrowth

GET INSPIRED! At AIWD we believe in our ability to uplift the welding and compressed gas industry through collaborative co-creation and endless ingenuity. One of our presenters at our Vendor Presentation at the AIWD 2024 Convention in Atlantic City. If you are a potential welding supply vendor and you'd like the chance to present to our network of welding supply business owners in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, visit us at AIWDgroup.net #weldingandgas #collaboration #creation #inspiredaction #inspiredideas #AIWD #AIWDconvention #weldingconvention #weldingsupply #compressedgassupply