Welders Supply Company of Louisville is located at 331 Boxley Avenue in Louisville, KY. The company was founded in 1948 by the late Louis Wright, Sr. Today’s company is the result of guidance by his son, Louis Wright Jr., through many changes in the industry related to technology, customer needs, and welding methods. Welders Supply specializes in distributing welding equipment, gases, and supplies.
The original building has been enlarged four times, growing from 2,500 sq. ft. on one level to its present 15,000 sq. ft. with two levels that accommodate the service department, counter sales, cylinder distribution, and general offices. In 1992, the company updated its 7,000 sq. ft. cylinder gas and specialty gas production facility to a 30,000 sq. ft. new building adjacent to its general offices. The company also has a separate warehouse totaling 25,000 sq. ft.
Our priority is service. If a customer has a need, we keep it in stock. Over $2 million worth of equipment and supplies are in stock at all times, and the entire inventory includes over 250 welding machines and 500,000 pounds of various welding filler metals. Because of this, the customer does not have to wait. In order to better serve our customers, our employees continuously attend supplier-sponsored training and seminars. We, also, have facilities in-house to demonstrate, and conduct employee and customer training.
In addition to a counter sales department where three employees help customers with walk-in or will-call orders, there are three inside sales representatives, with over 45 years experience combined, to aid callers. We also schedule deliveries via our own regular routes or by parcel services, whichever is appropriate. The regular routes for gas cylinders, equipment, and supply deliveries cover a 150 mile radius of Louisville.
In fact, 90% of our cylinders are delivered by the company with over 25,000 cylinders in regular use. This is a constantly active segment of the business, requiring flat bed tandem axle trucks all day, every day. Trucks also carry extra cylinders of the most ordered industrial gases, so that drivers can instantly fill additional orders when their regular customers have unusually large or sudden requirements. Each truck is equipped with a cellular phone and satellite tracking, for the most efficient dispatch to meet changing customer needs.
Our company sells, leases, and services a full range of protective and welding equipment, including the most respected brands in the business. These brands include Lincoln, Miller, Hypertherm, Thermal Dynamics, Tweco, Bernard, Smith, Victor, and Airco. We also carry parts and fittings manufactured by Western Enterprises, Jackson, Tweco, and Bernard; filler metals from JW Harris, Hobart, Weld Mold, and Eutectic; propane, MAPP gases, and supercold liquid gases from BOC Industrial Gases. The liquid gases which include nitrogen, oxygen, and argon are delivered at -300 degrees F. We sell some of these as liquids, but most are repackaged into high pressure cylinders to be delivered to medical, industrial, and specialty gas customers.
Welders Supply operates the only full service gas laboratory within a 200 mile radius. The specialty gas division, where the gases are mixed and the cylinders filled, tests the gas mixtures to be sure they fall within specified tolerances of composition and pressure. The precisely controlled and monitored electronic procedure for gas analysis includes chromatograph, infrared, paramagnetic, chemiluminescence, and gravimetric measuring, and technologically sophisticated computerized record keeping.
Our customers depend on the accuracy of our work, as well as our ability to respond to their demands for unusual gas mixtures and gas products. Common examples of gas products that Welders Supply provides are laser gas mixtures, gas mixtures certified to NIST reference materials, vehicle emmisions testing procedures, and a variety of specialized products and gas mixtures. The company also provides many gases at pressures in excess of 6,000 p.s.i.
As the business operations require, we are highly computerized. We continuously analyze and update our network, our hardware, and our software with an eye for possible improvements. Using software that was customized for our requirements, computers support all aspects of the business from administration and billing, through purchasing and inventory, to a sales history for each customer.
Technology and its ability to provide better information, faster allows us to better service our customers. Cylinder leasing and delivery service, for example, can be tracked easily and efficiently. Sales Representatives can identify product trends, and purchasing can be adjusted to keep appropriate level of inventory for each of hundreds of items. The result is that when a customer calls, the Sales Representative can say “We’ve got it!” rather than “We’ll have to order it.”
Anticipating customer needs with equipment, service, information and supplies has kept Welders Supply of Louisville growing our business since 1948. With enlarged facilities occupying half of the five acres we own, the company has plenty of room to continue its pattern of growth. The company believes that in taking excellent care of its customers with quality products, timely service, and technical help when needed can keep us on the leading edge of our industry.
Effective November 1, 2007 Welders Supply Company acquired the assets of Louisville Welding Supply. This combination brought together the two welding supply companies who had served the Louisville area the longest. Louisville Welding had serviced Louisville since 1923, and Welders Supply Company since 1948 – a combined 144 years experience at the time of the merging.
All of Louisville Welding’s operations were consolidated to Welders Supply’s facility located at 331 Boxley Ave.
