What American Welding & Gas does

American Welding & Gas (AWG) is a privately held, family- and teammate-owned industrial gas and welding supply distributor founded in 1949 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company manufactures and distributes industrial, medical, specialty, and beverage gases — including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, helium, hydrogen, acetylene, CO2, and propane — alongside a full line of welding and cutting equipment, consumables, filler metals, abrasives, and safety PPE. It also designs and integrates custom robotic welding and cutting automation systems for industrial customers. Its specialty gas operations are anchored by ISO/IEC 17025:2017-accredited testing labs and ISO 17034:2016 reference material producer accreditation at manufacturing sites in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Beaumont, Texas.

The business operates one of the largest independent U.S. gas and welding distribution footprints: more than 100 retail locations and 22 gas fill plants across 22 states, a company-owned fleet of 250+ route trucks and cryogenic tankers, and an 800+ location industrial cylinder exchange network through its Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange subsidiary. AWG serves a diversified vertical mix including industrial manufacturing, healthcare (hospitals, clinical labs, EMS, homecare), research laboratories, food and beverage, power generation, mining, oil and gas, and biofuel production. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of gases, equipment and supplies; recurring monthly cylinder rental; subscription-like bulk gas contracts with telemetry-based auto-reordering; and professional services from its robotic automation division. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, and the company has no external institutional investors or parent.

Name

American Welding & Gas

Legal name

American Welding & Gas, Inc.

Website

https://awggases.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

American Welding & Gas is a private, family-owned industrial gas and welding supply distributor manufacturing and delivering industrial, medical, specialty, and beverage gases plus welding equipment across 30+ U.S. states via 100+ retail branches, 22 fill plants, and a 250+ vehicle fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Gas Distribution and Welding Supplies

NAICS

Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512), Industrial Gas Manufacturing (325120)

SIC

Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), Wholesale-Hardware & Plumbing & Heating Equipment & Supplies (5070), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Welding & Cutting Gases (IMAEACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gas Handling Equipment & Storage (Cylinders/Tanks/Valves) (IMAEACAL), Process Gases & Gas Delivery Consumables (Specialty/Bulk/UHP) (HDAHAGAL), Welding & Plasma Power Supplies (Industrial welders, cutting power sources) (IMAGADAI)

Keywords

• Industrial gas distribution
• Welding equipment supply
• Specialty gas manufacturing
• Medical gas supply
• Beverage carbonation gases

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Industrial Gases: Manufacturing and distribution of industrial gases including acetylene, helium, oxygen, argon, hydrogen, propane, carbon dioxide, air, and nitrogen. Distributed via cylinder and bulk delivery.
2. Medical Gases: Supply of medical gases including Oxygen, Nitrous Oxide, Nitrogen, clinical blood gas mixtures, medical laser mixtures, and bulk liquid oxygen USP for healthcare facilities.
3. Specialty Gases: High purity pure gases and mixtures for laboratory, manufacturing, R&D, and environmental applications including EPA Protocol blends, calibration gases, and precision blended gases.
4. Beverage Gases: Beverage-grade CO2 (99% pure conforming to CGA G-6.2 QVL I standards) and specialty gas mixtures for food and beverage industry including beer dispensing.
5. Welding Equipment and Supplies: Welding machines, cutting equipment, gas apparatus, consumables, abrasives, safety PPE, and filler metals from leading manufacturers.
6. Automation Services: Custom robotic welding and cutting automation systems including engineering, manufacturing, tooling, enclosures, safety, cycle time analysis, simulation and justification assistance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

American Welding & Gas manufactures and distributes industrial, medical, specialty, and beverage gases (acetylene, helium, oxygen, argon, hydrogen, propane, carbon dioxide, air, nitrogen, dry ice) along with welding equipment, cutting equipment, gas apparatus, consumables, abrasives, safety PPE, and filler metals. Distribution is delivered through more than 100 retail locations, 22 gas fill plants, an e-commerce platform, and a company-owned fleet of 250+ vehicles across 22+ states, plus a 800+ location cylinder exchange network. The company also designs and builds custom robotic welding and cutting automation systems.

Product overview

American Welding & Gas is a family and teammate owned company that manufactures and distributes industrial, medical, specialty, and beverage gases along with associated welding and safety supplies. The product portfolio includes core gas products (Industrial Gases, Medical Gases, Specialty Gases via AWG Specialty Gas, Beverage Gases, Bulk Gases, Cylinder Gases, Propane Gases, and Dry Ice) complemented by welding equipment product lines (Welding Equipment, Cutting Equipment, Gas Apparatus, Consumables, Abrasives, Safety/PPE, and Filler Metals). The company also offers Robotic Automation Services for custom welding and cutting systems. Three major sub-brands extend reach: Silvertip Propane (residential/commercial propane in Montana/Wyoming), Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange (national cylinder exchange network), and CO2 Air (bulk/microbulk CO2 delivery). The company operates over 100 retail locations and 22 gas fill plants across 22 states, distributing via a fleet of over 250 trucks and trailers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Silvertip Propane: Propane division with 12 locations in Montana and Wyoming specializing in residential and commercial deliveries as well as tank installation, leasing and sales.
• Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange
• CO2 Air
• AWG Specialty Gas

Products and services

• Industrial Gases Industrial gases including acetylene, helium, oxygen, argon, hydrogen, propane, carbon dioxide, air, and nitrogen supplied in cylinders and bulk tanks for manufacturing, fabrication, and production customers.
• Medical Gases Medical-grade gases including oxygen, nitrous oxide, nitrogen, clinical blood gas mixtures, and medical laser mixtures compliant with FDA and GMP regulations for hospitals, clinical laboratories, EMS, and homecare providers.
• AWG Specialty Gas High-purity pure gases and custom mixtures including EPA Protocol blends, hydrocarbon mixtures, precision blended gases, rare gas laser mixtures, and ultra-high-purity gases for laboratory, manufacturing, R&D, and environmental applications, produced at ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 17034:2016 accredited sites.
• Beverage Gases Beverage-grade CO2 (99% pure conforming to CGA G-6.2 QVL I standards) and specialty gas mixtures for beverage carbonation, beer dispensing, and food packaging applications.
• Bulk Gases Bulk gas solutions including cryogenic tank delivery of liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide, with telemetry monitoring systems and auto-reordering for proactive supply replenishment.
• Cylinder Gases Compressed and packaged gases delivered via the fleet of over 250 route trucks, including acetylene, compressed air, nitrous oxide, shielding mixes, USP gases, and specialty medical gas mixtures, available on a leased cylinder subscription.
• Propane Gases Propane fuel supplied in portable cylinders (20–100 lb) and bulk tanks (500+ gallons), with customer-operated pump station programs for industrial, agricultural, and recreational applications.
• Dry Ice Pure solid carbon dioxide (CO2) in block and pellet form for food storage, cleaning, dry ice blasting, and transportation applications.
• Welding Equipment Welding machines including MIG, TIG, Stick, Engine Drive, Multi-Process, Multi-Operator, Spot, and Submerged Arc welders, plus wire feeders from leading manufacturers.
• Cutting Equipment Plasma cutters and oxy/fuel cutting torches from Hypertherm, Miller Electric, Lincoln Electric, ESAB, Harris Equipment, and Smith Equipment for cutting electrically conductive materials.
• Gas Apparatus Gas storage, transmission, regulation, and usage equipment including storage tanks, cylinders, regulators, flowmeters, hoses, pipes, manifolds, cutting and welding torches, and various tips.
• Consumables Welding and cutting consumables including plasma consumables (electrodes, nozzles, swirl rings, gas shields), oxy/fuel consumables (cutting tips, welding/brazing tips, O-rings, check valves, flashback arrestors), and welding consumables (contact tips, liners, tungsten, cups, collets, drive rolls).
• Abrasives Abrasive products from Pearl Abrasives, Norton, Flexovit, United Abrasives, and Camel Grinding Wheels, including coated, surface conditioning, bonded, and miscellaneous abrasives.
• Safety (PPE) Personal protection equipment including welding helmets, safety goggles and glasses, welding jackets, gloves, aprons, bibs, spat, hearing protection, respiratory protection, hard hats, and safety vests.
• Filler Metals Filler metals including stick electrodes, hardfacing electrodes, MIG wire, specialty wire, and TIG rods from Lincoln Electric, Hobart, ESAB, Inweld, and Weldcote brands in sizes from 1 lb samples to pallet loads.
• Robotic Automation Services Custom welding and cutting robotic and hard automation systems including consulting services, cycle time analysis, simulation, weld procedure development, personnel certification, tooling, enclosures, and turnkey automation solutions for manufacturing facilities.
• Silvertip Propane Wholly-owned propane subsidiary with 12 locations in Montana and Wyoming specializing in residential and commercial propane deliveries, tank installation, leasing and sales, including Smart Pay, Keep Full Delivery, and Auto-Pay services.
• Thoroughbred Industrial Cylinder Exchange Wholly-owned industrial cylinder and gas exchange program with over 800 cylinder exchange locations across the United States, providing non-traditional gas distribution access.
• CO2 Air Wholly-owned CO2 supply and service subsidiary operating a fleet of trucks for bulk and microbulk CO2 delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cost savings up to 25% with bulk gas solutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Airgas (Air Products): Largest U.S. industrial gas and welding supply distributor; acquired by Air Products in 2016. Overlaps directly with AWG on industrial/medical/specialty gas distribution, welding supplies, and bulk delivery across the U.S.
• Linde: Global industrial gas incumbent and one of the Big 3 producers. Competes with AWG at the high end of bulk/specialty supply and increasingly through its U.S. packaged gas distribution following the Praxair merger.
• Air Liquide: Global industrial gas major with a U.S. packaged gas and bulk presence. Comparable to AWG as a competitor across merchant gas, specialty blends, and welding supply.
• Air Products and Chemicals: Global industrial gas incumbent that owns Airgas in the U.S. Direct competitor to AWG in bulk and packaged industrial gases, hydrogen, and specialty gas.

Direct peers

• Matheson Tri-Gas: Major U.S. industrial, medical, and specialty gas distributor and subsidiary of Nippon Sanso Holdings. Competes head-to-head with AWG across bulk, cylinder, and specialty gas supply, with similar fill-plant and direct-delivery model.
• nexAir: Independent industrial and specialty gas distributor headquartered in Memphis, TN. Direct comparable to AWG in product mix (industrial, medical, specialty, beverage gases) and Mid-South/Midwest footprint.
• Weldstar: Independent industrial gas and welding supply distributor in the U.S. Midwest. Closely comparable to AWG in customer mix (industrial, medical, specialty gases) and regional independent distribution model.
• Indiana Oxygen: Regional independent industrial and specialty gas distributor based in Indianapolis. Direct overlap with AWG's Indianapolis specialty gas footprint and core industrial/medical gas distribution.
• Roberts Oxygen: Mid-Atlantic independent industrial gas and welding supplier. Comparable to AWG in product breadth (industrial, medical, specialty gases) and family/independent ownership profile.
• General Welding Supply: Independent welding supply and industrial gas distributor in the U.S. Comparable to AWG in serving fabrication, manufacturing, and medical customers with cylinder and bulk supply plus welding equipment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scottgrossco
• Facebookfacebook.com/americanweldingandgas

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Welding & Gas