As Craig Welding Supply Company enters its eighth decade in business, the company continues to separate itself with first-class service and an unwavering commitment to doing business the right way. The Los Angeles, California, distributor’s no-frills philosophy of business is the focus of the GAWDA Member Profile in the Spring 2011 issue of Welding & Gases Today, the leading magazine for the gases and welding equipment industry.

Craig Welding Supply is located Vernon, an incorporated city just minutes south of Los Angeles. Fifty thousand people work in the city, but no one lives there. President Steven Craig estimates that almost 20 competitors are located within a 10-mile radius of headquarters. With so many competitors in the area, one way that Craig Welding Supply differentiates itself is through consistency. The newest hire is an outside sales rep who has logged 12 years of service with the company.

Another differentiator for Craig Welding Supply is the company’s short chain of command. "Here, we have one committee: my brother David and me," says Craig. This gives the company incredible flexibility when it comes to purchasing decisions and other critical issues. Customers appreciate Craig Welding Supply’s short chain of command too. "I think customers like doing business with the owners. They know who we are and they know that if they ever have an issue, they can bring it directly to us."

Whether it’s offering the right solution, filling the order correctly the first time or having the right product in stock when it’s needed, Craig knows that the company absolutely has to be the best. "If a customer leaves us, it’s almost always strictly a price decision," he says. "And if that’s the case, we’re willing to let them go. And amazingly, a large percentage of them end up coming back. In this business, you get what you pay for, and they find that out the hard way."

To find out how Craig Welding Supply has differentiated itself over 80 years of business, read "Craig Welding Supply Company," (http://www.weldingandgasestoday.org/index.php/2011/03/craig-welding-supply-company/) at Welding & Gases Today online. For more information, contact Devin O’Toole, assistant editor at Welding & Gases Today at devin@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.