DataWeld’s 35th Anniversary

How many times have you heard or used the expression “How Time Flies”? This year marks DataWeld’s 35th Anniversary. Time has truly flown for us since those first few days when the concept of providing specialized software for the welding supply industry was conceived. There were very few options for the compressed gas distributor in those early days.

For those of you who have never heard the story of our humble beginnings in the welding supply industry I will tell you the short version. We were out making sales calls in Texarkana, Arkansas and happened into Langdon Oxygen Company. Reese Langdon was the owner and one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He needed a software solution to handle cylinder rent. We were a young software company with lots of energy and needed customers. We were a perfect match. Several times a week we would gather in his break room and discuss cylinder rent, special pricing, billing and any other areas unique to the industry. Many of the topics discussed in those meetings 35 years ago formed the foundation for the software you use today.

Reese and his son-in-law, Pete Snow, were two of the best mentors we could have had. Reese and Pete not only taught us the welding supply industry, they also taught us a lot about business. The success we have had as a company is due in large part to these two outstanding men.

Technology has changed dramatically in 35 years. The cell phone you use today is many times more powerful than the first computers we sold that were often the size of a refrigerator and cost more than a new Corvette! Software has also changed a lot. In those early days sitting around the table at Langdon Oxygen, we never dreamed of using cell phones, Wi-Fi, RFID or Blue Tooth technologies to solve problems for the gas distributor.

So on behalf of everyone here at DataWeld we want to say thank you to Reese Langdon, Pete Snow, each of you reading this article and every other gas or chemical distributor that has given us the opportunity to help them through the years. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity that you have given us.

Jim Broughton
CEO
DataWeld Incorporated