About Us
Weld Specialty has a history that spans from 1980 to the present. Throughout this time its goal has remained unchanged. Weld Specialty's goal is to employ the best people in the industry, to give them the best suppliers in the fabricating area with which to work, and to bring the best service possible to its respected customer base. In order to accomplish that goal, Weld Specialty has continued to broaden its vision in the industry.
In 1980, Weld Specialty was founded in Grafton, WI, by two businessmen; Mr. Paul Sullivan and Mr. Jim Schmeling. They began by focusing on large manufacturers. They soon realized that they needed a larger facility, so in 1987, they moved the operations to the Milwaukee location on 107th and Brown Deer Road. This allowed them better access to their customer base. Their main customers at this time through the '80's and '90's, were automotive related manufacturers and automated high volume manufacturers. Their success was predicated on a customer service focus.
By 1996, Paul Sullivan and Jim Schmeling had built the business to be an integral part of the southeastern Wisconsin welding market, and they felt it was time to sell it. The success of the business was realized by its employees, and three of them, John Dunfee, Doug Campbell and Scott St.Peter, bought the business from the original two owners. Having three owners, allowed for equal allocation of duties and best use of the owners' talents. With finances, sales and stock carefully being managed by one of the three owners, Weld Specialty continued to prosper.
By 2000 an expansion of the physical facilities to 16,000 square feet occurred in order to handle the new sales volume that was experienced during the first four years of the new owners' management. The three owners kept expanding their vision of what the company could be, so that by 2003, the decision was made to enter into the industrial gas business and serve a larger spectrum of customers. In order to do this, two more owners were added, Bob Lang and Joe Cappozzo, who had many years of experience in the gas and welding distributor business. The first important step in order to enter the gas business was to select a bulk gas supplier. Weld Specialty selected Air Liquide America, the world's largest producer of gases. This business relationship has happily continued to the present time with both sides more than satisfied with the business agreement. With the gas supplier secured, it was time once again to expand.
A new branch facility in Kaukauna, Wisconsin opened in April 2003. This location serves all Weld Specialty customers in northeast Wisconsin and is a complete welding distribution center.
In order to accommodate this new expansion, several innovations were instituted. The distribution fleet was expanded and modified to handle gases and welding hard goods. Weld Specialty opened its welding equipment repair center that does warranty work for all major brands. Also Weld Specialty invested in a state of the art cylinder packaging and tracking system. Because of these innovations, in 2003 Weld Specialty was able to place its first bulk tanks at customer sites.
As the business continued to expand, in 2004 Weld Specialty started up its new cylinder filling plant in Milwaukee to provide faster more efficient customer service. By 2005, Weld Specialty gained several customers through its vendor managed inventory systems. This allowed customers the security of knowing they will not run out of product and be supplied with the best possible answers to help them get acompetitive edge in their respective industry. Because of this, in 2006 Weld Specialty added several high profile welding equipment manufacturers to its portfolio to be an even more complete supplier to its customers.
With a history of expansion, innovation, and dedication to customer satisfaction, Weld Specialty is currently Wisconsin's largest independent welding distributor. It's sales force has well over 200 years experience in the fabrication industry. Weld Specialty has focused on growth through customer service, innovative cost saving programs and the best products in the industry. They have done this by staying true to their goal of employing the best people, utilizing the best suppliers, and providing the best service. This goal will be a constant into the future as we continue to bring our services to even more customers that will let us work for them.