Featured in MetalForming Magazine, September 2010 – “Die Shop to Wrangle Work Back from Overseas Competition”

Efficiency climbs noticeably at an Ontario die shop after it adds four seats of design and build software to its engineering department and three seats on the shop floor, to design and build in 3D and program its CNC machines directly from the software.

Among the newer CNC machines acquired by Rezmin Tool & Die was a DMG five-axis CNC universal milling machine, which boasts a swivel rotary worktable, digital drives in all axes and a motor spindle speed to 18,000 RPM. Programming the machine with Cimatron software has reduced setup and machining time by as much as 65 percent. For photos and the full article, click here.

Once your machines and processes have been reviewed, contact ILMO for a Certified Welding Inspection visit to ensure that your welding and gas use processes are on top of their game. Our Certified Welding Inspectors (CWI) have gone across the state and across the world to consult on needed improvements in shops, factories, mines, and on-the-job scenarios for companies looking to improve weld quality, process and environment efficiencies, and operational costs. Ask us about our 2010 trip to Shanghai to visit a partner of an Illinois manufacturer, and hear how we saved them thousands of dollars with this preventative inspection.

St. Louis, MO – ILMO Products Company announced today that it has acquired Smitty’s Welding Supply Company to broaden its delivery of medical, industrial, beverage, and laboratory gases, as well as gas and welding equipment, in the metro St. Louis area. This acquisition expands ILMO’s current St. Louis footprint and total service area while improving the options consumers have in choosing their gas, gas equipment, and welding supply providers.

ILMO Products Company, a 4^th generation, family-owned distributor and specialty gas laboratory since 1913, will blend their St. Louis branch with Smitty’s Soulard facility and operations, just a block away from the Anheuser-Busch facility. Consistent with ILMO’s service philosophy, ILMO will continue to support and enhance Smitty’s product lines and distribution capabilities for all customers while allowing them to take advantage of the broader ILMO portfolio. All Smitty’s employees will be integrated into ILMO, and help the company touch every customer with an ILMO introduction.

For medical facilities, laboratories, and various process industries, this acquisition will introduce ILMO as a new gas supplier option for bulk and portable medical oxygen, ultra high purity gases for analysis and instrumentation, lasers, calibration, and air quality monitoring mixtures. Further, ILMO Specialty Gases’ ISO 17025 Accredited Gas Laboratory can deliver on-demand gases and mixtures to these same markets, while our CO₂ division will continue serving those who use beverage carbonation and beer gas as many of Smitty’s customers do.

For metal fabricators, contractors, and all industries and individuals involved in welding, the blending of ILMO and Smitty’s will offer current customers an expanded product line, new delivery areas, access to ILMO’s Certified Welding Inspectors and trainers, and reliable, industry-experienced professionals to handle customer service locally.

Smitty’s Welding Supply has provided friendly, personal service to hundreds of industrial and beverage gas users, alongside their welding products, for the past 30 years. Over the past three years, ILMO Products Company has been building new customers of their own in St. Louis, joining the thousands of diverse clients we’ve had throughout Illinois and Missouri for over 97 years. ILMO’s customers include Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM), ADM Research, Caterpillar, Grain Systems Inc. (GSI), American HomePatient, St. John’s Hospital & Wound Center (Springfield, IL), BASF, Anheuser-Busch, Ameren, Reliable Pharmaceuticals, Olin Brass, and many others.

ILMO Products Company has nine branches across Illinois and Missouri.

About ILMO Products Company

Since 1913, ILMO Products Company has been a family-owned distributor of industrial, specialty, and medical gases in bulk, micro-bulk, and cylinder solutions, as well as welding and safety equipment, industrial supplies and accessories, and welder repair services. ILMO Specialty Gases’ ISO/IEC17025:2005 Accredited Gas Laboratory serves customers across the U.S., Canada, and South America, and is a Purity Plus supplier, while ILMO Medical Gases provides medical and device gases and gas systems for all related industries.

About ILMO in St. Louis

2728 South Second Street, St. Louis 63118

314-678-9353  /  info@ilmoproducts.com

Sales Contacts

Greg Griggs, Metro St. Louis Sales Manager: 314-322-5652  /  ggriggs@ilmoproducts.com

Scott Leimkuehler, Metro St. Louis Sales Manager: 314-308-5970  /  sleimkuehler@ilmoproducts.com

Tim Hall, Bulk Gas Program Manager: 314-607-0424  /  thall@ilmoproducts.com

Kris Luther, Specialty Gas Program Manager: 314-308-2040  /  kluther@ilmoproducts.com

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Homemade fireworks caused an explosion inside a vehicle on Interstate 405 in Kirkland on Saturday.

The Washington State Patrol says a man filled some balloons with welding gas – a combination of oxygen and acetylene gas – which is normally stored in steel cylinders.

They rubbed together, causing static electricity, and exploded. Troopers say the blast blew out the back window of the pickup truck.

They say the man, woman and 3-year-old girl in the vehicle are lucky they were not injured or even killed in the blast.

In this exclusive online webinar, Miller Electric Mfg. Co. Product Manager Bill Gardner and industrial heat stress specialist Dennis Vaccaro of NJ Associates, Inc. will discuss the dangers of heat stress in a welding environment and how to mitigate them through the use of heat stress control plans and proper cooling equipment. This webinar is a must-attend for any company that has welding in their operations.

What you will learn:

• - Common symptoms and dangers of heat stress in a welding environment
• - How to properly monitor employees exposure to heat stress
• - Solutions to reducing heat stress injuries

Click here to register on Miller’s site, or here to email an ILMO rep with any welding questions of your own.

	Expert Speaker: Bill Gardner Product Manager Miller Electric Mfg. Co.		Moderator: Dave Johnson Editor ISHN
With over 20 years in the welding industry, Bill Gardner currently oversees product development within Miller Electric Mfg. Co.’s welding safety division, which includes head & face, hand & body, respiratory and heat stress protection.

If you watch closely (about 1:23 minutes in to be exact), you’ll see ILMO’s 2010 Mining Safety banner in one of the shots. The Viper Mine in Williamsville, IL was one of nine ILMO gas customers to receive this year’s Safety Banner featuring the mine’s name, an MSHA safety slogan, and logos from ILMO and various Thermadyne product lines used in mine welding. (Video and article credit to www.illinoishomepage.net)

Tube City, in Granite City, IL, is a leading provider of outsourced steel services, including raw materials procurement, scrap management, raw materials optimization, slag processing, metal recovery and surface conditioning services to integrated steel mills, mini-mills and foundries. Like many companies with a heavy use of gases for cutting metals, they quickly found themselves overwhelmed with inefficiencies of time and money while catering to their gas supply.

In December 2008, Tube City had enough of these frustrations, peaking with troubles moving 18-packs of oxygen cylinders into and around various fields to cut steel. Adding more cylinders wasn’t the solution, as freight charges to get them there were growing, and just “making due” was no longer an option, as often two or more hours were lost in the moving of cylinder packs and safety was compromised.  

Tube City welders saying good-bye to their cylinder packs!

Tim Hall, Bulk Program Manager for ILMO Products Company, was able to put together a desirable bulk solutions package for Tube City in 2009, and the relationship has been great for both parties as we round out Q1 of 2010. Ron Camp, Facilities Director at Tube City near St. Louis, fondly spoke of the reasons why he chose ILMO, stating, “…the pricing was good, but the flexibility – super. We are expecting this system change to raise production by 1,000 tons per month.” Just imagine how a similar system could improve your bottom line.

Tube City's LOX Bulk Tank

First, any helmet you choose should meet ANSI Z87.1 – 2003  (also referred to as ANSI Z87+) standards, which ensure that…   helmets and lenses have passed independent testing to show they can survive high velocity impact from flying objects, provide 100% ultraviolet and infrared filtering regardless of shade setting and meet advertised switching speeds and darkness shades in temperatures as low as 23° F and high as 131° F. Low temperatures have been known to cause delays in LCD switching times.

Passive vs. Auto-Darkening Lens

Welding lens shade numbers refer to the lens’ ability to filter light¾all auto-darkening welding helmets meeting ANSI Z87.1 provide 100% protection against harmful infrared and UV rays¾ and may range from a #8 shade for low-amp applications up to a #13 shade for high-amp applications. (See chart.) Top-line helmets may include additional ranges (#3 to #8) for grinding or cutting.

Find the best welding helmet for your needs

A passive lens helmet uses UV- and IR-coated dark-tinted glass with a fixed shade value, usually #10.  The passive helmet is worn in the up position while the electrode, gun or torch is positioned. Then with a quick nod or snap of the neck, the operator flips the helmet into position immediately before striking an arc.

While passive lens helmets have passed the test of time and provide an economical choice, they have a few shortcomings:

• For the novice welder, or someone who doesn’t weld often, it can be difficult to position the electrode while the helmet is snapped into place. This can lead to poor weld starts, which may lead to weld defects or the need for excessive grinding.
• Tack welding, or numerous short welds, can be difficult and inefficient since the welder has to repeatedly lift and lower the helmet.
• The repetitive task of flipping the helmet up and down can cause neck fatigue, and in some cases may lead to repetitive stress injuries.
• Failure of the helmet to lock into position or improper timing can lead to inadvertent arc flashes if the arc strikes before the helmet is in place.

An auto-darkening lens directly addresses these issues. In its inactive state, an auto-darkening lens usually has a #3 or #4 shade, which is relatively easy to see through. When sensors on the helmet sense an arc start, the lens darkens, in a fraction of a second (typically 1/12,000 to 1/20,000 of a second for industrial-grade helmets), to shade #8 to #13.

Because the helmet stays in position before, during, and after the weld, an auto-darkening welding helmet enables you to set up your welding joint with the hood in position.  No more head snaps to lower the helmet.  No more sloppy starts because the torch moved. No more raising and lowering the helmet for tack welds. This not only has the potential for improving weld quality, it can ease the neck strain associated with snapping the helmet into place.

Ed Forbes, vice president of operations for Engineered Metals & Composites, Inc. (EM&C) in West Columbia, SC, said his company has never even allowed a traditional welding helmet into its plant. EM&C, a leading designer and manufacturer of aluminum components for small boats and yachts, is known for its high-volume, high productivity TIG fabrication skills.

“We knew that repetitive stress injuries can and do occur as a result of using traditional welding helmets, so we standardized all 105 of our welders on auto-darkening helmets right from the start,” Forbes said. “Because auto-darkening helmets are all we use, we’ve been able to reduce our workers compensation insurance rates and had fewer trips to the emergency room from arc-flashed eyes than companies that use traditional helmets.”

EM&C isn’t alone in this regard. To encourage operators to use an auto-darkening helmet, companies such as Vermeer Manufacturing Company (vermeer.com) split helmet costs 50-50 with the operator, and the operator owns the helmet outright after three years. To make the helmets easy to purchase, Vermeer’s welding supply partner maintains an on-site inventory.

Auto-Darkening Options

Auto-darkening helmets are available for every welding level, from the hobbyist to the professional. If you’ve decided to go with an auto-darkening helmet, consider:

• Fixed or Variable Shade. When a fixed-shade auto-darkening helmet senses an arc, it darkens to a fixed #10 shade, combining the economy of a fixed shade helmet and the benefits of auto-darkening. If most of your welding involves similar material of similar thicknesses using the same welding process with a limited amperage range, then a fixed shade helmet may be the right choice for you. (See the chart below to determine the correct shade number for your welding applications.) However, if you use different welding processes (Stick, MIG, TIG), or vary welding amperage and thus vary the   brightness of the arc, a variable shade lens allows you to properly and comfortably protect your eyes while achieving the best view of the puddle. Most variable shade lenses adjust from shade #9 through #13.

• Lens reaction time indicates how quickly the lens will switch from its natural light state (usually shade #3 or #4) to the darkened shade when welding begins. The quicker a welder’ s eyes are shaded from the high-intensity light, the better. Entry-level lenses are often rated at 1/3,600 of a second, while industrial or professional grade helmets can be rated as high as 1/20,000 of a second. The more arcs you start in a day, the more you’ll appreciate the quicker speed. If you spend all day welding with a lens rated at 1/3,600, the cumulative effect of the increased exposure to the arc light may lead to eye fatigue at the end of the day. With faster switching speeds, these effects are reduced.

• Viewing size is one of the major considerations in purchasing an auto-darkening helmet and is really based on personal preference as well as how much out-of-position welding you’re likely to be doing. Typical view sizes range from 6 sq. in. for a light duty applications to 9 sq. in. for industrial use.

• Number of sensors. The number of sensors ranges from two for a hobby level helmet to four for an indu strial grade helmet. More sensors mean better coverage, especially for out-of-position welding where a sensor could be obstructed. Three may be sufficient for production work or when you will have a clear line of sight to your work. Four is optimal for most fabrication and out-of-position work.

• Adjustable Sensitivity Control. Both intermediate and professional level auto-darkening helmets usually provide the ability to adjust how much brightness will trigger the lens to darken. Sensitivity control is useful when welding at low amperages, especially TIG, when the arc isn’t as bright as other welding processes.

• Adjustable Delay Controls. A delay control is another useful feature. This control enables you to set how long the lens stays dark after the welding arc stops. When tack welding on a large project, a short delay helps get the job done faster as you reposition for the next weld. A longer delay time is helpful when welding at very high amperages, since molten metal may still emit harmful rays until it cools.

Other helmet considerations

A lighter weight helmet minimizes strain on the user’s neck reducing fatigue and increasing comfort. You will notice a big difference between a helmet that weighs one pound vs. one that weighs two pounds. While one pound might not seem like much for a few short welds, the more you weld, the more you and your neck will appreciate the difference.

Finally, the latest entries into the auto-darkening helmet field provide benefits specifically for the industrial welder: aluminum heat shield to protect the lens from high heat (300+ amps) applications, silver coloring to reflect the heat away from the wearer, gaskets for shock absorption and increased longevity and commonality of parts to decrease inventory requirements for larger organizations.

If welding is, or is part of your career, take the time to find the helmet that’s right for you. While it may be tempting to buy the least expensive helmet at the local hardware store, taking the time to explore all of your options can have long-term benefits.

For more information on auto-darkening or finding the right helmet for your needs, visit the Miller Welds website or contact ILMO Products Company via email (info@ilmoproducts.com), phone (1-888-243-WELD), or online by clicking here to submit a web inquiry.

“We’re hearing that reimbursement rates for respiratory oxygen are constantly being tightened,” says Jeff Elliott, ILMO District Sales Manager in Greater Peoria. “This makes it critical for us to distribute oxygen more efficiently to our home healthcare customers so they keep their medical end-users’ costs as low as possible. These users are oxygen patients at home, in medical facilities, in nursing homes, and elsewhere.”

So, where does ILMO, an atmospheric gas company, fit in? Local Homecare Respiratory Care (HRC) providers can now drive right up to ILMO’s facility (1025 W. Olympia, Peoria), where a technician will fill their van or truck from a liquid oxygen bulk tank so they are quickly on their way to deliver this vital medical gas to their patients. With convenient filling hours, these drivers can often avoid daunting lines, increasing their route efficiency and delivery flexibility. 

ILMO’s liquid oxygen bulk tank in Peoria.

Before teaming with ILMO for their liquid oxygen, local HRC provider American HomePatient was paying costly rent each month to house and maintain their own bulk tank, fees for oxygen to be delivered to fill their tank, more fees for the oxygen inventory they had on hand, and time and energy completing necessary FDA paperwork and testing. “We’ve taken all of these expenses and personnel-draining tasks off of their plate and have created a cost-savings relationship with them,“ boasts Elliott. “We are saving them money, time, and headaches, and it’s great knowing that our added efficiencies positively impact the end oxygen users, too.”

(Top) An ILMO Technician, trained to FDA Guidelines, fills an AHP oxygen delivery truck. (Bottom) AHP oxygen truck arrives for an oxygen fill at ILMO on W. Olympia.

American HomePatient (AHP) is a nationally accredited respiratory company with over 25 years providing patients with respiratory services via in-home delivery and 24/7 on-call service. “We focus on proactive patient care and therefore, provide liquid oxygen because it is a preferred choice by area physicians and rehab centers,” states Ginger Gray, AHP Branch Manager in Peoria. “With Medicare cutbacks, many oxygen companies have been unable to continue providing liquid oxygen service. We are thankful that ILMO is here to support our operations, allowing us to continue to provide this type of oxygen to our patients.”

ILMO Products Company specializes in atmospheric gases and their many applications. They provide compressed gas, pure gas, specialty gases, and gas mixtures in bulk, microbulk, cylinder, and reusable cylinder solutions, alongside welding equipment and accessories at 9 branches. Their focus is working with industrial and welding markets, the medical industry, corporate and university laboratories, and EPA-regulated facilities throughout Illinois and Missouri, while expanding the Specialty Gas division internationally. Visit their website for contacts and more information about medical gases and services available in your area: www.ilmoproducts.com.

But as with any number of industries, the growth of late is in healthcare.

A just-completed seven-year agreement to provide bulk liquid oxygen— used to produce medical oxygen for a variety of treatments — to St. John’s Hospital adds to a network of medical customers that already includes hospitals, laboratories, nursing homes and universities across central and southern Illinois and northeast Missouri.  

Travis Nelson, specialty gas lab manager at ILMO, connects a cylinder of helium to testing equipment Friday.

“We’re seeing our biggest growth in specialty gases and labs. Home healthcare also is a growing area,” said Tim Hall, bulk-gas program manager for ILMO Products.

Demand for industrial gases is closely tied to the economy, and particularly manufacturing, he said. Gases also are subject to price swings like any other commodity, though Hall said the spikes are not as dramatic as in grain or petroleum markets.

“The ups and downs have gotten more volatile,” said Hall, who added that the company expects demand for industrial gases to pick up as the economy recovers.

The company, which distributes but does not manufacture gases, also supplies healthcare products to Memorial Medical Center, Springfield Clinic, and doctors and dental offices in the region.

24/7 changeover

St. John’s Hospital estimates more than 15,000 patients, high-risk infants and home health-care clients use medical oxygen, either in the hospital or from portable tanks.

The switch from St. John’s former supplier — one of the five largest producers in the world — took the better part of two months and required two back-up systems to assure a continuous flow of gases.

“There’s a lot of people depending on it. It’s a life-support system,” said Stephen Gerlach, director of materials management at St. John’s.

ILMO Products has been supplying respiratory oxygen, and laboratory and medical-device gases to St John’s for more than 20 years, and Gerlach said the hospital also was looking for a way to ease the price uncertainties in bulk-liquid contracts.

“I want to make sure I don’t have to worry about my price doubling in the middle of the contract,” said Gerlach.

Third-party inspectors tested the system at each step to complete the changeover.

Staying put in Jacksonville

As part of the push into medical and specialty gases, ILMO constructed a $4.5 million, gas filling facility that two years ago obtained certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for its state-of-the-art technology.

“If we were going to relocate, that would have been the time,” marketing director Blair Dial said of the company’s decision to expand in Jacksonville.

“They did their homework and decided to stay here,” said Dial.

ILMO’s work force of 83 compares to a little more than 50 seven years ago.

“We’re very lucky. They come to us, and we say what can we do to help,” said Terry Denison, president of the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corp.

The community has been hit by a series of manufacturing layoffs in the past two years. Jacksonville’s December unemployment rate of 9.4 percent was up from 7.4 percent in December of 2008.

Denison said there was a chance the company would relocate prior to the expansion, but that the steady growth at ILMO Products is an example of good news in an otherwise tough economy.

320 degrees below zero

Medical and industrial gases remain the bulk of ILMO Products’ business, said vice president of sales Anthony McLaughlin. But gases supplied by the company also are used in consumer products from frozen food to chips.

Liquid nitrogen supplied by the company at temperatures of minus-300 to minus-320 degrees is used to flash-freeze precooked meats found in supermarkets. Specialty gases are also used in “modified atmosphere packaging” to keep chips, cookies and similar products fresh longer.

“We market gases that are really, really hot or really, really cold,” said McLaughlin. The company also provides specialty gases for research and labs at major companies such as Caterpillar and Archer Daniels Midland. McLaughlin said ILMO also just signed a contract with Anheuser-Busch InBev to supply laboratory gases.

“They use it in testing beer flavors,” said McLaughlin.

Technology also is changing quickly on the “hot” side of the gas business, including welding gases, said McLaughlin.

“Everything now is going to plasma. It’s several thousands of degrees hot and can cut through any metal. It’s like ‘Star Wars,’” he said.

Baby boomers

The well-documented projections for increased demands on healthcare as baby boomers enter their retirement years also affect projected demand for medical and specialty gases, Hall said.

“We’re seeing that already,” he said.

Demand also has begun to shift from institutional settings toward outpatient and home healthcare, he said.

Even the FutureGen coal-gasification plant proposed near Mattoon could add to demand, and not just for gases used in metal fabrication and construction. The power plant is expected to experiment in the handling of carbon-dioxide emissions linked to global warming, which would require laboratory gases for testing.

“You just have to be flexible. We have to adapt to the communities we’re in,” said Hall.

Tim Landis can be reached at 788-1536.

About ILMO Products Co.

• Founded 1913 in Jacksonville by father-and-son, H.J. and D.O. Floreth, as Illinois Tire and Battery. Original products included acetylene for automobile headlights.
• Oxygen and welding equipment were added and became the dominate product of the renamed ILL-MO Products Company (after operations in Illinois and Missouri).
• Current CEO Linda Standley and president Brad Floreth are the grandchildren of D.O. Floreth.
• Supplies industrial, medical and specialty gases to metal fabricators, steel contractors, welding companies, hospitals, laboratories, nursing homes, universities and other medical facilities.
• Nine branch locations, including St. Louis (Missouri) and Decatur, Jacksonville, Litchfield, Mattoon, Mt. Vernon, Peoria, Quincy, and Springfield, (Illinois). Main plant is on Interstate 72 in Jacksonville. Includes company headquarters, warehouse, ISO 17025 Specialty Gas Laboratory, service center and cylinder-filling operations. Companywide work force of 83.

On the Web

www.ilmoproducts.com.

To send us an email, click here. Or, post a comment and tell us what you think, how ILMO is working with you, or similar stories!

We’re excited to be partnered with the University of Illinois and their Illinois Business Consulting department this semester, and have a great team leading our project. The members visited our ISO 17025 gas lab on Friday (February 19) to learn more about us, and drill us with great questions about the gas industry, specifcially as it relates to Specialy Gases, laboratories, customers, distribution, cylinder options, calibrations, and beyond. They did their homework before arriving, and had many great questions for our lab team and directors, and we managed to squeeze in a few fun aspects of the business, too.