WestAir Blog

When he founded WestAir in 1970, Andy Castiglione likely wasn’t thinking about this moment, 50 years into the future, where one of his employees would be writing a blog post outlining the success of his brand. But, here we are! Sitting in the National City SuperStore, thinking about how much the business and the industry have changed over the last 50 years.

If you’re not familiar with the WestAir story, here’s a very brief version of it. Castiglione had been working at an industrial supply company when he recognized both the need and the opportunity for better customer service within the industry. With this idea in mind, he set out with his wife, Sue, to found ‘San Diego Welders Supply’, a business to be built on the values of customer service with high quality products. These values quickly proved to be the right foundation upon which to create a business, and WestAir (its new name as of 2001) began to flourish.

It’s often said that to be successful in life, it’s necessary to find balance. And if you are in a number of industries including energy / petrochemicals, natural gas, steel mills, cement kilns, or even aircraft engine testing, there’s nothing more true than this statement when it comes to the relationship between productivity and environmental protection. To help businesses simplify and streamline this process, there exists a version of calibration gases known as EPA Protocol Gases, which are defined by the EPA as “compressed gases used to calibrate air pollution monitors for consistent and reliable monitoring”. In other words, the EPA is helping to balance our need for energy with our need for a clean and sustainable planet.

A bit about traceability

Given their role in ensuring clean air for all, it's no wonder that a number of steps are necessary to ensure their quality. All EPA protocol gases gases should have defined traceability to NIST or equivalent and should be accompanied by documentation in the form of a Certificate of Analysis (COA). Compositional traceability is determined via two key methods:

1. Analytical traceability: Using reference materials to calibrate the measurement system via a meticulous process that determines the concentrations of mixture components.
2. Process traceability: The use of high sensitivity weighing systems for component additions versus the international unit of mass (Kg). These are then analyzed against primary standards with known composition and uncertainty.

Feeling Modesto? For those looking for industrial & specialty gases, safety equipment, and welding supplies in Modesto, the search is over.

Modesto, California is a mid-sized town in Central California that is known for friendly faces, agriculture (including some of the largest wine makers in the world), and for being the birthplace of filmmaker George Lucas. That aside, it’s also the home of one of our retail stores, located at 510 River Road, just across the street from the Tuolumne River. Here you can find industrial & specialty gases, personal protective equipment (PPE), and welding supplies in Modesto, just to name a few.

We recently hosted our 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament, benefiting Make-a-Wish San Diego and we’re thrilled to announce that it was a huge success! Even the weather was more perfect than usual - if that’s even possible in southern California.

When it comes to celebrating, it’s fair to say that WestAir knows how to do it right. Why do we say that? Because we’re opening an incredible new SuperStore and to help our customers get as excited as we are, we’re hosting not just one giveaway, but 30!

Here at WestAir, we’re always looking for ways to improve how we serve our welding and gas customers throughout the region. One such improvement that has developed as a result of this focus is the upcoming launch of our new SuperStore in National City, California, just a few miles drive from downtown San Diego, opening this August.