RADNOR, PA — Airgas, No. 8 on Industrial Distribution's 2014 Big 50 List, announced on Friday the winners of its 11th annual National Branch of the Year awards, honoring the best of its 900 local branches nationwide, based on customer service, safety, and financial performance in fiscal year 2015.
The company named two winners in both the large and small branch categories. In the large branch category, the Mid America Region’s Kingsport, TN branch and the Midwest Region’s Elk Grove Village, IL branch took top honors. In the small branch category, the Great Lakes Region’s New Philadelphia, OH branch and the South Region’s Fort Lauderdale, FL branch received this prestigious recognition by Airgas.
“This year’s winners are outstanding examples of empowered local teams focused on expertly serving their customers and backed by Airgas’ unrivaled distribution platform and national footprint,” said Michael L. Molinini, Airgas President and Chief Executive Officer. “I’m proud to name Kingsport, Elk Grove Village, New Philadelphia, and Fort Lauderdale as this year’s award-winning branches. These branches exemplified Airgas’ commitment to customer service and safety while delivering outstanding financial performance in fiscal 2015.”
Each National Branch of the Year winner will soon display National Branch of the Year trophies, constructed from cylinders which have been powder-coated platinum and mounted on a welded aluminum base. Like hockey’s Stanley Cup®, the trophies carry engraved bands with the winners’ names and are passed along each year to the next winners.
The winning branches will also fly a “2015 National Branch of the Year” banner, and associates will receive silver Branch of the Year rings to commemorate the honor.
The 30 Regional Branch of the Year winners, two in each of Airgas’ 15 regions, will fly similar banners and display a powder-coated gold cylinder trophy. The following is a complete list of large and small branch winners, respectively, for each region:
East Region: Manassas, VA and Harrisonburg, VA; Great Lakes Region: Canton, OH and New Philadelphia, OH; Gulf Coast Region: Freeport, TX and Bay City, TX; Intermountain Region: Ogden, UT and Billings, MT; Mid America Region:Kingsport, TN and Hopkinsville, KY; Mid South Region: Batesville, AR and Chickasha, OK; Midwest Region: Elk Grove Village, IL and Elgin, IL; National Welders Region: Portsmouth, VA and Monroe, NC; Northern California & Nevada (NCN) Region: San Jose, CA and Arcata, CA; Nor Pac Region: Sakhalin, SK and Newport, OR; North Central Region: Fond Du Lac, WI and Spencer, IA; Northeast Region: Dover, NH and Oneonta, NY; South Region: Albertsville, AL and Fort Lauderdale, FL; Southwest Region: Alvarado, TX and Brownwood, TX; West Region: Maui, HI and Lihue, HI.