RADNOR, Pa. — Airgas, Inc. recently announced the winners of its National Branch of the Year trophies, which honor the best of its more than 875 local branches nationwide. The winners, based on fiscal 2010 performance, were the Nashville, TN, branch in Airgas Mid America among the large branches and the Logan, UT, branch in Airgas Intermountain among the small branches.
"These two represent the best of the best Airgas branch locations, since they were chosen from among this year's 23 Regional Branch of the Year winners," said Mike Molinini, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Airgas, Inc. "I'm proud to name Nashville and Logan as this year's top branches."
This is the sixth year Airgas has recognized its top large and small branches for the Airgas Branch of the Year awards. The honor is based on customer service, financial performance and safety performance.
"Even with the significant challenges of last year's recession, the 27 associates in the Nashville branch, led by Branch Manager Harold Bradford, exceeded sales and operational goals. They won new business while having built a new store, moved to a new address and merged filling, sales, and operations under one roof - all within the short span of two years," added Molinini. He also recognized the Nashville branch as leaders in safety practices with no personal injuries, preventable vehicle accidents, or lost work days in the past year.
"At small branch award winner, Logan, Branch Manager Rod Long's leadership is key to the success of the six-person branch. The team worked together and found productivity solutions to help their customers cope with the challenging economy," Molinini continued. "They expanded their geographical reach to grow their customer base, while reducing expenses and maintaining an impeccable safety record. Logan's 'do it right the first time' philosophy has won them customer loyalty, new sales and this year's Airgas Branch of the Year award."
As the National Branch of the Year winners, the two branches will soon display National Branch of the Year trophies, constructed from size 125 cylinders donated by Taylor-Wharton, 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 "2010 National Branch of the Year" banner, and associates will receive silver "Branch of the Year" rings to commemorate the honor.
The 23 Regional Branch of the Year winners also fly a similar banner and display a size 80 cylinder, powder-coated gold trophy. Following is a full list of the small and large branch winners for each region:
Airgas East: Fitchburg, MA; Lincoln Park, NJ; Airgas Great Lakes: Port Huron, MI; Fort Wayne, IN; Airgas National Welders: no small branch winner this year; Fayetteville, NC; Airgas Intermountain: Logan, UT; Cheyenne, WY; Airgas Mid America: Johnson City, TN; Nashville, TN; Airgas Mid South: West Monroe, LA; Topeka, KS; Airgas Northern California & Nevada: Napa, CA; Hayward, CA; Airgas North Central: Manitowoc, WI; Omaha, NE; Airgas Nor Pac: Vancouver, WA Highway 99 branch; Fairbanks, AK; Airgas South: Mount Vernon, AL; Montgomery, AL; Airgas Southwest: Borger, TX; Houston, TX medical branch; Airgas West: Fontana, CA; Hilo, HI.
