Blackstone Business Enterprises

Established in 1946, Dawson Doors, a division of Dawson Metal Company, specializes in manufacturing architectural products, offering both balanced and standard swing doors and entrances. Located in Jamestown, N.Y., its custom and designer series are manufactured from stainless steel and bronze materials. The company s products include entrances made in glass, aluminum and clad aluminum in a range of styles and finishes. The ISO certified company houses fabricating, assembly, painting and powder-coating facilities totaling an 180,000 square feet. Dawson Doors also offers complete computer-aided designing (CAD) and electronic data interchange (EDI) capabilities.

Under the leadership of Raimy's sons, Bruce and Gary, the company has grown significantly. In addition to its 15, 000-square-foot headquarters at 1628 Cascade Street, in Erie, the company now includes a 7, 000-square-foot Jamestown Division. It is indeed a family business, but one that extends beyond the Raimys to include both customers and employees. And, if longevity of employment says anything about the company, consider the fact that 90 percent of Welders Supply employees have been with the company 10 years or longer. Welder Supply's success is attributable to its staff, but also to its basic philosophies and principles. "We are a quality service provider, " explains Bruce Raimy. "We believe in maintaining a complete, readily accessible inventory of gases, welding equipment, supplies and accessories at both of our locations, and we provide prompt delivery." Welders Supply inventories a half-million pounds of welding consumables, such as electrodes and wires. Delivery trucks operating from both locations provide on-time delivery to customers in Erie, Jamestown and other nearby locations including Corry, Union City, Meadville, Warren and sections of New York State. They also service Oil City, Franklin and Titusville, Pennsylvania. A belief in community service is a fundamental part of Welders Supply Company's philosophy. "The community has been very good to our business ; we want to repay that as much as we can, " acknowledges Raimy. "Our employees know their own lifestyle can only be as good as that of the community as a whole, " he adds. "And, as a company, we are committed to the United Way." Since its founding, Welders Supply Company has been a distributor for Lincoln Electric Company and atmospheric and specialty gas producer, Praxair ( formerly Unde Division of Union Carbide ). Welders Supply carries a full line of Lincoln MIG, 11G, plasma and submerged arc welding equipment, consumables and accessories. The company is an area distributor for other top-of-the-line products such as those manufactured by Victor Gas Apparatus ; Avesta ( stainless steel electrodes, flux cored and solid wires ) ; Harris Welco ( aluminum wire, silver solder and silver brazing alloys ) ; Tri- Mark Inc. ( flux cored wire ) ; Thermal Dynamics ( plasma cutting and welding equipment ) ; Tweco Products, Inc ( MIG guns, welding electrode holders and accessories ) ; and Jackson Safety Products. Welders Supply Company is the largest Northwest Pennsylvania supplier capable of filling liquid and high-pressure Argon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and HPG ( high purity gas ) cylinders. The company also supplies Helium, Hydrogen and specialty gases to research facilities, laboratories and educational institutions. Welders Supply has more than 14, 000 cylinders located at customer sites and in inventory. Innovative technologies in the welding industry assure growth and a bright future. Advancements such as the Invertors Power Source and Robotics will allow customers to enjoy enhanced benefits and greater productivity. And, these technologies, when combined with a 50-year history of quality products, services and the commitment to long-term, loyal relationships with customers and employees, will keep Welders Supply Company at the forefront for the next half-century.