--- title: "Case Study: General Air makes the Right Move at the Right Time." description: As a result of General Air's automation upgrade with Weldcoa, they have reduced fill island manpower by 30% and setup times have been cut by 15 - 20%. image: https://www.weldcoa.com/hubfs/WC_GeneralAir-FillPlant.jpg --- Follow Us   - [**](https://www.facebook.com/Weldcoa-1240453345999989/) - [**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/471093/) - **[ (630) 806-2000](tel:630-806-2000) - **[ solutions@weldcoa.com](mailto:solutions@weldcoa.com) - [Join Our Mailing List](https://www.weldcoa.com/contact-us-form#contact) - [Log In](http://weldcoaintra.com/) [![Weldcoa Logo in Box_187x37 pixels-4](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Weldcoa%20Logo%20in%20Box_187x37%20pixels-4.jpg?width=521&name=Weldcoa%20Logo%20in%20Box_187x37%20pixels-4.jpg "Weldcoa Logo in Box_187x37 pixels-4")](https://www.weldcoa.com) [**](https://www.weldcoa.com/case-studies/general-air#) ![WC_HeaderPhotosCaseStudies.jpg](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Case%20Studies/WC_HeaderPhotosCaseStudies.jpg?width=1920&name=WC_HeaderPhotosCaseStudies.jpg "WC_HeaderPhotosCaseStudies.jpg") # Story After Story, Our Customers Results Exceed Expectations #### General Air - Commerce City, CO ![man in a gas cylinder filling plant putting a protection cap on a gas cylinder ](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1458%20x%20625%20pixels%20-%20%20Case%20Study%20Photos/WC_GeneralAir-FillPlant.jpg?width=1458&height=625&name=WC_GeneralAir-FillPlant.jpg) ![various gas cylinders in gas packs and on gas pallets](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1458%20x%20625%20pixels%20-%20%20Case%20Study%20Photos/WC_GeneralAir-PrepArea.jpg?width=1458&height=625&name=WC_GeneralAir-PrepArea.jpg) ![gas cylinders in a mounting rack getting filled](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1458%20x%20625%20pixels%20-%20%20Case%20Study%20Photos/WC_GeneralAir-MedicalRacks.jpg?width=1458&height=625&name=WC_GeneralAir-MedicalRacks.jpg) ![various gas cylinders in gas pallets around automated gas cylinder filling equipment](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1458%20x%20625%20pixels%20-%20%20Case%20Study%20Photos/WC_GeneralAir-FillPlantFull.jpg?width=1458&height=625&name=WC_GeneralAir-FillPlantFull.jpg) # General Air makes the Right Move at the Right Time. #### [![Get the Full Story](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2716189/b1d7c52e-2e5f-451b-bb7e-72c3e277a28e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2716189/b1d7c52e-2e5f-451b-bb7e-72c3e277a28e)   #### Automation, backed by workmanship and commitment to quality, secures a bright future for Colorado distributor. ##### Technology for Today—and Tomorrow Approaching its 50th year of operation, independent gas and welding distributor General Air Service is eying a bright future lit by its newly automated cylinder fill operations. With eight retail-store locations throughout Colorado, Commerce City, CO, is where you’ll find the new fully automated General Air fill plant. ##### Intergrating New with Old General Air Service is known for providing customers with a wide selection of gas mixtures in a variety of cylinder sizes, including small-quantity fills. And while much of the filling equipment being used had become old and outdated, plenty of its equipment had plenty of remaining life. That’s where the fill-plant upgrade project took an interesting turn: General Air Service sought to work with Weldcoa to reuse much of its existing equipment and integrate it with new automated technology, including modernized state-of-the-art controls.   *“As a result of our automation upgrade with Weldcoa, we’ve reduced fill island manpower by 30% and setup times have been cut by 15 - 20%.”* Ed Conrad, Fill Plant Manager, General Air Service   ##### The Benefits that Keep on Giving There’s much more to the new fill island than just the five automated fill heads; side-by-side prep and fill stations for medical cylinders, which replaced the separate stations used before, have eliminated a lot of wasted movement and realized significant time saving at General Air. *“Now, in our medical nitrous and CO2 areas, we can simultaneously process 10 large-size and 10 small-size cylinders. Before, we used to move one cylinder at a time over to our separate medical area for filling.”* says Conrad. ##### Happy Operators, Happy Owners Finally, Conrad recalls a key component of his justification strategy used to convince company owners that the fill-plant upgrade project was the right move at the right time. *“What ultimately stood out when we examined how Weldcoa worked with other distributors, was its commitment to workmanship and quality. I appreciated their diligence and attention to detail, and ultimately so did our owners. We all gained a huge sense of security having Weldcoa as our partners on this project.” *noted Conrad.* *   [![More Case Studies](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2716189/745337bc-fe58-44e8-9934-4f3859edc0e6.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2716189/745337bc-fe58-44e8-9934-4f3859edc0e6) ![weldcoa-logo-white](https://www.weldcoa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/weldcoa-logo-white.png?width=217&name=weldcoa-logo-white.png) #### WELDCOA For 50 years we have made it our mission to support gas distributors. From palletization to specialty gas filling and automation, we have continually innovated solutions that have reshaped our industry. If you are looking for durable, US made products made specifically for the gas industry or a solution to improve your fill process, we welcome you to contact us today! Thank you for visiting our website. Come back again.   #### Contact Us [335 East Sullivan Road](https://goo.gl/maps/Zw5nD1bJfNC2) [Aurora IL 60505 USA](https://goo.gl/maps/Zw5nD1bJfNC2) Phone: [(630) 806-2000](tel:630-806-2000) Fax: (630) 806-2001 E-Mail: [solutions@weldcoa.com](mailto:solutions@weldcoa.com) © 2019 Weldcoa **