Many of you remember us when we operated in this location,
under the name of Industrial Gas & Equipment Co., Inc. or IGE,
Inc., in the 1980s and before that in Wheeling on Industrial
Lane.
The business has been family owned and operated since 1952
and, except for a recent 15 year hiatus, has been servicing the
north and northwest suburbs of Chicago with pride and
distinction.
The business was founded in 1952 by Ed Hlavacek and Larry
Spencer. They operated out of Des Plaines before moving to
Wheeling in 1962. In 1969 the business was purchased by Dave
& Elaine (Hlavacek) Harrington who are now the owners and
operators of Weld-Mart U.S.A. Dave has over 40 years of experience
in the welding supply industry; and their son, Dan Harrington is
also part of the organization and has a unique knowledge of
technical and specialty welding &
gas applications.
Butch Stearnes has recently joined the company, Butch has been
in the welding supply industry for about 25 years. He started
out as a truck driver for Industrial Gas & Equipment Co Inc,
and has recently been manager of the store in Janesville Wi., for
Linde Gases.
