Portland Welding Supply was started in 1946 as a welding
and repair facility. In 1948 the company became a distributor for Airco supplies
and in 1952 of Airco
gases.
In 1963 the company aquired an Airco filling plant and became what was known
as a key distributor for the State of
Maine.
In 1982 the company aquired Allen Gordon & Sons and renamed
the store Rockland Welding Supply.
In 1983 an acquisition of J. J. Boulter and Sons was renamed Bangor Welding
Supply.
In 1986 acquisitions of Lewiston Welding Supply, Waterville Welding Supply
and Freeman's Supply added four more locations.
Northstar Welding Products of Presque Isle was purchased in 1989 and
with eight retail locations and eight names, the comapny was getting hard
to recognize.
In 1995 a repair facility was started and named New England Tool Repair.
In 1996 our power tool internet store was started and
named Toolsforless.com
Finally in 1999, we built our 1st New Hampshire store in Manchester, and
knew we needed a new name. So, by the end of 1999, we started doing business as
Advantage Gases and Tools at all our locations.
Currently, we have 126 employees at eleven locations with one location
in cyberspace.