How to Choose an Industrial Gas Supplier

The wrong industrial gas supplier will cost you thousands (or more!) in runouts, hidden cylinder charges, and production delays. You should evaluate suppliers on delivery capabilities, cylinder tracking systems, service quality, and specialized needs rather than price alone.

Avoid Running Out of Gas (and Get Fast Delivery if You Do!)

To maintain continuous access to gas, you need telemetry monitoring and a supplier that actually delivers within 48 hours. 

Telemetry is commonly offered for bulk systems. It’s not as prevalent for packaged gases… but you need it for packaged gases too. 

With WestAir, you get the following:

• 24/7 emergency service
• 48-hour turnaround time on most gases
• Telemetry not only on bulk, but also on packaged gases

When talking to prospective suppliers, ask when they deliver. If the answer is unclear, they may only deliver on a certain day of the week – leaving you at risk of being without gas for several days.

Then ask about telemetry. WestAir partners with Pulsa, a leading solution that has predictive usage powered by AI – decreasing the likelihood that you run out.     

Don’t Get Overcharged for Cylinders

A good cylinder tracking system uses barcode scanning and regular audits to prevent you from being overcharged – we’ve seen customers get overcharged by up to 30% on cylinder rentals. 

Many suppliers bill you for cylinders that have been sitting in their warehouse for months!

At WestAir, we believe in taking the initiative to prevent you from being overcharged. Here’s what we do:

Use Handheld Scanners to Track Every Cylinder

We know the location of our customers’ cylinders – from start to finish. Our drivers use handheld scanners to record each cylinder as it leaves for your site and when it’s loaded back on the truck to return to us.

Perform Regular Audits

WestAir audits your cylinders 2-4 times per year. We count what’s actually at your site, review your invoices, and show you exactly how much you’re being overcharged.

Here are the steps involved in an audit:

1. Physical inventory: we walk your entire facility and tally every cylinder by size and gas type.
2. Create totals: all cylinders are summed up by category for accurate counts.
3. Invoice review: we request your current invoices and review them to see what you’re being charged weekly or monthly.
4. Reconciliation: actual cylinder counts are compared to what appears on your billing statements, and corrected in the rare event there is a discrepancy. 

The majors skip audits. It’s more work for them and they would lose out on fees for missing cylinders, which can be around $300 per cylinder. Because it’s not a huge expense for their customers in the grand scheme of things, they often get away with it. 

If you think you are being overcharged for cylinders, contact us to book a free audit. 

Evaluate Service Quality

Every supplier claims “exceptional service.” And low churn rates mean nothing if customers are trapped by contracts or just too exhausted to switch.

So, how do you know if a supplier has outstanding service, awful service, or somewhere in between?  

Ask them why their customers leave. At WestAir, it’s extremely rare that we lose a customer – when we do, it’s typically because the business closed or relocated, not due to service failures. Around 9 out of 10 of our new customers are switching from another industrial gas supplier, though, not using an industrial gas supplier for the first time. So, there are several suppliers that aren’t meeting customer needs! 

Ask how you can get in touch with your account manager. If you run out of gas or you have a safety-related issue, for example, you want to be able to immediately get assistance. At WestAir, our account managers provide their personal cell phone numbers.  

Choose a Supplier for Specialized Gas Needs

If you don’t need EPA protocol gases or custom blends, you can skip to the next section. But if you do, here’s what matters.

EPA protocol gases demand strict quality standards and documentation that not all suppliers can meet. Suppliers with large EPA gas inventories actually understand the requirements and have the systems to handle EPA testing. WestAir has one of the largest populations of EPA gases in California. 

Custom gas blending requires real labs and chemists. Suppliers with in-house labs, like WestAir, can create exact mixtures for your applications, whether you need calibration gases, atmosphere control, or specific compositions for research and development. Ask potential suppliers about their specialty gas capabilities upfront.

How to Evaluate Price vs. Value

Gas is likely only 2-3% of your operating costs. Bad service will cost you far more than any small percentage savings.

Choosing the cheapest supplier is like buying discount parachutes – the savings aren’t worth the risk. Consider the cost of being without gas for several days. Or wondering if you’re being overcharged for cylinders. 

Yes, WestAir is a little more expensive than the majors who tell you tough luck when there’s a CO₂ shortage or occasionally leave you without gas for days when you run out. 

Running a bar or restaurant? You’re missing out on gross profit margins as high as 80% on draft beers while you wait for your next delivery. 

Working at a lab? No liquid nitrogen means millions of dollars worth of lost biological samples!

We show up when you need us. The 20% you might save with someone else? That’s one-half of one percent of your operating costs. One extended wait for gas, and your “savings” vanish.  

The Bottom Line

You need a supplier that actually delivers when you need gas, bills you honestly, and picks up the phone whenever you need them.

WestAir has been family-owned since 1970. We’re the largest independent distributor on the west coast – big enough to always have what you need, small enough to answer our phones.

Get started today!   

Lawrence Haynes

Lawrence is the Marketing Director at WestAir Gases & Equipment in San Diego, CA