Our roots go back to 1947 when McGowan Welding Supply of Little Falls opened for business.  Soon after, Central Welding Supply of St. Cloud was established as a small supplier of welding equipment and gases by Carl Shutan.  The two companies later joined forces in the mid-60s to form Central McGowan Inc. 

Central Welding Supply moves to current 3,200-sq.ft. location. Leo Henkemeyer (grandfather of current CEO) joins Central Welding as a salesman. He and Leo Rahm purchase Central Welding.  Company has 6 employees.

The business grows.  Leo Henkemeyer buys out Leo Rahm.

Central McGowan Inc. is formed when Central Welding Supply merges with McGowan Welding of Little Falls.  The company is owned by Leo Henkemeyer and Frank McGowan.

Frank McGowan retires. Leo Henkemeyer buys Frank's shares in the business.

Ray Kosel becomes general manager of Central McGowan Inc. (CMI).  Major expansion (17,600 sq. ft.) including remodel that adds 14,600 sq. ft. and purchase of adjacent building for an additional 3,000 sq. ft.

Ray Kosel retires. Pete Breer, Jeff Skumautz, and Al Prozinski become Vice Presidents and Management Team. Company has 24 employees.

CMI adds cryogenic pumping system, lab, and bulk storage, and ability to pump on-site.  Major major expansion and remodel in St. Cloud add 13,000 sq. ft. Two warehouse additions in Little Falls add another 10,000 sq. ft.

Company has 49 employees, 50,000 sq. ft. in St. Cloud and 10,500 sq. ft. in Little Falls.  Joe Francis, the company's present CEO/President, joins the customer service team.

CMI gets into the carbonated beverage (BevCarb) business.  Cindy Francis (daughter of Leo Henkemeyer) takes over as CEO, beginning second generation of family leadership.

Pete Breer and Al Prozinski retire. Jeff Francis (Cindy Francis' husband) becomes Vice President, then assumes CEO role.

Cindy Francis returns as CEO after the sudden and unfortunate passing of Jeff Francis, then CEO/CFO. Joe Francis accepts the position of VP and CFO.  He works with the management team to lead the company through succession planning and a new leadership/company structure.

Complete warehouse expansion in St. Cloud. Purchase Countryside CO2, giving us our 3rd location in New Prague.

Company undergoes a rebrand, launches a new logo, the "WE WORK FOR YOU" tagline is born.

Pro-Fect Automation in Little Falls is purchased and moved to a 12,000 sq. ft. building adjacent to the home office in St. Cloud.  The Little Falls Store is relocated to the former Pro-Fect building and remodeled.  A new site is purchased in Burnsville and the New Prague store moved to the new site.

Joe Francis becomes President/CEO of company, and third generation of family leadership. Cindy assumes Chair role on newly created Board. 

Pro-CO2 is purchased and a distribution hub in Fargo, ND added. Company continues to grow.

Company launches ColdZERO Dry Ice—further diversifying its portfolio of offerings. The company's number of employees nears 100. Two-Phase Major Renovation Project in St. Cloud begins.

• First Phase of Major Renovation Project in St. Cloud is completed, which includes:
  • Home office & automation building upgrades to expand and improve employee welfare and work areas for growing team
  • Store floor remodel to enhance customer in-store experience
  • Lab & fill plant expansion & enhancements to increase fill capabilities and optimize compliance
  • Training room addition to provide tech-enabled training space for team members, customers and vendor-partners

• Company is reorganized into three business units to focus on specific markets and better serve our customers:

  • Automation
  • Distribution - Industrial, Welding & Medical
  • CO2 Solutions North (St. Cloud) & South (St. Paul) - Selling Beverage Carbonation Gases/Systems & Dry Ice

Jasons Beverage Carbonation is purchased, more than doubling the company’s beverage carbonation and dry ice customer base.

• Second Phase of Major Renovation Project in St. Cloud is completed, which includes:
  • Warehouse expansion & remodel to increase warehouse and shipping/receiving capacity, capabilities, safety and efficiency; and
  • Loading dock addition to improve efficiency and team safety.
• New Central McGowan Vehicle Branding hits the road.
• Renovation of C02 Solutions South (St. Paul, formerly Jasons) begins.
• The Central McGowan team approaches 120.

Expands Fargo CO2 Distribution Hub to a fully stocked store & distribution site, bringing total number of retail locations to five.

March - Acquires Fessler Carbonic Gas in Des Moines, IA, which delivers CO2 solutions to every county in Iowa, growing business and team to more than 120.

April - Acquires Metro Welding Supply in Minneapolis, MN, strengthening presence in the metro area.

September - Closes purchase of Preferred Welder Sales in Mankato, MN, expanding coverage to southern Minnesota. Team is nearly 140 strong.