Chance
Meeting
Turns Into
60 Year
Success
1954-2014
Where there are steel and other metals in industry, there
is welding. It is an essential part of the construction of all
types of structures and large machinery, and has been since
the dawn of the industrial age.
For not quite that long – more like 60 years, to be exact
– Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. has existed to service the
welding requirements of big corporations and individuals
alike who need the latest in equipment, and the support
to back it up.
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd`s first location on Venables
Street in Vancouver, B.C.
The company, which began operations in the Vancouver area in 1954
and continues today in Coquitlam in the shadow of one of the biggest
welding projects in British Columbia, the new Port Mann Bridge,
is the country’s premier welding sales and service provider. With
a full range of machines for sale or rent, the ability to provide all
levels of service for them, a complete range of the gases needed for
the different processes, and a warehouse full of all the accessories
and consumable items used in the trade, Barry-Hamel Equipment
Ltd. is a one-stop shop for the professional welder.
who helped him make more connections. Eventually, after working
for the owner of two Esso gas stations near downtown Vancouver at
1st & Burrard and Cornwall & Yew (now a restaurant), he took over
the business and got to know a lot of his customers.
Like many business success stories, Barry-Hamel began life through
a series of fortuitous occurrences and meetings. Frank Barry arrived
in Vancouver from Ontario with the proverbial ten cents in his
pocket, and as an outgoing 19 year-old go-getter, met lots of people
The company did well, but seemingly not as well as expected as far as
the ‘bottom line’ in the financial statements went. It turns out that the
company accountant was bilking them of a lot of money. Following
the crooked cipher’s self-inflicted death, Barry bought
Frank Barry
(l) and Keith
Hamel (r) pose
outside
Vancouver
location.
One, a Mr. Hamel, told him that a welding machine company
called Lincoln Electric was looking for a dealer. He sold the two
Esso franchises, and went into partnership with Mr. Hamel in 1954.
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. was born.
On site with 1960’s
field vehicles.
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
out Hamel, and the company has been in Barry family control since
that day in 1963. Frank Barry retired in 1985, and the business was
taken over by his son Tom Barry, who runs it to this day.
Tom took some time recently to tell us the Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. story, and following his description of being part of the
social scene and travelling with Team Penske during the heyday of
North American open-wheel auto racing in the 1990s, he warmed
to the subject of welding and the company’s growth as a major
supplier.
“When the company was started, all we did was distribute Lincoln
Electric welding machines and consumables like welding rod. Then,
my Dad started a welding equipment rental business, and we wanted
to become a repair depot, too, but Lincoln Electric had a rule that
a distributor could not be a repair depot as well. We wanted to be
able to fix our rental units, so we opened B&H Welder Repair. Same
address, different phone number. It took them eight years to catch
on,” he laughs. “When we moved into this building in 1994, we
got sick and tired of everything involved with running two separate
companies, so we folded B&H Welder Repair. Nobody cares anymore, and the rules have changed since.”
1982 Trade Show
outside Vancouver
location.
welding machine to last 15 or 20 years you are doing really well.
And you’ll be spending a lot on upkeep.”
Clearly, Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. are the experts in welding
– and only welding. “When you walk into this building, it is all
about welding,” Barry says. “There is nothing else going on here.
You walk through the shop, past the Technicians working on welders,
right into the showroom, and there is the sales advisor behind the
counter ready to help you. There are times I’ve thought of starting
a new division, because we sell equipment that makes things come
together. We could get into glue and solvents and plastic welding,
but we stick with steel and arc welding. We are looking at opening
a branch on Vancouver Island, as a customer we have is involved in
a billion-dollar job over there, and he wants us there.”
Congratulations!
Tom and Frank Barry circa 1990.
Barry continues the story. “When I was 21, I moved from the
shop into inside sales, and found that we had to suggest people
went elsewhere for accessories like welder’s helmets, gloves and
other safety items. So I said to myself, what are we doing? So,
we started selling accessories here. Now, we had new equipment
rentals, repairs, consumables and accessories for welding. My
competitors were doing the same stuff, but some of them were
doing industrial gases, too, so 15 years ago, we hired an expert in
the field who came from an industrial gas company to set up that
side of the business. We became an Air Liquide distributor, and it’s
been a good line for us and has been growing steadily.”
The story of how Barry came to realize that the sale of industrial
gases made good business sense is a fascinating one. “I’ll tell you
what convinced us to go with gases. One of the biggest gas distributors in the world is Praxair based in Europe, and we went for
a tour of their plant. We kept seeing Swastikas on the cylinders,
so we asked them, what’s with all the Swastikas on the cylinders?
We were told that the cylinders keep showing up back at Praxair
to be repainted or disposed of and that they last over one-hundred
years. These had seen use in Germany in World War Two. So wait
a minute... after doing the cost to purchase versus the monthly
rental the math was quite simple…we were in! If you can get a
to the entire team
of Barry Hamel on
the occasion of your
60th anniversary.
We hope to continue
to grow together.
walter.com
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
Longtime employee, Brian Fortin delivering equipment
(l). Full repair, warranty repair and callibration for all
major manufacturers welding and cutting equipment
are available at Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. in
Coquitlam, B.C.
Of course, much has changed over the course of several decades,
in terms of technology and design of the machinery. “Welders are
like most machines,” Barry says. “They are getting smaller, more
powerful, and costing less. For what you are getting, it’s costing way
less. An electric welder that used to weigh 800 pounds can now be
put in a big lunch box. So, it’s definitely gone that route. And the
technology....it’s all computerized now, of course. You can even
track welding arc/hours by satellite. You can tell when the welding
machine isn’t working, which leads into duty cycle management,
and job performance measurement.” So, the welding function is
now more management-friendly, as it can be measured in terms of
cost per hour or job.
The actual welding, the point where the sparks are flying that is
the signature visual effect most people associate with it, has also
changed, with new processes and applications. “There used to be
just electric arc welding. Now there is resistance welding, pressure
welding, water cutting,
plasma cutting, laser Barry-Hamel Equipment
cutting, even robotics.” Ltd. modern cylinder
Barry-Hamel Equipment delivery truck.
Ltd. and its suppliers are
completely on top of all
these new developments
in the trade.
in and work with us, but they won’t do it. They make too much
money. It’s usually through word of mouth, although sometimes
with an ad. Sometimes we get guys walking in off the street looking for a job. Those kinds of guys, we want; at least he’s out there
looking. We have to train all our own people as it’s really, really
hard to find the right people in our industry, and people try to seduce
them away all the time.
“People like working here,” he continues. “We try to make it as
nice as possible, to keep my people happy. People come to us,
because it’s a nice place to work. It’s a team here, and everybody
gets involved in major decisions.” In our short guided tour of the
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. facility, it was very evident that the
atmosphere is one of teamwork and mutual support. “One of the
guys wanted to get a stock car team together. We let them use our
truck and some space in the back of the shop. It’s all about team
building.” It’s also clear that Barry, being of a certain age, is looking to the future of Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. “My goals are to
get the people here to take over this company, to get young people
into the business.”
The future of welding itself is, like most older technical activities,
coming to terms with new technologies and possibilities. “Years
To keep up with all that
is new in welding takes
a team of motivated and
talented staff, and BarryHamel Equipment Ltd.
boasts the most experienced people in the
industry, both in sales
and service. Tom Barry
explains how this is not
easy to accomplish. “We
try to get welders to come
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
ago,” Barry explains, “Lincoln had
us watch the movie about the nuclear
plant in the States that was melting down., which was caused by a
faulty weld. In the movie Alien, as
they were running away from the
monster, they closed a door and
had this big gun in their hands, and
went zap-zap and welded the door
shut. The reason they wanted us to
watch that is, that’s where it’s going.
We’re almost there now, almost there
to the handheld machine that will
do a weld. It’s getting really close,
certainly as far as the size of it goes.
Welding is getting to the point where
everyone will have something in
their house to do it. It’s going to be
a very simple process. It’ll be like
3D printing. You don’t believe it,
but it works.”
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. General Manager, Steve Curr, believes
that “we are in an energy-saving era now, and the new technology
makes machines much more efficient. The techniques and procedures
used have become a lot more stringent.” And that sounds much like
the situation facing the automotive industry.
With the mention of 3D printing, Barry doesn’t discount the possibility of Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. getting involved with it, in
some way. “I’ve thought of it. The future we can see is that we aren’t
going to stock parts and ship them out; we are going to make them
right here. We’d love to see fifty 3D printers in a row downstairs,
spitting out parts. They will be huge for any industry like welding
Tom with the prized
Rolls-Royce that has
been in the Barry
family since 1969.
that has consumables. We’ll be doing it, if we are still around.”
There should be little doubt of that, given all the possible major
projects on the horizon. “We’re good for 20 years here. We’ve got
the pipelines nobody wants to talk about. We’ve got a billion-dollar
dam rebuild project in Campbell River. There are the military boats
in North Vancouver. There’s lots of action going on up north. Our
main customers right now would be ship building, petrochemical,
and believe it or not, forestry. Some of our biggest customers are the
pulp mills. Even though people say forestry is dead… it’s not.”
There are no other welding suppliers in North America that do it
all like Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. And it all began 60 years ago
with a chance meeting at a gas station....
Victor Technologies™ extends
Barry Hamel Equipment best wishes
on their 60th Anniversary!
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
Proud Supplier
to Barry-Hamel
Equipment Ltd.
Lincoln Electric is never far from any discussion of the formation and growth of BarryHamel Equipment Ltd., and for that matter,
the growth of the welding industry itself.
After all, the company was formed in 1895
and pioneered many of the welding innovations taken for granted today. The Lincoln
brothers made their first welding set in 1909.
In 1916, The Lincoln Electric Company of
Canada was incorporated to distribute the
U.S.-made products.
Through the 1920s and ‘30s, Lincoln Electric
created a new type of electrode and welding
flux in order to make welds both stronger
and more ductile, more closely matching the
characteristics of the steel used.
Like most industrial companies, the beginning
of America’s involvement in World War II
resulted in a huge demand for welding equipment, in order to build the ships and other
armaments needed to fight the war. Lincoln
Electric’s business grew dramatically, and this
growth continued until the recession of the
early-1980s, when it fell some 40 percent.
To counter that decline, the company em-
barked on a plan of foreign expansion, which
led to it being the world’s dominant producer
of welding equipment and supplies. Since the
turn of the century, Lincoln has acquired well
over a dozen foreign companies in the welding
and equipment field, including in the world’s
fastest-growing welding market, China.
Today, it is fair to say that Lincoln Electric
sells more welding equipment in Canada than
any other company. A quick look at their website, www.linconelectric.coméen-ca, shows
literally dozens of machines across the many
different types of welding processes, far beyond the scope of this article to describe. But
if you are a welder, there will be something
there for your area of expertise.
Of course, Lincoln Electric played a key role
in the formation of Barry-Hamel Equipment
Ltd. 60 years ago, and according to Tom Barry, “Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. Often sells
more Lincoln Electric product than everybody
else in B.C. combined. We are so associated
with Lincoln that there are times people call
us thinking that we are them!”
So, just what makes Lincoln welders better
than the others? Tom Barry knows, and it
has to do with both experience, and the same
‘team’ approach that he takes with his own
company. “They’ve been building them for
over a hundred years. And they were the first
ones to do it. But how they run their company
is a big reason. They are a profit-sharing organization. Every single person who works for
them wants their equipment to be successful.
If they send out a welder, and it comes back
to the factory under warranty, they come in
at night, on their own time, to fix it. All the
equipment in the Lincoln factory is fixed on
their own time. I don’t think Lincoln has had
a layoff in the history of the company.”
Of course, Lincoln makes more than just
machines, as welding takes up a lot of consumable items like welding rod and wire. So,
it’s no surprise that of all Lincoln’s products,
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. sells more
consumables than anything. “We sell so much
welding rod and wire, it’s mind blowing. We
supply lots of schools for their shops, like
BCIT and the Pipe Trade College. Pulp-andpaper and petrochemical companies are right
up there amongst our biggest customers.”
Put simply, Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. is
Lincoln Electric Canada’s biggest dealer, and
Lincoln is Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd.’s
biggest supplier. “Without Lincoln Electric,
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. and the Barry
family wouldn’t be where we are today. We
go hand-in-hand.”
After 60 years of making each other’s companies successful, this business relationship
is a strong one.
60
YEARS
Congratulating
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. for
60 years of partnership and success!
www.lincolnelectric.ca
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
Variety of
Suppliers
Give
Customers
Power of
Choice
There is no doubt that Barry-Hamel Equipment
Ltd. is associated closely with Lincoln Electric
welding products, but that doesn’t mean that
the company doesn’t carry other excellent
equipment for the welding professional.
in Appleton, Wisconsin, manufactures arc
welding and cutting equipment designed for
manufacturing, fabrication, construction, aviation, motorsports, education, agriculture and
marine applications.
Chief among the other brands available at
Barry-Hamel Equipment Ltd. is the Miller
Electric line of welding machines and supplies,
and Tom Barry appreciates the company’s
focus on its top priority: people – the same
focus he has at Barry-Hamel. “We love dealing
with Miller,” he says. “They are great people
to deal with.”
Miller does business through an ever-increasing focus on customers’ welding challenges in
specific market segments and applications and,
ultimately, their complete satisfaction. Miller
knows that customers in these industries don’t
just buy welders; they want welding system
solutions.
Miller Electric Mfg. Co., with headquarters
The Miller story began in 1929 when Neils
Miller recognized the need for a small, afford-
able arc welder that would operate on the type of
electricity readily available in rural Wisconsin,
where he lived. Miller Electric Mfg. Co. was
incorporated in 1935. The next year, Al Mulder,
Miller’s sole engineer, invented the world’s first
high frequency-stabilized AC industrial welder,
which put Miller on the map, so to speak.
The innovation has continued unabated over the
ensuing decades, and today, Miller has 1,400
employees working in product-focused factories, known as business units, which optimize
production flow and improve quality.
One simple fact showcases the power of Miller’s
organization: while the number of
Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment
production workers is about the same as it was
15 years ago, today’s workforce produces twice
as many welders. Few companies in the world
can boast a 100 percent production increase,
much less do it with a workforce that has an
average tenure of 19+ years and a turnover of
less than 2 percent.
Without specialized gases,
there would not be welding
as we know it, and BarryHamel Equipment Ltd. is
proud to have Air Liquide
as its primary supplier of
gas products.
so in North-America – and promoted bronze
welding for the repair of cast iron. The
company offered free welding instructions
at all branches and published “The Welding
Review” for its customers.
In the 1940s, the company opened Canada’s
first welding and gas applications research
Needless to say, Air Liquide has been at the
forefront of new technologies for the welding
industry, working closely with the hardware
manufacturers to bring welding to the advanced
position it now enjoys.
laboratory, as well as a state-of-the-art welding electrode plant, and the world’s largest
oxygen plant.
Air Liquide has been closely associated
with welding since the early days. Several
key steps were made during the 1920s: Air
Liquide Canada began to manufacture fluxcoated electrodes – the first enterprise to do
Introduced in 1999, ALTOP revolutionized the
welding industry. It is the first industrial cylinder with a fully integrated valve and regulator,
which provide instant gas flow at the desired
pressure.
Barry-Hamel stocks many other names in
welding supplies – Hobart Welding Equipment,
Victor Technologies Torches and Regulators,
Noramco Electrical, SCN Industrial, Walter
Surface Technologies and Lenco Canada to
name but a few – ensuring that the professional
welder can find everything he or she is looking
for, all under one roof.
Barry-Hamel Equipment is truly the one-stop
shop for everything to do with welding, with the
knowledgeable staff to back it all up.
™
WE BUILD
Air Liquide is one of the
world’s largest and most
experienced suppliers of
gases for all industries, including oxygen, nitrogen,
hydrogen and rare gases.
Based in Paris, France, the
company has operations in
80 countries, with its Canadian headquarters in Montreal. Operations there
began in 1911, and today, there are offices in
several Canadian cities.
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Barry-Hamel Equipment ltd. 60th Anniversary Special suppliment