Air Liquide company Airgas will supply the industrial gases and equipment needed for this year’s national welding competition at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta from June 19-23, the company shared on June 15. 

The supplied gas will be used for many SkillsUSA Championship student competitions including in the following categories: collision repair technology, diesel equipment technology, HVACR, residential and commercial appliance technology, welding, welding fabrication and welding sculpture.

“Airgas’s gift is making a difference for the nearly 380,000 students and educators that SkillsUSA serves annually in career and technical education classrooms across the country,”  SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis said in a news release.

Rob Tessier, National Vice President of Airgas Advanced Fabrication Technologies, added: “With the ongoing skilled labor shortage and the importance of shaping the next generation of workers, we know that our sponsorship support at SkillsUSA will make a positive impact on the lives of high school and college/post-secondary institution students who are interested in entering welding, engineering and technical careers.”

Airgas is No. 5 industrial distributor on MDM’s 2023 Top Distributors list. The company also ranked among the top gases and welding equipment distributors, and safety distributors.