Our History


	Central Welding Supply Central Welding Supply opened in downtown Saint Cloud in 1947 as a small supplier of welding equipment and gases. In 1951 we relocated to our current location at 123 Roosevelt Road, occupying 3,200 square feet of office and warehouse space at that time.		McGowan Welding Supply McGowan Welding Supply opened in downtown Little Falls in 1952 as a small independent supplier of welding gases and equipment. In 1963 we relocated to our current location at 12802 Haven Rd (old Hwy 10) on the south side of Little Falls, occupying 3,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at that time.

Central McGowan Welding Supply

In 1965 Central Welding Supply of St. Cloud merged with McGowan Welding Supply of Little Falls. The new company was renamed Central McGowan, Inc. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, Central McGowan continued to grow by building partnerships with our customers and providing high quality solutions and customer service. We also continued to expand our warehouses, product lines, and delivery capabilities.

Throughout the 1990’s we continued that growth pattern. We expanded our delivery area to encompass a radius of 150 miles of both our locations, and in turn added multiple delivery trucks to adequately service that area. In 1996 we replaced our existing Oxygen pumping system, that had served us for over 30 years with a new state of the art siphon pumping system. In 1998, we expanded the siphon tecnology to include pumping capabilities for Argon and Nitrogen gases as well.

In 2002, to complement the installation of the cryogenic gas fill plant, we added bulk gas distribution capabilities and a carbon dioxide bulk pumping system. By 2006 Central McGowan had built a fleet of bulk transport trailers for the distribution of the four primary gases: Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon, and Carbon Dioxide.

In 2007, to meet our customers changing needs, we added a state-of-the-art 4,200 square foot service and automation center. The automation center has an in-house training area with a fully operational robotic welding system, along with a CNC high definition plasma cutting system used for demonstration and training purposes. This allows our customers to not only see and understand the value of an automation system on paper, but also to see it perform live in a true working environment.

Today, Central McGowan has 54 employees and over 45,000 square feet of space between our Saint Cloud and Little Falls locations. Our delivery and service area has grown to more than 30,000 square miles. We sell thousands of welding and industrial supplies, a complete line of gases, as well as automation and robotic solutions. Our automation center is one of few sites in North America and is the only one in Minnesota. In the future, Central McGowan is committed to meeting customer’s ever changing needs through continued growth and excellent customer service.