Independent, Family-Owned, and Still Growing: Earlbeck Receives 2026 BBJ Family Business Award

Some companies measure success in quarterly reports. We measure it in generations, welder  certifications, customer relationships, and probably a few thousand cups of breakroom coffee over the last 119 years.

We’re proud to share that Earlbeck Gases & Technologies has been recognized by the Baltimore Business Journal as a recipient of their 2026 Family-Owned Business Award.
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For our team, this recognition reflects some guiding principles that Earlbeck has held since the beginning: staying committed to our community, supporting skilled trades, and building real relationships that last.

Earlbeck’s story began in 1919 as the T.A. Canty Company. In 1952, Al Earlbeck purchased the business while balancing work at the company and his studies at Baltimore's Polytechnic Institute. Since then, three generations of the Earlbeck family have helped grow the company into a trusted resource for welding equipment, industrial gases, automation solutions, and welding education throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Over the decades, we’ve expanded with new showrooms, an in-house gas filling operation, technical training programs, and hands-on support for manufacturers and fabricators across the region. But through all the changes in the industry, one thing has stayed the same: our belief that skilled trades matter.

And yes..... sometimes that belief starts with making your teenager take a welding class they absolutely do not want to attend.

Allison Earlbeck’s father made her take a welding class when she was 16.

“That was something I protested, because when you just got your driver’s license, the last thing you want to be doing is driving after high school to a weld shop to work until 9 p.m.,” she said. “But it served me very well.”

​Earlbeck, CEO of Earlbeck Gases & Technologies, said the class gave her confidence to face new challenges and helped her fall in love with the industry in which she now thrives.

READ THE FULL BBJ ARTICLE HERE

​Current CEO Allison Earlbeck may have started out begrudgingly taking a welding class at her dad's insistence, and while at the time it may not have sounded like the world’s greatest after-school activity, it did provide confidence, hands-on problem solving skills, and eventually a passion for the industry she now leads.

As the third generation of Earlbeck family leadership, and President of GAWDA, the Gases & Welding Distributors Association, she proudly continues the company’s long-standing commitment to staying independent, community-focused, and closely connected to the customers and industries we serve.

WHY STAY INDEPENDENT?

The welding and gas industry has changed dramatically over the years, with large corporations continuing to grab up other independent distributors across the country.

Earlbeck has had opportunities to do the same.... but we’ve intentionally chosen to keep our operations independent because we believe local businesses serve local communities better.

Being independent allows us to stay connected to our customers, respond quickly, provide real personalized technical support, and continue investing directly into our local community. It also allows us to keep supporting welding schools, workforce development programs, scouts and youth camps, technical training, and the next generation. That commitment is part of who we are.

Whether it’s training future welders in our technical center, partnering with local schools and workforce programs, helping manufacturers improve productivity, or introducing new technology like automation and laser welding systems, we are laser focused (get it?) on helping the trades move forward.

Because the future of manufacturing depends on the people willing to build it.

We’re incredibly grateful to the Baltimore Business Journal for this recognition, and even more grateful to our employees, customers, students, instructors, and community partners who have been part of Earlbeck’s story over the years.
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119 years later, we’re still doing what we’ve always done:
Supporting skilled trades, serving our community, and occasionally convincing people that taking a welding class is actually pretty cool.