Member Updates & Interests
George Hayward and John Haskell at 2009 IGA Glove
Symposium held in March, San Antonio, Texas
PASSING OF A LEGEND- George Hayward dies at 67
2001 Hall of Fame recipient, GEORGE HAYWARD of United Sales Associates in Cincinnati,OH, passed away May 1, 2009 after a very brief bout with lung cancer. As a sales REP and a founder of the SEMAA organization (Safety Equip. Mfg. Agents' Assn.), he was also very involved with NIGDA (the former National Industrial Glove Distributors Association prior to its 2003 merger with IHPA/WGMA into the now I.G.A.). George was one of the founders of the NIGDA Hall of Fame and became the 2001 recipient of that prestigious award, then continued in recent years helping on the H.O.F. selection committee. Our friend George was a “giant” in the work glove industry, working for many of the great names in safety after his four years in the U.S. Navy; Edmont-Wilson (Ansell), Standard Glove (Fisher Safety), and West Chester Marketing. In 1982 he founded United Sales Associates which served as manufacturers' representatives for the leading makers of industrial safety products in the Ohio and Michigan area to Western Pennsylvania and New York. He was also involved in several other related organizations as well as having various outside hobbies. George and his loving wife Ramona (Mo) attended most every NIGDA/IGA convention for years, as well as many larger occupational safety and health conferences, and were great entertainers in doing so. It didn't take long to become a FRIEND of George once you met him. In addition to Mo, George is survived by his sons Todd (Jackie) and Tom (Carolyn) Hayward and has been a loving grandfather to several grandchildren. He will be greatly missed in our industry.
*Supplied by Rob Wekell/2004-05 IGA Pres. (excerpts from EHS TODAY article about George Hayward in June 2009 issue).
ANOTHER GLOVE ICON PASSES - Maurice L. "Monty" Wells passes at age 90
MAURICE L. "MONTY" WELLS, 1919-2009: CEO, president of century-old glovemaker
CEO built network of foreign factories for family company
By Trevor Jensen, Chicago Tribune reporter
Maurice L. "Monty" Wells joined his family's glove company, Wells Lamont, after World War II and was president and chief executive officer during an era marked by the growth of foreign competition.
Mr. Wells, 90, died of a heart attack Monday, July 6, 2009.
Wells Lamont dates to 1907, when Mr. Wells' father, W.O. Wells, opened a small glovemaking plant in Iowa. The business moved to suburban Niles in the late 1930s, where it remains today.
Mr. Wells, the youngest of four brothers who went into in the business, succeeded his brother D.J. as president and CEO in 1968, Jim Wells said. A year earlier, the company had been acquired by Hammond, the organ-maker.
In the late 1970s, Hammond and Wells Lamont were taken over by the Marmon Group, which is now a Berkshire Hathaway company.
Throughout the 1970s and '80s, Mr. Wells built a network of foreign factories to meet competition from low-cost overseas glovemakers.
Mr. Wells remained at the helm of Wells Lamont until 1987, then returned in 1989 for another year and a half, his son said.
Mr. Wells attended Northwestern University before joining the Navy during World War II, serving stateside for four years.
An accomplished North Woods fisherman, Mr. Wells developed a habit of scrawling his biggest muskie catches on the wall of a telephone booth of the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowosh Waters, Wis., years earlier the site of a shootout between the federal agents and John Dillinger's gang.
In 1996, he wrote a company history that used his father's slogan as its title, "Stubborn About Quality." In 2003, he was inducted into the International Glove Association's Hall of Fame, which noted that he was "one of the most successful second-generation business leaders in the glove industry."
Mr. Wells' wife, Susanne, died in 2004. He is also survived by two other sons, Dan and Richard; a daughter, Jeanne Knapp; and eight grandchildren.
NORTH STAR GLOVE COMPANY - going on 100 years!
FRIENDS of NORTH STAR GLOVE CO.- Today July 9, 2009 "starts" our 100th. year of business here in Tacoma,WA. That will give us ALL this coming year to "brag" about our pending 100th. ANNIVERSARY next July 10, 2010. Thank you for your involvement and we will keep you posted on upcoming promotions and celebrations during 2009 & 2010. The third-generation Wekell family and our many employees over the years are very proud of our longevity and success at continuing to make top-quality work gloves here in the U.S.A.. Best regards- ROB WEKELL/President
Marketing Survey - 2009 1st quarter as well as 2002-2008 for your review!
The complete, newly posted 2009 1st quarter, and the 2002-2008 Marketing Survey is posted in the Members Section.
WILLIAM C. TRAINER, Elected President of the IGA for 2nd term
William C. Trainer, President of the Wells Lamont Industry Group was re-elected for a second term as President of the International Glove Association (IGA) at the 2009 IGA Board meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Trainer has been a member of the IGA Board and active with many association initiatives in addition to being recognized as the 2007 recipient of the IGA “Helping Hand” award.
Alan Bennett, 2009 Hall of Fame Recipient
George Hayward, Alan Bennett and Rob Wekell at 2009 IGA Glove Symposium
As most of you know, Alan was President, of IGA, formerly known as the National Industrial Glove Distributors Association (NIGDA), for a two year term from 1979 through 1980. He is currently active as a business consultant and serves as a director of Jackson Safety Products, St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Bennett resides in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Deborah.
For over the past 36 years, Bennett has been directly involved in the industrial work glove industry as an industrial distributor, and manufacturer. In 1969 he founded Allied Industrial Distributors and developed this business over a 20 year period into a regional business worthy of national attention. Allied and its successor company, Safety Supply America (Division Figgie International, Inc.), promoted proper hand protection with a full continuum of gloves and related safety equipment products. Over a period of 7 years Bennett was a division president and later vice president of Sales and Distribution for Figgie, a $1.2 billion enterprise at the time. Mr. Bennett’s professional accomplishments include President of the Safety Equipment Distributors Association (SEDA), director National Safety Council (NSC) and director Verdugo Banking Company, a California based financial institution. In 1999 Bennett was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Bacou USA Safety, Inc., the operating arm of Bacou USA (NYSE:BAU). In 2001 the company was merged with Dalloz Safety and Bennett retired in 2002.
Bennett holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and served in the United States Air Force. He is a licensed pilot and enjoys fly fishing.
He is well known and admired by other "stakeholders" in the safety industry. During his career he has been a strong advocate of hand protection products as a key element of worker safety. Alan can be easily recognized by his contagious smile, tall stance and forever silver-gray hair!
Stephanie Gao - 2009 Helping Hand Recipient
Stephanie Gao, from Wells Lamont, and Chair of the Leather Guide Committee, was presented with the 2009 IGA "Helping Hand" award during the recent 2009 IGA Glove Symposium held at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Stephanie has worked tirelessly, setting up and editing the soon to be published IGA Glove Guides.
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