Pros
No one has a bigger catalog of hard goods to sell from. Most of the private label, Radnor, are good quality, good price offerings. Great employee stock purchasing program. Solid robotics sales support. We were given the latitude necessary to successfully grow our part of the business.
Cons
In my case, middle management didn't value marked and measurable improvements in revenue, staff, and inventory control. They needed to get rid of staff somewhere due to contractions in other business units. Months before my termination, I was told I was the highest paid manager. I believe this was a factor. Airgas employees outside of corporate are in one of two camps. The people in the biggest camp are worried about losing their jobs, constantly feeling they could go at anytime for any number of reasons. The smaller camp behaves like they are beyond caring about their careers at Airgas, fire me, I don't care. Fear is cheaper than raises. Airgas believes in turnover to keep the staff young, cheap, and inline. One of my staff complained about me to my manager. I was writen up. My manager didn't stop in to check out the situation or look into the matter with anyone else. He showed up with a disciplinary write-up for me to read and sign. No support, no questions. You have a complaint so you have failed as a manager. Many people at Airgas have known each other for a long time, and are married or related to each other. When negative consequences are handed out, don't expect them to be included. This is a real unprofessional non-merit based workplace. For most people who work at Airgas, this is the best paying job they can hope to get. As such they are willing to put up with mountains of crap and an uncertain future to provide for their families today. Hard work and good results will not ensure your future at Airgas, if this sounds like a "good fit," for you apply.