FS Welsford Early Beginnings

We’re often asked, “How did you get into the valve business?” The truth is...it’s in our blood. It all started on an oil tanker traveling around the world. Fred Welsford, then the youngest captain in the United States Merchant Marines, always loved going into the boiler room while on the ship. After World War II ended and he retired from the Merchant Marines, he needed a job; soon after he found himself selling industrial valves. The FS Welsford Company started in 1965, in the basement of Fred and Ethel Welsford’s modest home in Philadelphia, PA. They were first-generation business owners selling products such as regulators, control valves, ball vavles, industrial filtration, and steam traps.

Moving On Up...

Over the years, the business continued to grow. And, in 1983 Fred and Ethel Welsford moved their business out of the basement of their Philadelphia home to its current location at 310 Commerce Drive in Exton, PA. However, they did not come alone. They were joined by their sons, Gil Sr and Fred Jr, who would now be accompanying them on their journey through the valve industry. Learning the business from a young age, Gil Welsford Sr quickly became known throughout the valve industry as simply “The Valve Man,” because of his remarkable knowledge, expertise, and passion for valves.

From 1983 to 2005, the business steadily grew, and Gil Sr’s wife- Christina Welsford joined the company. The couple eventually became the sole owners of the family company. The couple began expanding the sales and the company's already impressive product line, deepening existing relationships and developing new relationships with such manufacturers as: Jordan Valve, Steriflow, A-T Controls, Donaldson Filtration, Max-Air, Islip Flow Controls, and many others.

Like his father before, Gil Sr. would soon begin grooming his own two sons to follow in his footsteps to become the next ValveMan. The family business has grown from the sole employees being Fred and Ethel to now employing over a dozen full-time staff. ValveMan could not have grown without the family culture that is fostered every single day at FSW. Each and every employee that joins the team does not just join a company, they join a family.

Generation Number Three - Enter Gilbert Welsford Jr. and Jason Welsford

Jump forward to today- brothers Gilbert Welsford Jr and Jason Welsford, who began learning the family business as kids sitting on his father’s office floor, playing with a 3-piece ball valve as their toys are taking over the reins. Jason works at FS Welsford, and Gil Jr is the Managing Director of ValveMan. Gil Jr. and Jason are on the same path as their father to become the next generation of valve experts in the family. As always, incredible service is the bedrock of how the Company operates. It was also around 2010 that FSW decided to take its business online by launching ValveMan, offering some of the same high-quality engineered valves but this time, online. FS Welsford is poised for explosive growth over the coming years.