With more than 35 years of experience in the compressed gas industry, Mary Wenninger has built her career around technical expertise, problem-solving, and a commitment to quality. As Director of Laboratory Quality Assurance for Nippon Sanso Matheson’s packaged gas and electronic plants, Mary brings decades of knowledge to a role that helps ensure the accuracy and reliability of the products customers depend on. She joined Matheson in 2006 in Specialty Gas Operations and has spent the past 20 years growing and sharing her expertise across operations, laboratory management, and quality assurance.
A chemist by training, Mary entered the specialty gas industry fresh out of graduate school and quickly discovered a field where she could put her technical background to work. Throughout her career, she has held roles in operations, product management, sales and marketing, and technical leadership. Today, she leads a team of five focused on maintaining analytical data integrity, strengthening laboratory procedures, resolving technical challenges, and helping sites introduce new capabilities. Her approach centers on understanding the challenges teams face and finding practical solutions that help them deliver quality products to customers.
Some of Mary’s proudest accomplishments demonstrate the real-world impact of specialized gas expertise. She worked with a federal standards and measurements science agency and a U.S. government space exploration agency to develop a manufacturing plan for reference calibration standards used to analyze rocket fuel exhaust for a large project. She also helped develop a calibration gas standard for a large medical technology company’s Inhaled Nitric Oxide Delivery System, which enables customized gas mixtures used in treating premature babies with certain heart and lung complications. Additionally, she is proud of building a metrology qualification program from the ground up for Nippon Sanso Matheson’s electronic gas business.
Mary’s commitment to technical excellence and continuous improvement is reflected in her professional achievements and industry involvement. She earned her Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt in 2025, demonstrating her focus on process improvement and operational efficiency. In 2023, she was part of a team awarded “Best Partner Award” by one of our largest customers, recognizing her work supporting customer needs. Mary has also been a member of the Compressed Gas Association Technical Committee 158 since 2019 and has served as a speaker at the Association of Laboratory Managers (ALMA) twice, sharing her knowledge and experience with fellow laboratory professionals. These accomplishments highlight her dedication to advancing quality, strengthening industry practices, and sharing technical expertise.
As a WAM! (Women at Nippon Sanso Matheson) Mentor, Mary is committed to helping others grow and succeed in their careers. Through the program, which provides opportunities for employees to connect with experienced colleagues, reflect on their professional development, and explore future goals, Mary shares her knowledge and experience to help newer team members build confidence and develop their skills. Her willingness to give back reflects her belief in the value of mentorship and the importance of creating a supportive environment where colleagues can learn from one another and grow together.
For Mary, technical excellence goes hand in hand with collaboration and safety. She values Nippon Sanso Matheson’s commitment to making safety part of everyday work and appreciates a culture where colleagues treat one another with respect, work through disagreements, and find solutions together. Her advice to colleagues is to assume positive intent, ask questions, and listen. She also lives by two favorite reminders: “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, you won’t have time to do it over” and “Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment.”
Outside of work, Mary enjoys reading, cooking, and exploring the backcountry with her husband. The couple loves off-pavement motorcycle riding and road trips, and they are currently finishing an engine installation in their 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, which features a rooftop tent.
After more than three decades in the industry, Mary continues to use her experience to solve complex challenges, support her colleagues, and help deliver the quality and reliability customers expect from Nippon Sanso Matheson.
Inspired by Mary’s story? If you’re a technically minded professional who values quality, safety, and continuous improvement, a career with Nippon Sanso Matheson may be the right fit for you. Our laboratory and quality assurance teams play an essential role in ensuring analytical accuracy, maintaining product quality, and meeting customer specifications across our industrial, specialty gas, and electronic businesses. Success in these roles takes attention to detail, problem-solving skills, collaboration, and a commitment to getting the job done right. At Nippon Sanso Matheson, professionals like Mary use their expertise to strengthen processes, solve complex technical challenges, and help deliver reliable products to customers every day. Explore our open opportunities and discover where a career with Nippon Sanso Matheson can take you:
About Nippon Sanso Matheson
Nippon Sanso Matheson, Inc. is a single source for industrial, medical, specialty and electronic gases, gas handling equipment, welding and safety supplies, proprietary purification systems including NANOCHEM® which can purify to 99.99999999% levels, cryogenic food freezers which are engineered, designed and manufactured in house to customer specific needs, inventory management systems, engineering and gas management services, and on-site gas generation with a mission to deliver innovative solutions for global customer requirements. As part of the Nippon Sanso Holdings Group, Nippon Sanso Matheson is one of the world’s largest suppliers of gases for industrial, medical, specialty and electronic applications, and has expertise in supplying semiconductor and chip manufacturers, with leading technical support.
The Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation is the world’s fourth-largest supplier of industrial, electronic, and medical gases, operating in four geographic regions – Japan, U.S., Europe and Asia & Oceania – covering over 30 countries and regions. In addition, the Thermos business supplies THERMOS branded products to more than 120 countries worldwide. Since its foundation as Nippon Sanso Ltd. in 1910, the group stands for creating social value through innovative gas solutions that increase industrial productivity, enhance human well-being and contribute to a more sustainable future. With more than 20,000 employees, together, we are “The Gas Professionals” and we all have the same goal: “Making life better through gas technology”
