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Airgas and BAE Systems Sign Five-Year Supply Agreement September 2, 2010 – Airgas, Inc. has signed a Strategic Agreement with BAE Systems, the United Kingdom-based defense and aerospace company. Airgas will supply BAE System’s manufacturing locations throughout the United States with bulk and packaged industrial gas, welding hardgoods and related products, and personal protective equipment (PPE) products. The five-year agreement will be part of the Airgas Strategic Accounts program which serves multi-location customers who benefit from sole-source supply and supply chain management services.View more Full story: www.airgas.com Airgas Expects Millions from Customized SAP System September 1, 2010 – Airgas, Inc. has provided an update regarding its highly-customized SAP system. Click here for full article Italy’s First Liquid to CNG Station Opens August 30, 2010 - The first public liquid to Compressed Natural Gas refueling station in Italy, developed in Villafalletto (Cuneo), is now up and running. The station, completely built by Vanzetti Engineering, has a capacity of 600 Nm3/h and can refuel up to 500 Kg/h.
“It is a great achievement,” commented a spokesperson at Vanzetti, “This is a perfect case of all ‘made in Italy’ technology, and we are proud to be seen as pioneers.”
Several tests were made during the past months to confirm that the refueling process and the cryogenic system functioned properly. The station development process focused on the quality of installed components and safety for users and the environment.
Polargas, an affiliate of Vanzetti Engineering, supplies the LNG and remotely monitors the storage tank, ensuring it is filled on time, efficiently. The same station managing operator electronically monitors all levels and refill needs at the site, and places orders based on CNG consumption.
Vanzetti Engineering technology is used in about 10 L-CNG stations across Europe today with 20 more currently in progress, under development, or in planning phase throughout Italy and Europe.View more Full story: www.vanzettiengineering.com Praxair and ROC Group Form Industrial Gases Partnership in the Middle East August 30, 2010 – Praxair, Inc. and the Al Khaled family of Kuwait have entered into definitive agreements for Praxair to acquire 49 percent ownership interests in the ROC Group’s existing industrial gases businesses operating in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
In 2009, these businesses generated annual sales of approximately $80 million. The joint venture resulting from Praxair’s share purchase will have its headquarters in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Specific terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
“The ROC Group has strong market positions in the Gulf region. Praxair’s operational expertise, on-site plant capabilities and technology offerings will contribute to a solid partnership in the region, a key strategic area of economic expansion and industrialization,” said Scott Telesz, Senior Vice President, Praxair, Inc.
The ROC Group has long been recognized as one of the leading independent producers and distributors of industrial gases in the Middle East with operations in 12 countries. The company produces and markets a full line of industrial and medical gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, argon, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, mixture gas, with consolidated business in trading of refrigerant gases, liquid ammonia, chlorine, welding/cutting equipment, and industrial safety products in the Middle East.View more Full story: www.praxair.com Praxair Thailand Expands Carbon Dioxide Capacity August 27, 2010 – Praxair (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., will build a new, energy-efficient carbon dioxide plant in Map Ta Phut. With a capacity of 300 tons of liquid carbon dioxide per day, it is scheduled to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The new plant will supply an increasing demand for carbon dioxide blended into compressed natural gas for vehicles, as well as for growth in the shrimp-freezing, beverage, chemicals, and other markets.
“We are pleased to support Thailand’s growth and evolving industries with a range of products and applications technologies,“ said Thongchai Takviriyanan, Managing Director of Praxair Thailand.View more Full story: www.praxair.com Linde Canada Continues Liquid Nitrogen Supply for Cryogrinding August 27, 2010 – Linde Canada and Liberty Tire and Rubber have signed a long-term agreement for Linde to supply liquid nitrogen for the cryogrinding process at Liberty’s Brenner, Ontario rubber plant. Liberty Tire and Rubber is a leading producer of crumb rubber in the US and Canada.
Liberty Tire, which has a crumb rubber plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania, recently acquired the assets of the Brenner facility in Canada. Liberty Tire has an existing long-term liquid nitrogen supply agreement with Linde in the US and has extended the contract to include the Brenner operation.
To produce crumb rubber, it is necessary to reduce the size of the tire shred or chip. This is accomplished by techniques called cryogenic grinding. Cryogenic processing refers to the use of liquid nitrogen (−196°C) to freeze tire chips prior to size reduction. The rubber is immersed in liquid nitrogen to reduce the temperature of the tire chip. The cooled rubber is then ground in an impact-type reduction device.
The main product made at Liberty’s Brenner location is a special grade of crumb rubber that is used in a variety of sports surfaces to add cushioning for the protection of athletes. The crumb rubber provides fill-in for a variety of sports fields and is also used in running tracks.View more Full story: www.lindecanada.com Praxair Announces Price Increases August 18, 2010 — Praxair, Inc. and Praxair Canada Inc. are notifying bulk and packaged industrial and medical gas customers in the United States and Canada of the following increases in product prices, facility fees/monthly basic charges and other items, effective September 1, 2010, or as contracts permit.
— Up to 10% for nitrogen, oxygen, argon, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.
— Up to 5% for helium.
— Up to 10% for facility fees or monthly basic chargers and cylinder rental rates.
These adjustments are necessary to support continued reinvestment in equipment, facilities and sources to maintain reliable supply, as well as to better serve customers' requirements and to offset an accumulation of costs.View more Full story: www.praxair.com Air Products Overcomes Hurdle, Extends Tender Offer: Airgas Responds August 17, 2010 – Air Products has reached an agreement with the Staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the terms of a Consent Decree in connection with the acquisition of Airgas, Inc.
The Consent Decree would permit Air Products to acquire Airgas subject to the divestiture of certain assets and would also permit, for a period of time, the closing of the acquisition prior to completion of the divestiture. The assets to be divested relate primarily to Airgas’ liquid bulk and on-site supply of atmospheric gases, including production and related assets. Air Products has signed the Consent Decree, which is subject to review and approval by the Commissioners of the FTC.
John E. McGlade, Air Products Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Having reached agreement with the FTC on the terms of a Consent Decree, we have now satisfied the principal conditions to completing a transaction with Airgas. There remain no substantive impediments to closing immediately other than the intransigence of the Airgas Board. The next step for Airgas shareholders is to elect our three highly qualified board nominees and approve our other proposals at the 2010 Airgas Annual Meeting scheduled for September 15, 2010.”
McGlade continued, “The Airgas Board has refused to discuss our offer and has also failed to promptly put the company up for sale.”
Air Products has extended the expiration of its tender offer for all outstanding shares of Airgas for $63.50 per share in cash. The offer and withdrawal rights are now scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight New York City time on October 29, 2010, unless further extended. The tender offer was previously scheduled to expire on August 13, 2010. Except for the extension of the tender offer expiration date, all other terms and conditions of the offer remain unchanged.
As of midnight on August 13, 2010, 17,895,787 shares of Airgas common stock had been validly tendered into and not withdrawn from the offer by Airgas shareholders, which together with the 1,508,255 shares of Airgas currently owned by Air Products, represents approximately 23.2 percent of Airgas’ 83,666,869 shares outstanding as of August 4, 2010.
In reply, Airgas issued the following statement:The Airgas Board of Directors continues to believe that Air Products' unsolicited tender offer is extremely opportunistic and does not fairly compensate Airgas stockholders for Airgas' extraordinary track record, outstanding recent results, increased earnings guidance, excellent future prospects or unique strategic position in the industry.
Today's widely anticipated announcement regarding the Consent Decree with the Staff of the Federal Trade Commission does nothing to change our conviction that the Air Products' offer grossly undervalues Airgas. Airgas has an outstanding history of stockholder value creation and remains confident in its ability to continue delivering superior value to all Airgas stockholders. We are pleased that holders of nearly 80% of Airgas shares have chosen not to tender, notwithstanding Air Products' intensive efforts to get Airgas stockholders to tender by the August 13, 2010, expiration date.
We appreciate the support we have received and encourage all Airgas stockholders not to tender their shares into Air Products' grossly inadequate offer, and similarly encourage those who have tendered to withdraw their shares. Airgas also recommends that stockholders discard any Gold proxy cards they receive and promptly vote the WHITE proxy card "FOR" the three highly qualified Airgas Directors and "AGAINST" Air Products' proposed By-Law amendments.View more Full story: www.airproducts.com, www.airgas.com TWI Names Len York President of Cryogenics Business August 17, 2010 – Taylor-Wharton International LLC (TWI) has appointed Len York President of Taylor-Wharton Cryogenics LLC (Cryogenics). Mr. York currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of TWI and will continue to perform his financial role as he leads Cryogenics’ global operations.
Mr. York’s 25 years of executive management, manufacturing, and turnaround experience includes roles as President, CFO, and COO. His success in leadership positions with automotive, marine, and steel manufacturers and his expertise in business process change and LEAN manufacturing make him well-qualified to lead Cryogenics.
“Len has excelled in his role as Chief Financial Officer throughout our restructuring and will continue to make a major contribution in his new role at Cryogenics,” said Bill Corbin, TWI’s Chief Executive Officer. “Under Len’s leadership, Cryogenics will aggressively reinvent its processes and products focusing on unsurpassed quality and delivering industry leading manufacturing times to our customers.”
“As the world recovers from the recession and Cryogenics emerges from its successful financial restructuring it is imperative that we better align ourselves with the needs of our customers and the industries we serve,” Mr. York said. “Each member of our organization will be responsible for taking a fresh look at every aspect of our business with the common goal of reinvigorating our processes and technology to deliver the most innovative and highest quality products to market.”
Supporting Mr. York in his financial duties are Denise MacIvor, Vice President, Treasurer and Joe Sorce, Vice President, Finance and Strategy. Mr. Sorce previously served as Vice President, Strategic Development and will add financial analysis and planning to his current responsibilities.View more Full story: www.twiglobaltech.com Chart Included in DOE Project Award August 13, 2010 – The Energy & Chemicals Group (Chart E&C) of Chart Industries, Inc. has been included in a US Department of Energy (DOE) award made to Western Research Institute (WRI) for a $1.4 million, 15-month project that may eventually lead to enhanced hydrogen fuel production, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and lower electricity costs.
Chart E&C, along with its partners in the project, WRI and Synkera Technologies, will collaborate to develop and test membrane reactors to separate hydrogen from coal derived synthesis gas. Chart E&C's principal focus in this project will be to develop the membrane reactor technology at its La Crosse, WI facility using its core brazing competency and manufacturing expertise.
“Currently, advanced hydrogen membrane separation technology has only been possible at a laboratory level. Chart E&C's development of membrane reactor manufacturing for the next pilot level and beyond for commercial production is fundamental to the project's success,” stated Mike Durkin, President of Chart E&C. “We're excited about working to develop this new technology to provide an efficient scalable solution for the market and ultimately expand our product portfolio.”View more Full story: www.chartindustries.com Aimtek to Distribute Praxair Industrial Gases August 11, 2010 – Praxair, Inc. has signed a multi-year distributor agreement with Aimtek, Inc. of Auburn, MA to repackage Praxair liquid and gas products for a wide variety of applications. The agreement covers the supply of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and helium and is effective immediately.
Praxair sells industrial, process, and atmospheric gases and gas mixtures to a network of independent distributors across North America. Praxair Vice President Ted Trumpp commented, “This expansion of our distributor business demonstrates our long term commitment to providing quality gases for use by our distributors’ customers.”
Aimtek is an award-winning, value-added supplier of bulk, specialty, and industrial gases serving the aerospace, power generation, semiconductor, and biomedical industries. It was founded in 1973 in central Massachusetts, and its quality system is certified to ISO9001 and AS9100.
Jay Kapur, Aimtek General Manager, noted, “We recognized the opportunity to benefit from an association with a strong, well-established supply system and technical expertise that Praxair can provide. We look forward to many years of providing Praxair gases to help our customers increase productivity.”View more Full story: www.praxair.com, www.aimtek.com Registration Deadline for GAWDA Regional Meeting Approaching August 10, 2010 – The fall GAWDA regional meeting will be held September 7 – 8 in Gettysburg, PA this year. The meeting will focus on industry specific topics and feature a variety of familiar and nationally recognized speakers. Once again the meeting will feature a silent auction with everything from sports tickets to rehabbed bulk tanks. All proceeds from the auction will benefit Community Closet of Hawaii, the recipient of this year’s GAWDA Gives Back.
Those interested in networking with other professionals in the gases and welding industry while taking in sites from one of the nation’s most historic areas should register before August 23. For a registration form and more information, contact Doug Morton at dmorton@eleetcryogenics.com or 330-795-0154.View more First Full-Scale Coal-Fired Power Plant with CO2 Capture Underway August 9, 2010 – Ameren Energy Resources Company, LLC (AER) – the holding company for merchant generation for Ameren Corporation; The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W); and Air Liquide Process & Construction, Inc. have been selected by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) clean coal power program to negotiate the installation of the world’s first full-scale oxy-coal-fired power plant that includes permanent carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS).
Proposed funding for the project – known as FutureGen 2.0 – would supplement the construction and operating costs of a 200-megawatt, near-zero emissions generating facility to be located at Ameren’s Meredosia Plant near Jacksonville, IL.
The project is designed to produce clean energy from coal by capturing and storing approximately 1.3 million tons of CO2 each year, or 90 percent of the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions.
The AER plant would use an innovative oxy-coal carbon capture technology developed by B&W in collaboration with Air Liquide. The oxy-coal combustion process uses oxygen instead of air during combustion, producing flue gas composed of nearly pure CO2, which is suitable for compression and storage. B&W and Air Liquide have successfully pilot-tested oxy-coal combustion at B&W’s research facility in Alliance, Ohio, supported by Air Liquide’s technology developments at its R&D facility in Newark, Delaware.
“We’ve teamed up with B&W and Air Liquide on this important project for a number of reasons,” said Charles Naslund, president and chief executive officer of AER. “B&W’s oxy-coal combustion system, when coupled with Air Liquide’s ASU and CO2 purification and compression technologies, can reduce a plant’s carbon dioxide and other air emissions to near-zero levels.”
If the project is accepted and regulatory approvals are received, the next steps would be the negotiation of a cooperative agreement with DOE, followed by a six-month initial design process and analysis of costs. Construction is expected to begin in 2012 with a targeted completion date in the third quarter 2015. Construction of this new facility and its related components is expected to bring 900 temporary and permanent jobs to the Central Illinois area.
B&W, AER and Air Liquide agree that support from the DOE program is critical to the success of the proposed repowering project.View more Full story: www.airliquide.com |
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