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Airgas Reports Strong Fiscal 2012 Third Quarter Earnings January 26, 2012 – Airgas, Inc., the largest US distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and related supplies, has reported strong performance in sales, Airgas Reports Strong Fiscal 2012 Third Quarter Earnings January 26, 2012 – Airgas, Inc., the largest US distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and related supplies, has reported strong performance in sales, operating income, and earnings for its third quarter ended December 31, 2011. Business trends reflect continued volume growth across the company’s customer base with particular strength in large manufacturing, petrochemical, and energy customers.
Among the highlights: Third quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.97, an increase of 21 percent from $0.80 in the prior year; Same-store sales were up 9 percent over the prior year; Return on capital was 12.3 percent, up 100 basis points over prior year; Full-year adjusted diluted EPS guidance was updated to $4.03 to $4.07 from $3.97 to $4.07.Full story: www.airgas.com View more Full story: www.airgas.com Air Products Reports Quarterly Earnings January 25, 2012 – Air Products has reported net income of $292 million, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36, for its fiscal first Air Products Reports Quarterly Earnings January 25, 2012 – Air Products has reported net income of $292 million, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36, for its fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2011, versus $296 million and $1.35 for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
Among the highlights of the first quarter earnings report: First quarter revenues of $2,423 million increased one percent versus the prior year on higher prices in Merchant Gases and Performance Materials; Air Products is maintaining its guidance for fiscal 2012 of $5.90 to $6.30 per share. The company expects second quarter EPS to be between $1.37 and $1.43 per share; Higher volumes from new plants in Tonnage Gases were offset by lower Equipment sales and lower volumes in Performance Materials and Merchant Gases; The new China project is the largest on-site ASU order; and the company announced its intention to divest its Continental Europe Homecare business.Full story: www.airproducts.com View more Full story: www.airproducts.com Linde Unveils Unique Gas Cylinder January 24, 2012 – In what it calls a major development for the compressed gases industry, Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, introduced Linde Unveils Unique Gas Cylinder January 24, 2012 – In what it calls a major development for the compressed gases industry, Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, introduced GENIE® – a technologically advanced new range of gas cylinders that are unique from traditional steel cylinders. The lightweight, greater volume, and easily portable cylinder design incorporates many new features, including built-in digital intelligence, unique regulators, and a wide range of accessories. It is the first time that a gas cylinder of its type has been introduced to the market. GENIE® will be available in several European countries in 2012. Further international availability will be announced at a later date.Full story: www.linde.com View more Full story: www.linde.com Airgas Names Jay Worley Vice President - Strategic Pricing January 23, 2012 – Airgas, Inc. has named R. Jay Worley Vice President –Strategic Pricing, reporting to Andy Cichocki, Airgas Senior Vice President – Distribution Airgas Names Jay Worley Vice President - Strategic Pricing January 23, 2012 – Airgas, Inc. has named R. Jay Worley Vice President –Strategic Pricing, reporting to Andy Cichocki, Airgas Senior Vice President – Distribution Operations & Business Process Improvement. Worley brings nearly 20 years of industry experience to a new role in which he will be leading a Strategic Pricing organization responsible for developing and implementing pricing practices that are consistent with the Company's overall strategic direction and profitability goals.
"This is a key new role at Airgas, requiring strong leadership qualities and a thorough understanding of our business so we can maximize the potential opportunity afforded by our SAP implementation," said Cichocki.
Worley, who has served as Vice President – Communications and Investor Relations for Airgas, Inc. since 2008, began his career at Airgas in 1993 as Assistant Controller with what is now Airgas Intermountain. Following a variety of roles early in his career, including sales and human resources, he held positions as Chief Financial Officer of Airgas Southwest and Director of Investor Relations of Airgas, Inc. J. Barrett Strzelec, Director of Investor Relations for Airgas, Inc., will assume leadership of the Investor Relations function, reporting to Airgas Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bob McLaughlin. Airgas is currently evaluating communications leadership candidates.Full story: www.airgas.com View more Full story: www.airgas.com Linde Purchases LNG Fleet January 19, 2012 – Linde is deepening its commitment to the liquefied natural gas fueling market with the purchase of 20 LNG-fueled trucks, expected to Linde Purchases LNG Fleet January 19, 2012 – Linde is deepening its commitment to the liquefied natural gas fueling market with the purchase of 20 LNG-fueled trucks, expected to be operating later this year. The trucks will account for 20 percent of Linde’s 2012 tractor purchases and will be integrated into Linde’s fleet of 700-plus trucks carrying cryogenic gases to customers throughout North America.
LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to liquid form to enable easier transportation and storage. Linde has committed to the merchant LNG market by building plants at various commercial scales to produce LNG from virtually any methane source.
This purchase is an outgrowth of a pilot project in southern California, where Linde tested the effectiveness of three LNG trucks hauling liquid carbon dioxide to customers throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. That project helped Linde save money on fuel, reduced Linde’s carbon footprint, and lessened its dependence on foreign oil. The success of the pilot project now allows Linde to move to commercial utilization of the LNG trucks.
Since the LNG-fueled tractors are lighter in weight than the diesel-fueled trucks they are replacing, Linde will be able to increase payloads and therefore improve service to customers.Full story: www.lindeus.com View more Full story: www.lindeus.com Proposed JV Promises Cleaner Profits January 19, 2012 – To meet increasing industry demand for cleaning gases in the electronics industry, Air Liquide is proposing to supply fluorine cleaning gas Proposed JV Promises Cleaner Profits January 19, 2012 – To meet increasing industry demand for cleaning gases in the electronics industry, Air Liquide is proposing to supply fluorine cleaning gas solutions as an alternative to existing cleaning gases. Starting in 2012, flat panel display and silicon thin film photovoltaic manufacturing sites will have access to this environmentally-friendly gas. Fluorine will become an alternative to nitrogen trifluoride gas (NF3 a commonly used cleaning application in this industry. It will be produced directly by large on-site facilities, offering a cost effective and reliable approach to cleaning applications.
Air Liquide and the Solvay Group will form a joint venture that will build, own, and operat the next generation of on-site fluorine solutions. Air Liquide will contribute its global presence, infrastructure, and existing gas supply relationships with leading manufacturers to the joint venture, while Solvay will contribute 45 years of experience running large-scale fluorine production and raw material supply chains. The joint venture is subject to antitrust authority approval.Full story: www.airliquide.com View more Full story: www.airliquide.com Praxair Makes Third Acquisition in Texas January 10, 2012 – Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., has acquired Welders Industrial Supply, LLC (WIS) of Pasadena, Texas. WIS, founded in Praxair Makes Third Acquisition in Texas January 10, 2012 – Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., has acquired Welders Industrial Supply, LLC (WIS) of Pasadena, Texas. WIS, founded in 2009 by Ernest W. "Cotton" Speed III, is an independent distributor of industrial and specialty gases, welding equipment, supplies, and related services to customers in the greater Houston, Texas, area. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The WIS acquisition follows Praxair Distribution's acquisition of Houston-based independent distributors Texas Welders Supply Company and National Alloy in December and August 2011, respectively. Houston is among the top five welding markets in the US.
WIS operates from a newly constructed retail and cylinder filling plant facility in Pasadena, Texas. The company has approximately $4 million in annual revenue and 10 employees.Full story: www.praxair.com View more Full story: www.praxair.com Linde to Acquire Air Products' Continental-European Homecare Business January 9, 2012 – The technology company The Linde Group has signed an agreement to acquire Air Products’ Continental-European homecare business at an enterprise value Linde to Acquire Air Products' Continental-European Homecare Business January 9, 2012 – The technology company The Linde Group has signed an agreement to acquire Air Products’ Continental-European homecare business at an enterprise value of EUR 590 MM. This business achieved annual sales of EUR 210 MM in 2011. The transaction comprises Air Products' homecare operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain with around 850 employees.
Homecare refers to medical services that treatm patients in settings other than hospitals. It comprises respiratory services such as oxygen therapy, sleep therapy, and ventilation services. In the 2010 financial year, Linde achieved global sales of around EUR 280 MM in this product area. In the Healthcare segment as a whole, which comprises not only Homecare but also Hospital Care (the supply of medical gases and services to hospitals), Linde achieved sales in the 2010 financial year of EUR 1.1 B. Linde is the second largest supplier of medical gases and related services in the world.Full story: www.linde.com View more Full story: www.linde.com Praxair Agrees to Acquire Texas Welders Supply Company December 29, 2011 – Praxair Distribution, Inc. (PDI), a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., announced it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Houston, Texas based Praxair Agrees to Acquire Texas Welders Supply Company December 29, 2011 – Praxair Distribution, Inc. (PDI), a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., announced it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Houston, Texas based Texas Welders Supply Company (TWSCO). The companies expect to close the transaction by December 31, 2011, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
TWSCO, a long-time distributor of Praxair, is the largest independent gas and welding products distributor in the greater Houston area with projected 2011 sales of $56 million and 130 employees. TWSCO operates from four locations, including a state-of-the-art cylinder filling plant and specialty gas laboratory located in north Houston. The company was formed in 1983 and is majority-owned and controlled by the founding Chenoweth family.Full story: www.praxair.com View more Full story: www.praxair.com Air Products Raises North America Prices for Liquid and Bulk Helium December 16, 2011 – Effective January 1, 2012, or as contracts permit, Air Products will be implementing a price increase for liquid and bulk helium Air Products Raises North America Prices for Liquid and Bulk Helium December 16, 2011 – Effective January 1, 2012, or as contracts permit, Air Products will be implementing a price increase for liquid and bulk helium gases in North America. Specific adjustments are being communicated directly to customers.
The price increase is the result of continued severe helium shortages globally, affecting the supply needed to meet the world’s growing demand. The industry-wide shortage has made it increasingly difficult to maintain Air Products’ global system for meeting customer requirements, and unfortunately this situation is expected to continue well into the future. Air Products has incurred increased costs to operate in this manner, as its worldwide helium team is managing this difficult situation on a daily basis in order to maintain uninterruptible supply to customers.Full story: www.airproducts.com View more Full story: www.airproducts.com Praxair Announces Price Increases for Helium, Other Gases, and Facility Fees December 15, 2011 – Praxair, Inc., and its divisions and subsidiaries (Praxair Distribution, Praxair Healthcare Services, Praxair Electronics, Praxair Canada Inc., and Praxair Puerto Rico Praxair Announces Price Increases for Helium, Other Gases, and Facility Fees December 15, 2011 – Praxair, Inc., and its divisions and subsidiaries (Praxair Distribution, Praxair Healthcare Services, Praxair Electronics, Praxair Canada Inc., and Praxair Puerto Rico N.V.) are notifying bulk and packaged industrial, electronics, specialty, and medical gas customers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico of increases in prices effective January 1, 2012, or as contracts permit, as follows: Up to 15 percent for nitrogen, oxygen, argon, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and helium; Up to 15 percent for facility fees or monthly bulk product charges and cylinder rental rates; and Up to 10 percent on equipment and consumables.
Price adjustments may be higher or lower than these ranges in accordance with individual contract provisions. These adjustments are being implemented in response to the continued escalation of manufacturing, distribution, and raw material sourcing costs and expenses and persistent supply/demand imbalances for certain products in the United States and Canada.Full story: www.praxair.com View more Full story: www.praxair.com First On-site High Purity Ammonia Plant Onstream in China December 15, 2011 – Air Products has brought a large-scale, on-site ammonia (NH 3) plant onstream in China’s Anhui Province to supply ultra high purity NH3 First On-site High Purity Ammonia Plant Onstream in China December 15, 2011 – Air Products has brought a large-scale, on-site ammonia (NH3) plant onstream in China’s Anhui Province to supply ultra high purity NH3 to Anhui Sanan OptoElectronics Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Sanan OptoElectronics (Sanan). The plant, located at Sanan’s new high brightness LED (light emitting diode) manufacturing facility in the Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Area, is the largest on-site high purity NH3 facility in the world with a supply capacity of 2,000 metrics tons per year. Air Products is also building a second high purity NH3 plant with the same capacity, which is expected to be onstream in the middle of 2012. Large volumes of NH3 are needed to provide the nitrogen source for the gallium nitride layers used in the manufacture of LEDs.
LEDs are used in applications such as automotive and traffic signage, and are displacing conventional lighting alternatives based on their ability to operate at reduced power, lower temperature, and with extended lifetimes. LEDs are also increasingly finding use as backlighting for televisions and displays.Full story: www.airproducts.com View more Full story: www.airproducts.com Linde to Build New ASU in Southern Arkansas December 14, 2011 – Linde in North America is moving closer to its customers in the southern US by investing in a new air separation Linde to Build New ASU in Southern Arkansas December 14, 2011 – Linde in North America is moving closer to its customers in the southern US by investing in a new air separation plant in Lewisville, Arkansas. Linde will build a 470 ton-per-day plant that will produce liquid nitrogen and oxygen to meet rapidly growing demand in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
“This new plant will give us the size and operating efficiencies we need to support our top customers, who have seen great expansion in their own businesses and who are poised for even more growth in the future,” said Pat Murphy, President, Linde North America.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2012 and the plant is expected to begin operating by the fourth quarter of 2013. The plant, which will be designed and constructed by Linde’s Engineering Division, will use the least amount of electricity possible in order to produce the gases. The gases produced at the plant will be delivered by tanker truck to customers ranging from manufacturers of chemicals and petroleum products to food processors, metal fabricators and healthcare providers, and Linde will require less fuel for its delivery trucks, since the plant will be located closer to customers.Full story: www.linde.com View more Full story: www.linde.com |
