SUPPLIERS/DISTRIBUTORS

DISTRIBUTORS, TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT NEWS

BURCKHARDT COMPRESSORS IN CHINA

Burckhardt Compression was awarded an order from China Petrochemical International Co., Ltd. to deliver two Laby® labyrinth piston compressors for the polyethylene (PE) and the ethylene oxide/glycol (EO/EG) plant that is part of the integrated project of Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company Ltd. at Ningbo, China. Delivery of the two compressors will take place in the beginning of 2009. They will be installed in the new one million tpy ethylene complex for a 450,000 tpy PE unit and a 100,000/650,000 tpy EO/EG unit. The project is scheduled to be completed in late 2009.

CONCOA UPDATES WEBSITE

CONCOA’s enhanced new website, www.concoa.com, offers updated resource information that enables customers to move efficiently through a comprehensive presentation of features and benefits of specialty gas, industrial, medical, laser, semiconductor, and gas distribution products. The new site includes a continually updated reference section and affords authorized distributors the use of unique equipment and cost-analysis tools. This includes powerful software programs — the Regulator, Blender, Laser, and Flowmeter Wizards — which facilitate the design and pricing of complete systems, in addition to the selection of individual components online.

CRYO AB DELIVERS CONTAINERS

CRYO AB, a member of the Linde engineering Group and a manufacturer of cryogenic equipment, based in Switzerland, has successfully delivered its 13th 40´ 11 000 gallon liquid helium transport container into the market. The product is designed for transport all around the world and is approved according to ADR, CSC, IMDG, DOT, EN13530-2, ASME and TIR.

The product is marketed under the name HELICON, and comes in an all stainless steel design. With a holding time of 45 days and a heat inleak below 5 W it can be used for longer transports.

CRYO AB has been producing HELICON since 2004 and, up to recently, has only delivered containers to cover the internal needs of the Linde Group. These containers have been in service since 2005 and are showing an excellent performance. The first delivery outside the Linde Group was concluded during 2007, and some containers are currently being tested by leading companies in the business.

CVA CELEBRATES 1000TH TANK

Cryogenic Vessel Alternatives (CVA) of Mont Belvieu, TX, a manufacturer of cryogenic transport equipment, passed a significant milestone in February of this year with the fabrication of their 1000th cryogenic pressure vessel manufactured at their Mont Belvieu, TX facility. Cryo tank number 1000 was fabricated for Superior Well Services of Lafayette, LA.

Founding owners Chris Carr, Dean Corbin, Hector Villarreal, and Jim O’Neil started CVA as a cryogenic vessel repair business eight years ago in La Porte, TX. CVA

began manufacturing new cryogenic transport equipment soon there after and has since grown to become the number one leader in their industry.

HARSCO EXPANDS IN EUROPE…

Harsco Corporation’s MultiServ mill services division has been awarded new multiyear contracts in France and the UK that will expand its services to two current customers and generate additional new revenues estimated at more than $15 million over their duration.

Under a new seven-year contract, MultiServ will implement a new mechanized Ferro-Cut® scrap oxycutting service at the ASCOMÉTAL Fos-sur-Mer steel mill in France. The new FerroCut® installation replaces a previous manual operation to provide greater productivity as well as built-in environmental systems for on-site fume collection and control. MultiServ’s proprietary FerroCut® technology was developed for the needs of higher volume customers and is capable of cutting the full range of scrap materials

up to nearly 5 1/2 feet thick. The new service draws upon MultiServ’s extensive experience with similar FerroCut® installations worldwide and adds to a more than 30-year relationship for MultiServ at the Fos-sur-Mer location. The mill, a unit of the Severstal/Lucchini Group, specializes in the production of bearing-quality steel, mainly for the automotive, oil and gas drilling, and engineering markets.

In the UK, MultiServ will expand its steel product transportation services for ASD metal services, the largest independent metals stockholder and distributor in the UK. The new four-year contract adds to a decade-long relationship with ASD, during which MultiServ’s in-country logistics arm has delivered some 55,000 tons of steel coil and plate per year to various locations throughout the UK. The new contract expands MultiServ’s service role to now handle two separate distribution sites as a single source provider, thus displacing an existing contractor. ASD metal services is part of the Klöckner & Co. group, one of the largest independent steel and metal distributors in Europe and North America.

CVA EXPANDS VIA TURKEY

From the Turkish Daily News (reprinted with permission)

Cryogenic Vessel Alternatives (CVA) and Turkish Cazgir plan to contribute to alternative energy quests via Turkey. The two companies will provide high quality tankers that carry liquefied natural gas (LNG) and develop equipment to maximize oil volume. CVA, North America’s cryogenic fluid gas tank manufacturing leader, entered a joint venture with Cazgir earlier this year.

Cazgir and CVA found that positioning themselves in Turkey has a twofold advantage. CVA is the largest manufacturer of tanks that transport liquefied gas. President Chris Carr has said they aimed for a 20-25 percent annual growth rate and that with the joint venture in Turkey, CVA has better prospects for expansion into other markets.

While in the US, CVA’s business has grown for oil field stimulation equipment, Carr believes that the international driving force will be LNG applications. On the transport side CVA manufactures 60-70 tank models for special uses based on temperature, weight, transportation time, state laws and truck stipulations.

As Europe is looking for alternative sources of energy, Orhan Cazgir, chairman of the company he founded in 1980, believes that getting LNG to the end consumer will be one of the most profitable businesses in the upcoming years. “It’s good for environment and it’s cheaper,” said Cazgir. He explained also that producing LNG tanks helps Turkey diversify its energy options.

Turkish consumers are driving the demand for LNG as they are moving away from Liquified Propane Gas (LPG), which is manufactured and more expensive, according to Rasih Boztepe, Fuel Director of Reysas Logistics. “Customer demands have changed,” said Boztepe.

With a fleet of 1,500 tanks in recent years, Reysas is one of Cazgir’s biggest customers of tanks facilitating delivery of LPG and LNG to distributors around Turkey.

Carr and Cazgir explained that the reason oil field stimulation equipment has been prevalent in the US has been the scarcity of sources.

However, as oil reserves deplete closer to Europe where it has been easier to find oil, there will be more demand and money invested for this technology. “What we want to do is design some equipment and get into the oil field stimulation sector,” said Carr.

… AND IN LATIN AMERICA

Harsco’s MultiServ division will also expand services to two of the leading steel producers in Latin America under multi-year contracts that are expected to generate more than $15 million in additional new revenues over their duration.

The contracts further extend MultiServ’s on-site mill services at three Mexico-based operations of Ternium, one of the leading steel companies in Latin America, and at Siderperú, Peru’s largest steel producer.

At Ternium Hylsa’s flat rolled steel manufacturing plant in Monterrey, Mexico, MultiServ has been awarded a new five year contract that expands the division’s responsibilities to include the handling of the mill’s iron ore and other raw materials.

The latest contract adds to a 40-year MultiServ presence at this site. MultiServ has also been awarded added responsibilities for scrap basket handling at Ternium’s Apodaca long products plant, and a multi-year renewal of its coil handling and transport services at Ternium’s long products plant in Puebla. A member of the worldwide Techint Group, Ternium consolidates the operations of the steel companies Hylsa in Mexico, Siderar in Argentina and Sidor in Venezuela. Ternium also recently announced its acquisition of Grupo Imsa, a steel manufacturer with operations in Mexico, the US, and Guatemala.

MultiServ’s contract in Peru at the Siderperú steelmaking plant expands the division’s responsibilities to include work previously performed by the mill in such areas as on-site slag transport, slag processing and metal recovery. The Siderperú mill was acquired last year by the Gerdau Group, and the new contract follows Gerdau’s strong outsourcing relationships with MultiServ at several other locations. Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, with mills in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and the US. Newly revitalized under Gerdau’s ownership, the Siderperú mill is on track to nearly double its production output by the end of this decade.

OSO COMMISSIONS NRU

HNNG Development, LLC, leaders in nitrogen removal technology for the global natural gas industry, has successfully commissioned a Nitrogen Rejection Unit (NRU) for Oso Oil & Gas Properties, LLC (Oso) to treat gas vented from an underground coal mine in Carbon County, UT. This partnership with Oso is particularly significant for HNNG as it marks the Company’s move into a new market in which coal mine gas, otherwise vented to the atmosphere, is treated to generate both environmental and economic benefits.

HNNG’s NRU at Oso is part of an innovative gas treatment system that prevents harmful greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, being released directly into the atmosphere. HNNG’s role in the process, which involves removing nitrogen from the mine gas, allows it to meet pipeline quality specifications and thus enables the gas to be brought to market. The installation and startup of the Oso unit in fact marks the second application to go live since HNNG began commercializing its proven, solvent-based physical absorption technology in November 2005. Under the terms of the agreement, having completed the installation and start up of the project, HNNG will then lease the nitrogen removal unit to Oso.

HNNG’s Nitrogen Rejection Units utilize the ‘AET’process, (See CGI April ’07) licensed to HNNG by Advanced Extraction Technologies, Inc., to unlock the economic potential of high nitrogen natural gas reserves that otherwise could not be brought to market due to associated compliance and quality issues. The Oso unit is designed to treat natural gas with a nitrogen content of up to 15 percent and is capable of processing up to 8 MMSCF/D cubic feet per day of natural gas.

QUEST AIR SUPPLIES METHANE RECOVERY SYSTEM

QuestAir Technologies Inc. Vancouver, B.C.-based developer and supplier of proprietary gas purification systems for several large international markets, including existing markets such as oil refining, biogas production and natural gas processing, and emerging markets announced it has received an order valued at approximately CDN$1.2 million for a M-3100 methane recovery system for use in a landfill gas-to-energy project in NH. The order was received from SCS Energy, a division of SCS Engineers, a leader in the design, construction and operation of landfill gas-toenergy projects in the US.

Jonathan Wilkinson, President and CEO of QuestAir, said “QuestAir’s M-3100 will increase the energy content of landfill gas from the Rochester Neck Road landfill by removing carbon dioxide. The upgraded product gas will be used to fire a combined cycle cogeneration facility at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), generating both electrical power and steam for building heating.

The system supplied by SCS Energy, including QuestAir’s M-3100, will allow UNH to replace fossil fuels with renewable upgraded landfill gas in their existing cogeneration facility, which provides 75 percent of the university’s energy requirements.”

“This is expected to result in significant environmental and economic benefits, including a direct reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as substantial cost savings from lower natural gas consumption,” Wilkinson said.

LIBERTY CRYOGENICS EXPANDS ITS MARKET OPTIONS

Liberty Cryogenics has recently begun to change its focus from consulting and training internationally in cryogenic repair and vacuum leak detection, to the manufacturing of cryogenic valves and fittings.

Liberty Cryogenics’ production facility, based in Bangkok, Thailand, is ISO 9001 certified. The facility is now in the process of obtaining the European codes TPED, category 3 and PED, category 4. The company’s next endeavor will be applying for Canadian Registration Numbers, thereby broadening the market area for its products. Liberty Cryogenics has surpassed its $1 M sales goal and is determined to gain global recognition and increased market share. Its Bangkok facility currently employs 14 full-time employees with over 50 percent of the products fabrication being subcontracted. LC is also the agent for North America representing Cryotech, Cryothai and Cryo LNG. This conglomerate of three companies owned by Sombat Lohkittivanish, is currently setting up small natural gas liquefaction plants in Thailand for the transport of LNG to needed locations for fueling taxies, buses and trucks. This is a government effort in conjunction with PTT, Thailand’s largest petroleum company, to use clean, alternative fuels.

SAF-T-CART SUPPORTS AWS

Saf-T-Cart, of Clarksdale, MS, recently presented the American Welding Association (AWS) a donation of $1,000 for the AWS Foundation. In addition to the $1,000, Saf-TCart has also pledged to match the donation in successive years. The AWS Foundation supports programs that ensure the growth and development of the welding industry through strengthening research and educational opportunities in welding and related industries.

TAYLOR WHARTON HOSTS DISTRIBUTORS

The Taylor-Wharton business unit of Harsco GasServ hosted its first-ever Distributor
Council Meeting on August 22nd-24^th at the GasServ headquarters in Mechanicsburg, PA. A diversified representation of Welding and Gas Distributors from around the country participated in the round-table forum. Jeff Clay, T-W’s US Distribution Sales Manager, hosted and moderated the discussions throughout the three day conference.

WORTHINGTON CYLINDERS SIGNS RETAILERS

Worthington Cylinders, a Worthington Industries company, announced retail agreements for its line of hand torch cylinders with ten North American retailers. US retail outlets slated to carry the product include Blain’s Farm & Fleet, Do It Best, Lowe’s, Menards, Mills Fleet Farm, Sears, True Value and Wal-Mart. Canac-Marquis Grenier and Home Hardware will carry the line in Canada. In June, Worthington announced that it would be offering its hand torch cylinders direct to retail and wholesale channels worldwide instead of via private label distribution.

MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, DIVESTITURES

AIRGAS ACQUIRES MORE

Airgas acquired the assets and operations of Gartech Refrigerant Reclamation Center, Inc., with locations in Garland, TX and Oklahoma City, OK. Airgas Specialty Products, a leader in the distribution of industrial ammonia, process chemicals, and refrigerants, has integrated Gartech’s operations, which generated almost $2 million in revenue in 2006. Bill Green, Jr., who founded Gartech in 1991, has joined Airgas Specialty Products as Operations Manager – Southwest Territory, based in Garland, TX.

 “By joining forces with Airgas Specialty Products, our customers will benefit from a full range of refrigerant products and services to augment the reclamation services we have provided for the past 16 years,” said Green.

Airgas has also acquired the assets and operations of Dantack Corporation, a Grand Prairie, TX-based safety distributor with branches in Columbus, OH and Richmond, VA. The business generated more than $18 million in sales during 2006. The operations will be managed by Airgas Southwest, one of the Airgas regional companies, as a stand-alone business for the first few months. Later, operations in OH and VA will transition to other Airgas regions.

The owners of the business for the past two decades, Cathy Croy and Mark Dannemiller, will oversee the transition, in which about 40 Dantack employees are being offered employment by Airgas in the three locations. Mark Dannemiller is joining Airgas Southwest as a General Manager for Safety Sales. Dantack President Cathy Croy remains as a consultant during the integration.

AL FINALIZES LURGI ACQUISITION

Air Liquide finalized its acquisition of the engineering firm Lurgi for an enterprise value of €200 million, after obtaining approval from the relevant competition authorities. The integration of Lurgi into the Air Liquide group will broaden the technology portfolio of Air Liquide’s Engineering Division, particularly in hydrogen and synthetic gas production processes, in biofuels (bio-ethanol and bio-diesel) and methanol. This will also give Air Liquide a foothold in the Coal to Liquid (CTL) and Coal to Chemicals (CTC) markets. (See Lead Industry News, CGI June 2007, page 3, for more on this acquisition.)

AMERIGAS ACQUIRES

ALL STAR GAS CORP

AmeriGas Partners, L.P. announced that its operating partnership has acquired All Star Gas Corporation, a propane distribution business serving over 42,000 customers in five states. All Star Gas markets approximately 32 million retail gallons annually from 50 locations in AK, AZ, CO, MI, and WY. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Eugene V. N. Bissell, Chief Executive Officer of AmeriGas, said, “The acquisition of All Star Gas brings the total sales volume acquired this year to over 45 million annual gallons, exceeding our objective of adding 20 million gallons annually to AmeriGas through the addition of quality propane businesses. We are pleased to welcome the employees of All Star Gas to the AmeriGas family.”

BOC EDWARDS SELLS KACHINA

BOC Edwards, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement under which Edwards will divest the majority of its parts cleaning and chamber process kit management division, Kachina, to Applied Materials, Inc. subject to a number of closing conditions. Applied Materials will acquire the assets and operations of the Kachina parts cleaning hub facilities in AZ, TX, and OR and on-site services at several key customer locations. Edwards will retain the operations in France and the UK.

In a separate transaction, Edwards has sold its shareholding interest in BOC Edwards HTC Ltd, to the other shareholder, Highlight Tech Corp. The business provides parts cleaning services in Taiwan.

LINDE ACQUISITION OF BOS COMPLETE

Following approval from the antitrust authorities, The Linde Group has concluded the acquisition of the Turkey-based industrial gases company Birlesic Oksijen Sanayi A.S. (BOS), a subsidiary of the Koc Group, at an enterprise value of approximately $120 million. BOS, an industrial and specialty gases business, generated sales of approximately $40 million in FY’06 with a staff of around 180. Following the acquisition of Karbogaz A.S. in July 2006, the takeover of BOS is the second major transaction in Turkey by Linde.

MIDDLESEX MAKES STRATEGIC ACQUISITION

Middlesex Gases & Technologies, Inc. of Everett, MA, announced the acquisition for cash of Massachusetts Oxygen, Inc. a Lowell, MA based gases and hardgoods distributor with a heavy service concentration of gas business in Eastern MA and Southern NH. Joseph “Bo” Martin, Middlesex Chairman, said that “this acquisition will add significantly to Middlesex’s market presence and customer service capabilities in the northern part of its New England territory.” Martin added that “Mike Cusano, owner of Mass Oxygen, and his people, will immediately become an important part of the Middlesex marketing, operations and administrative team. J R “Buzz” Campbell and Leaders LLC acted as advisers to Middlesex in the transaction. At the same time, Martin announced the appointment of Tom Martin as President and COO of Middlesex.

WESTERN INTERNATIONAL ACQUIRES BTU/BMS

Western International Gas & Cylinders, Inc. completed an agreement to purchase BTU/BMS LLC of Pearland, TX. The transaction involves all of BTU/BMS’s assets and employees.

Dan Hord, III, President and CEO of Western states, “This acquisition is consistent with Western’s focused strategy to become the premier North American wholesale supplier of industrial fuel gases. The synergies between the two companies will enhance our ability to serve our newly combined customer base. The Western team is working hard to make this integration as seamless as possible and look forward to providing our customers the most complete offering of products and services available in the industry.”

WORTHINGTON ACQUIRES CYLINDER ASSETS

Worthington Industries, Inc. has signed a purchase agreement to acquire certain cylinder production assets of Wolfedale Engineering, a Canadian manufacturer of portable propane gas steel cylinders for use with barbeque gas grills, recreational vehicles, campers, trailers, and domestic applications. Annual revenues related to the acquired assets were approximately CDN $12 million. The acquired assets will be included in Worthington’s Pressure Cylinders business segment.

NAMED IN THE NEWS

Ernie Villarreal, Senior Vice President AOC-Acetylene Oxygen Company, Harlingen, TX, announced that Dennis Hill will be the Northern Sales Manager responsible for branches in Rosenberg, El Campo, Bay City, Huntsville and two Houston locations. AOC is the oldest and largest independent gas and supply distributor in Texas with 21 distribution branches and two acetylene manufacturing facilities. AOC also owns South Texas Chlorine, a packager of water treatment chemicals.

After 47 years with Cee Kay Supply, Inc., Hil Bax — Sales Manager of St. Louis —has decided to retire. Cee Kay Supply is a locally owned gases and welding distributor and is Missouri’s largest independent supplier with seven stores throughout Missouri and Illinois. Hil started with Cee Kay in 1960 and has held titles such as Fill Plant Operator, Torch/Regulator Technician, Truck Driver, Sales Representative, Director of contractor/Technical Sales and St. Louis Sales Manager. Because of his outstanding performance and expertise in welding technology, Cee Kay has named its Technical Service Center in honor of him. The former Tech Center will now be referred to as The Hil Bax Tech Center.

Harsco announced the retirement of Derek C. Hathaway as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harsco, fully effective after the April 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Salvatore D. Fazzolari, who currently serves as President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, will succeed Hathaway as Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2008. Additionally, and in accordance with Harsco’s current Governance model, it is expected that Fazzolari will be elected Chairman upon Hathaway’s retirement from the Board in April 2008.

FIBA Technologies, Inc. named David Wimberley as new Plant Foreman at its Rayne, LA manufacturing and requalification facility. Wimberlely has over 12 years of management experience as a facilities coordinator as well as in Quality Assurance. Wimberley is a trained certified welding inspector and is also knowledgeable of ISO 9001:2000 protocols.

FIBA also added Carl Gordon to its management team as Corporate Safety Officer. Gordon oversees safety programs at all FIBA facilities. Since joining FIBA at the start of this year, the reportable accident rate has improved by nearly 80 percent. Gordon’s proactive efforts, as well as strong senior management support and a financial commitment to safety, has set FIBA well on track to exceed all safety objectives set for this year.

Matheson Tri-Gas announced that Sweta K. Ramachandran is the recipient of the first annual Gary Gann Scholarship. This scholarship was established in 2006 to honor the memory of Gary Gann, who served as Matheson Tri-Gas’ General Council for many years. The scholarship provides $4000 per year for a student pursuing a degree in science, engineering or law and is available to any child of a Matheson Tri-Gas employee. Sweta is the daughter of Kavita Murthi, Director, SDS and Sub-Atmospheric Gas Systems for Matheson Tri-Gas and Ram Gopalan. Sweta will be attending the University of California Berkeley this fall as a Regents & Chancellors Scholar, majoring in Bioengineering-PreMed.

The Dow Chemical Company announced that Dennis H. Reilley, retired Chairman and CEO of Praxair, Inc., and Chairman of Covidien Ltd., has been elected to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Reilley brings to Dow an exceptional understanding of both the chemical and related upstream industries. He spent the first 15 years of his career with Conoco, followed by 10 years with DuPont, where he held leadership roles in a number of businesses before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 1999. The following year he moved to Praxair, Inc. as president, CEO and Chairman.

Airgas presented its seventh annual Scott Melman Award to Dan Moriarty, Director of External Reporting, for his many contributions through the years. The annual award is named for Scott M. Melman, former CFO of Airgas. The award honors “Airgas employees who exhibit the qualities we remember in Scott M. Melman: Professionalism, perseverance, enthusiasm, energy, a sense of honor, and the courage to speak up and make a difference.” McCausland noted that Airgas colleagues and external accounting partners cite Moriarty’s knowledge and analysis as well as his enthusiasm for the profession. “It is quite obvious that he really knows and loves accounting. In the midst of a quarter-end or year-end rush, Dan is never without a smile.”

The Cincinnati Regional Chamber honored Wright Brothers, Inc., a national provider of specialty gases, as the region’s best small enterprises at its annual Small Business Excellence Awards Luncheon. CEO Charlie Wright was presented with the honor for his company’s business achievements, management, innovations in product, service, technology and community service. “It’s a great honor to be recognized as a leader in the Greater Cincinnati Community,” said Wright. “This award is a testament to the quality work we do, both locally and nationally. Cincinnati has provided us with the talented employees who have helped our company to grow and excel.”