A leading U.S. supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases has recently made moves to increase the company’s bulk gas production and distribution through building and expansion projects and an acquisition of a distributor of industrial gases and welding supplies.
Airgas, an Air Liquide company, announced the plans to build two new air separation units (ASUs) that increase bulk gas production in the Midwest and Northeast. The two new ASUs, along with previously announced production facilities under construction in North Carolina (on-stream late 2019) and Southern California, will produce oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for use in customer applications that include heat treating, metal fabrication, and combustion enhancement.
In addition, Air Liquide announced that Airgas has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TA Corporate Holdings, Inc. (“Tech Air), a large independent distributor of industrial gases and welding supplies. Founded in 1935, Tech Air is a major distributor of industrial, medical and specialty packaged gases, welding equipment, and supplies. Tech Air is owned by CI Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, and Tech Air management.
“With the construction of these two new ASUs, Airgas will deliver on our Air Liquide integration strategy to grow our independent production of bulk gases, to gain efficiencies in our dynamic supply chain, and to deliver product supply reliability to our customers,” said Pascal Vinet, Chief Executive Officer of Airgas, Inc. and Air Liquide Executive Committee Member.
Regarding the Tech Air acquisition, Vinet said, “Growth through acquisition has been a key component of Airgas’ business model and remains a core part of our long term strategy. We look forward to welcoming the Tech Air team to Airgas, and integrating their complementary capabilities and resources to enhance service for our customers.”
