Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Merriam-Graves Corp., an independent distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related supplies operating in 25 locations in New England and New York.
The acquired business generated $47 million in revenues in 2007.
Merriam-Graves was integrated into Airgas East, one of the regional companies within Airgas. The acquired operations include a headquarters, industrial fill plant, specialty gas laboratory, and central hardgoods warehouse in Charlestown, NH, plus six other locations in New Hampshire, six locations in Vermont, five locations in Massachusetts, five locations in Connecticut, and two in New York.
Airgas East, Salem, NH, includes 86 retail branches, 40 cylinder fill plants, and 11 ISO …
Latest In Gases & Welding Equipment
Airgas, Inc., distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and welding, safety, and related products, reported sales of $1 billion in the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, an increase of 28% from the prior-year period. Profit for the quarter was $56.8 million, compared with $32.5 million in the prior year.
Acquisitions contributed 21% to sales growth. Total same-store sales increased 7%, with hardgoods up 6% and gas and rent up 8%. The company’s strategic product categories, including bulk, medical and specialty gases, safety products, and carbon dioxide, posted 11% organic growth in the quarter. These product categories now account for 40% of total company revenues.
This was our second quarter with more than $1 billion in sales, demonstrating the …
Valley National Gases, LLC, Washington, PA, has acquired Wolfenden Industries, a distributor of industrial, medical and special gases with three operating locations in Northeast Ohio.
Wolfenden has sales of $43 million.
Valley National Gases is committed to continuing our strategy of growth through selective, high-quality acquisitions in regions that complement our operations,” said Michael Ziegler, CEO of Valley National.
The acquisition of Wolfenden is Valley National’s fourth since CI Capital Partners (formerly Caxton-Iseman Capital) acquired the company in February 2007.
Valley National Gases operates 92 locations in 18 states, with 10 production and distribution centers in the eastern …
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Pima Welding Supply, Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor in Tucson, AZ. The business has been integrated into Airgas West, one of the regional companies within Airgas.
Pima, which had annual sales of nearly $5 million in the 12 months ended June 30, 2007, provides Airgas West with an industrial cylinder fill plant that will help improve service to customers in the Tucson area. The second location, a retail store, will provide a presence on the north side of Tucson.
Airgas is a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies, safety products, nitrous oxide and dry ice, liquid carbon dioxide, process chemicals, refrigerants and …
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Smith Welding Supply &Equipment, Inc. and its affiliated company, Bayer Welding Supply, LLC. Six locations in the Detroit area have been integrated with Airgas Great Lakes, one of the regional companies within Airgas.
Smith and Bayer had combined annual sales of $16 million in calendar year 2006. Its central industrial gas fill plant in Ferndale, MI, supported branches in Wixom, Clinton, Detroit, and Auburn Hills, plus a location in Warren operating as Bayer Welding.
Airgas has also acquired Pacific Diazo Products Inc., Colton, CA, a distributor of aqua ammonia, anhydrous ammonia and related products and services. Pacific Diazo has been integrated into Airgas Specialty Products, a distributor of industrial ammonia …
Valley National Gases, LLC, Washington, PA, has agreed to acquire Portland Welding Supply, an industrial gas and welding supply and tool distributor with annual sales in excess of $30 million, 11 operating locations, and 130 employees throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
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The acquisition expands Valley’s presence in New England. It is the third purchase since CI Capital Partners (formerly known as Caxton-Iseman Capital) bought the company in February 2007.
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Valley National Gases is a packager and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding equipment and supplies, propane and fire protection equipment. Valley National Gases operates 78 locations in sixteen states, with eight production and distribution centers in the eastern …
Air Liquide is planning to expand and modernize its production capabilities in Europe to the tune of & euro; 2 billion a year through 2011.
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The industrial gases company will build three new air separation units (ASU) in response to needs of ArcelorMittal and two industrial areas in France.
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Guy Salzgeber, Vice-President European Operations and member of the Executive Committee, Air Liquide Group, said: “These new investments respond to the high demands of the clients, who include steelmakers, refiners and chemical companies. They are part of the policy of Air Liquide, which will invest around & euro; 2 billion each year between 2007 and 2011, to accelerate its growth and to respect its commitments in terms of sustainable development.” …
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Wright Welding Supply, Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor in Des Moines, IA, and two other distributors in Texas and British Columbia. Together, the three transactions add $22 million in acquired annual sales.
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Wright Welding Supply, Inc. operates in Iowa and eastern Nebraska from five locations in Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Oskaloosa, and Council Bluffs, IA; and Omaha, NE, with an industrial and specialty gas fill plant in Des Moines. The operations, with about 40 employees, have been integrated into Airgas North Central, one of the regional companies within Airgas.
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In Texas, Airgas has acquired Basin Welding Supply in Odessa, TX. Basin’s new fill plant in Odessa, which opened in February 2007, will …
Lincoln Electric, Cleveland, OH, has acquired Vernon Tool Company Inc., a San Diego, CA-based manufacturer of computer-controlled pipe cutting equipment used for precision fabrication.
Vernon Tool’s annual sales are about $9 million. Its customer base is in industrial construction as well as infrastructure and energy-related segments.
Lincoln Electric is a manufacturer of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. It has 36 manufacturing locations and operations in 19 countries with distributors and sales offices in more than 160 …
Air Liquide Deutschland GmbH set up one of the largest units in Germany for the liquefaction of gases (nitrogen, oxygen and argon) in the Ulm region.
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With this investment of nearly & euro; 60 million, the Air Liquide Group is reinforcing its supply network for industrial gases.
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The Group also hopes to meet the needs of customers in Germany, particularly in automobile construction, mechanical construction, electrical engineering, food processing, as well as in technological development.
The start-up of the unit is scheduled for the end of 2009.
Air Liquide in Germany has around 2,000 employees and serves 300,000 customers. With a sales volume of & euro; 940 million (2006), Air Liquide is the second largest provider of industrial …
Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP, Houston, TX, has acquired the Galva, IA, carbon dioxide and dry ice assets of Ramsgate Corp., which formerly conducted business as Heller’s Carbonic West.
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The acquisition more than doubles Air Liquide’s dry ice capacity in the region, allowing for an increase in services for food processing and cold transport applications. The acquisition follows the expansion of dry ice production capacity in the eastern U.S.
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Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP is the subsidiary of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. responsible for providing bulk gases and related services to industrial customers in the U.S. It provides bulk gases and related services to a diverse base of customers in the U.S. including those in the chemical, food, metals and …
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, has acquired Central Welding Supply Inc., an industrial packaged gas distributor with three locations south of Dallas, TX.  ; Also effective Nov. 1, 2007, it has acquired Texas Industrial Gas Inc., with one location in Houston, TX.
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Both acquired businesses, which generated nearly $6 million in revenues in calendar 2006, have been integrated with Airgas Southwest, one of the regional companies within Airgas. The transactions bring the total number of acquisitions by Airgas in fiscal 2008 to 10, with acquired annual sales of $400 million.
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Airgas Inc. is a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies. Airgas is also a distributor of safety products, a producer …
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, PA, distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, and welding, safety, and related products, reported sales in its second quarter 2007 ended Sept. 30, were up 27% to $1 billion. One quarter of the acquisition of Linde’s packaged gas operations accounted for up to half of that increase.
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Total same-store sales were up 6%, with hardgoods up 7% and gas and rent up 5%.
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Profit was up 28% to $51 million.
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Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT, reported third-quarter 2007 sales of $2.37 billion, 13% above the prior-year period. Profit grew 23% to $305 million.
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Sales were led by strong growth in Asia and South America from new business and project start-ups, and continued stable growth in North America.
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In North America, third-quarter sales reached $1.3 billion, 10% above the prior year. Growth came primarily from higher sales to energy and general manufacturing markets.
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In Europe, third-quarter sales of $325 million increased 11%, and 4% excluding currency effects, versus the prior year. Underlying sales growth came from all major regions and end-markets.
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In South America, third-quarter sales of $419 million grew 23% from the prior-year …
On the heels of a price increase announcement by Airgas, Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, PA, said it is also seeking price increases for most of its chemical products, effective Nov. 1, 2007. Increases will range from 5% to 15%.
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The costs of key raw materials -such as propylene, ethylene, methanol, as well as other raw materials like tin -have remained persistently high,” said Pierre Brondeau, executive vice president in charge of Specialty Materials. “Earlier in the year, there were strong indications that raw material prices would peak around mid-year, and then trail off during the second half of 2007. Given these expectations, we did whatever we could to use internal controls to mitigate the impact of the cost increases to Rohm and Haas, and selectively sought …
According to Welding Magazine, Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. is suing a former employee for allegedly stealing company trade secrets and then using them to help a Chinese competitor enter the market.
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A suit filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, OH, says that the former marketing and sales employee attempted to help Ningbo Longxing Group Co. of China enter the welding products market in the, violating a non-compete agreement he had with Lincoln Electric.
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The employee went to work for CDL International Sales Inc., a unit of the Chinese company based in <place ...
Valley National Gases, LLC, Washington, PA, has acquired Allegheny Welding and Industrial Supply Inc., an industrial gas and welding supply distributor with locations in Johnstown, Greensburg, and McKeesport, PA.
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Valley National Gases is a packager and distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding equipment and supplies, propane and fire protection equipment. Valley National Gases operates 78 locations in 16 states, with eight production and distribution centers in the eastern U.S.
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Valley National Gases was acquired in February 2007 by Caxton-Iseman Capital LLC, a New York-based private equity …
American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc., an Air Liquide affiliate, has agreed to buy Scott Specialty Gases, Inc., an international producer and supplier of mixed and pure high specialty gases to the analytical, medical and electronics sectors, and of gas handling equipment and specialty gas delivery systems.
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Headquartered in Plumsteadville, PA, Scott employs 450 people with annual sales of $88 million. It covers the U.S. market with centers in the Northeast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, Rocky Mountain and Pacific. Internationally, Scott is in the UK and the Netherlands as well as Europe, India, Africa the Middle East and Taiwan.
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The combined Air Liquide and Scott operations in the high-growth market for specialty gases will provide Air Liquide with a new platform for …
Praxair China has announced plans to build a specialty gases facility in the Nanjing Science Park, in Nanjing, China.
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This facility will allow Praxair to dramatically increase its presence in the rapidly growing Chinese specialty gas markets,” said David Chow, president of Praxair China. “With the addition of high-purity gases, calibration gases and ultra-high-purity gases for the electronics segment, this facility will also be capable of producing complex mixtures for research laboratories and emission testing centers being developed throughout China.”
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The facility is scheduled to start up in August 2008. Markets served will include the petrochemical, automobile, lighting, and pollution control industries as well as laboratories and research centers. In a …
Air Liquide, Houston, TX, has acquired Team One Technologies Inc., an independent producer and distributor of medical and specialty gases in Romeoville, IL.
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Air Liquide Healthcare America will own and operate the medical and specialty gas facility to support its strong growth initiatives in the Midwest medical gas market.
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The newly acquired facility will also supply Air Liquide’s non-medical packaged and specialty gas business, with an additional geographic base for direct and distributor sales.
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The acquisition strengthens Air Liquide Healthcare America’s position as a major supplier in the greater Chicago area, a region that represents about 6 percent of the overall U.S. medical gases …
