Radnor, PA-based Airgas, No. 4 on MDMs Top 40 Industrial Distributors list, spent most of 2010 fending off a hostile takeover bid from manufacturer Air Products, Lehigh Valley, PA. Airgas President and CEO Peter McCausland recently spoke with Associate Editor Jenel Stelton-Holtmeier about the key drivers of growth in 2010, goals for the company now that Air Products has withdrawn its bid, and the growing role of technology in sales.
MDM: Last year seems to have been a pretty good year for Airgas, even with the need to fend off the bid from Air Products. What were the key drivers for growth in 2010?
Peter McCausland: I suppose you’re talking about our fiscal year 2011 that ended this past March 31, since that’s mostly calendar 2010. And it was a pretty good year.
I think the real driver was a resurgence in the U.S. economy, especially among manufacturers. It started with large manufacturers, and toward the end of our fiscal year we saw the recovery begin to spread.
Energy companies and energy markets were showing…
