| Murray Hill, N.J., U.S. May 20, 2008 — East Coast Oxygen, a 50/50 production joint venture between Linde North America and Air Products (NYSE:APD), has expanded the production capacity of its facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The new liquefaction unit, which was recently commissioned, boosts production capacity by almost 600 tons a day and makes this plant one of the largest liquefied nitrogen, oxygen and argon gases production sites in the United States.
Gases produced at the Bethlehem plant are trucked to merchant customers throughout the northeastern U.S. for use in applications such as food chilling and freezing, chemical production and metals manufacturing.
“This location already provided us with easy access to customers throughout the region. This expansion gives us a cost effective means of improving our ability to supply a growing customer base and to strengthen our East Coast supply network, which runs from Maine to Georgia,” said Pat Murphy, president, Linde North America.
Tom Ward, Air Products’ vice president, North America Gases, said, “This expansion is consistent with Air Products efforts to leverage its existing North America asset base in order to meet the growing needs of its diverse customer base in the region.”
The Bethlehem JV plant originally began operating in 2000.
About Linde
Linde North America is the U.S. subsidiary of Linde AG and part of The Linde Group. The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2007 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.3 billion (USD 18.7 billion). The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based and sustainable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.
Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
For more information, see The Linde Group web site at http://www.linde.com
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. Air Products has annual revenues of $10 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 22,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit http://www.airproducts.com.
Contact:
Peter Gavigan
Linde corporate communications
908-771-1512
Peter.gavigan@linde.com
Art George
Air Products Corporate Communications
610-481-1340
georgeaf@airproducts.com |
