Airgas

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Airgas, An Air Liquide Company
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryGas
Founded1982; 42 years ago (1982)
FounderPeter McCausland[1]
HeadquartersRadnor Township, Pennsylvania, United States
Number of locations
1100 retail locations
Area served
North America
Key people
Marcelo Fioranelli
(Airgas CEO)
Jay Worley
(Airgas COO)
Number of employees
18,000(January 2018)[2]
ParentAir Liquide
Subsidiaries

Airgas, an Air Liquide company, is an American supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases (delivered in packaged or cylinder form), as well as hardgoods and related products; one of the largest U.S. suppliers of safety products; and a leading U.S. supplier of ammonia products and process chemicals. The company is headquartered in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania.

Business Activities[edit]

Airgas delivery truck Dundee, Michigan

Airgas, an Air Liquide company, is a supplier of gases, welding equipment and supplies, and safety products.

With more than one million customers, Airgas sells the following:

  • Industrial, medical and specialty gases
  • Welding equipment and supplies
  • Safety products
  • Atmospheric gases
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Dry Ice
  • Nitrous Oxide
  • Ammonia
  • Process Chemicals

The company has 18,000 employees in the following industries:

  • Manufacturing and metal fabrication
  • Non-residential construction (energy and infrastructure)
  • Energy and chemicals (upstream, midstream and downstream)
  • Life sciences and healthcare
  • Food, beverage and retail services
  • Materials and power
  • Government, defense and aerospace

Its integrated network of about 1,400 locations includes branches, cylinder fill plants, production facilities, specialty gas laboratories, and regional distribution centers. Airgas markets through multiple channels, including its own branches and outside sales force, a Strategic Accounts Team focused on large customers, distributors and resellers, telesales, catalog and e-Business channels.

History[edit]

Airgas was founded by chairman and chief executive officer Peter McCausland in 1982, and became a publicly traded company in 1986. Through more than 500 acquisitions and internal growth, Airgas built the largest national distribution network in the packaged gas industry.[3] One of these acquisitions is Red-D-Arc Welderentals which was acquired in 1995 for an undisclosed fee.[4]

On September 8, 2009, Airgas replaced Cooper Industries in the S&P500 index. In October 2009, John McGlade, the president and chief executive officer of Air Products, a competing concern, privately asked McCausland whether he'd be interested in merging the two companies. McCausland rejected the idea. In February 2010, Air Products initiated a public tender offer for Airgas.[5] The offer was extended, and the price increased, throughout the subsequent year.[6][7][8] Air Products abandoned the effort on February 15, 2011,[9][10] after a decision by the Delaware Chancery Court that upheld Airgas's extensive use of a "poison pill" defense.

In November 2015, Airgas agreed to be acquired by France’s Air Liquide for a total of $13.4 billion.[11] This deal was approved by the Airgas Board of Directors and shareholders. Airgas had previously avoided a $5.9 billion hostile takeover by Air Products and Chemicals.[12] The acquisition was finalized and announced on May 23, 2016 and Airgas is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Liquide.[13]

In 2019, Airgas signed a definitive agreement to acquire TA Corporate Holdings, Inc. (“Tech Air”), a large independent distributor of industrial gases and welding supplies serving various geographies in the United States.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Airgas Inc. An Air Liquide Company. Company Information". Market Business News. April 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "Airgas Our Company". Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Airgas, Form SC 14D9, Tender Offer Solicitation, Filing Date Feb 22, 2010". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  4. ^ "With humble Hamilton roots, Red-D-Arc sees global success". The Hamilton Spectator. February 6, 2018. ISSN 1189-9417. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "Airgas, Form SC TO-C, Tender Offer, Filing Date Feb 5, 2010". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Airgas, Form SC TO-T/A, Filing Date Jul 8, 2010" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  7. ^ "Airgas, Form SC TO-T/A, Filing Date Sep 7, 2010". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  8. ^ "Airgas, Form SC TO-T/A, Filing Date Dec 9, 2010" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  9. ^ "Airgas, Form SC TO-T/A, Filing Date Feb 16, 2011". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  10. ^ "Airgas, Form SC 14D9/A, Filing Date Feb 16, 2011". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  11. ^ "France's Air Liquide to buy U.S. peer Airgas in $13.4 billion deal". Reuters. November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Moyer, Liz (November 17, 2015). "Air Liquide to Acquire Airgas for $10.3 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "Air Liquide completes acquisition of Airgas". airliquide.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  14. ^ "Airgas, an Air Liquide Company, to Acquire Tech Air" (Press release). February 6, 2019. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
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