Air Products and Linde Expand Production at Bethlehem, PA, JV

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- East Coast Oxygen, a
50/50 production joint venture between Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Linde
North America, 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.
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."
"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.
The Bethlehem JV plant originally began operating in 2000.
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
www.airproducts.com.
About 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. 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 www.linde.com.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual
results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations.
SOURCE Air Products

Media: Art George of Air Products, +1-610-481-1340, georgeaf@airproducts.com,
or Peter Gavigan of Linde, +1-908-771-1512, Peter.gavigan@linde.com, or
Investor Inquiries: Nelson Squires of Air Products, +1-610-481-7461,
squirenj@airproducts.com