Profile: Praxair, Inc. (PX.N)

Praxair, Inc. (Praxair) is an industrial gas supplier in North and South America. Praxair's primary products for its industrial gases business are atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, rare gases) and process gases (carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, acetylene). The Company also designs, engineers, and builds equipment that produces industrial gases for internal use and external sale. The Company's surface technologies segment, operated through Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., supplies wear-resistant and high-temperature corrosion-resistant metallic and ceramic coatings and powders. Praxair serves approximately 25 industries, such as healthcare and petroleum refining; computer-chip manufacturing and beverage carbonation; fiber-optics and steel making, and aerospace, chemicals and water treatment. During the year ended December 31, 2008, Praxair acquired Kirk Welding Supply, Inc., an independent packaged gas distributor. In July 2009, the Company's subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., acquired Sermatech International Holdings Corp. from Arsenal Capital Partners.

Industrial Gases Distribution

The Company has three basic distribution methods for industrial gases: on-site or tonnage, merchant liquid and packaged or cylinder gases. These distribution methods are often integrated, with products from all three supply modes coming from the same plant. Customers that require the largest volumes of product (typically oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen) and that have a relatively constant demand pattern are supplied by cryogenic and process gas onsite plants. The merchant business is generally associated with distributable liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and helium. Customers requiring small volumes are supplied products in metal containers called cylinders, under medium to high pressure.

Surface technologies

Praxair’s surface technologies segment supplies metallic and ceramic coatings and powders to the aircraft, printing, textile, plastics, primary metals, petrochemical and other industries. It also manufactures a line of electric arc, plasma and high-velocity oxygen fuel spray equipment, as well as arc and flame wire equipment used for the application of wear resistant coatings. The coatings extend wear life and are applied at Praxair's facilities using a variety of thermal spray coatings processes. The coated parts are finished to the customer's precise specifications before shipment.

The Company competes with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Airgas Inc., L'Air Liquide S.A., Linde AG., Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation, Sermatech International, Inc. and Chemtronics, Inc.