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Date: Thursday, 25-Apr-96 21:32:59 GMT
Last-modified: Wednesday, 19-Nov-97 13:58:6 GMT
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Praxair At a Glance

Praxair separates air into its building blocks and recovers other gases to help a growing number of customers improve their processes, products and services and to enhance our quality of life in hundreds of industrial, commercial and life-saving ways. We actively help entire industries prosper by boosting their productivity, while helping them preserve and improve the environment. Our commitment to raising standards for quality and developing new technology strengthens the loyalty of long-time customers and attracts new ones. Our worldwide growth comes from a clear-sighted focus on what we do best. |

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An Industry Leader
- The largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide
- Annual sales of more than $4 billion
- The world's largest supplier of carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Completed the acquisition of Liquid Carbonic in January 1996
- Global leader in cryogenic and non-cryogenic air separation technology
Productivity Solutions and Performance Improvement
Praxair's half-million customers have a broad range of requirements for the gases we produce and deliver. Gas purity, on-time delivery and cost are always important. But many customers also seek process improvements that will enhance their business productivity and performance, providing them an edge in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Our engineering and marketing teams work with customers to uncover all possible ways to:
- improve production processes
- enhance product quality
- reduce environmental compliance costs
- minimize capital investments
- conserve energy
- increase product yield
- enhance process reliability
Helping Customers Meet Environmental Challenges
Customers use our gases and technology to reduce pollution and energy consumption, thereby complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Below are some examples:
OXYGEN
- Used in conjunction with Praxair's proprietary combustion technology, reduces nitrogen oxide emissions and decreases fuel consumption in glass furnaces, cement kilns and waste incinerators.
- Injected into electric steel furnaces enhances melting and reduces power costs, while converting potential carbon monoxide emissions into extra energy.
- Used in the pulp and paper bleaching process, makes paper mills more efficient and environmentally friendly. When replacing air during a wide range of chemical processing applications, oxygen eliminates the formation of many pollutant gases.
- Our proprietary wastewater treatment systems use oxygen to improve the digestion of waste-eating microbes and reduce emissions from polluted lagoons and sewage-treatment plants.
OTHER GASES
- An atmosphere of nitrogen, used to solder circuit boards, reduces defects, cuts costs and eliminates the use of chlorofluorocarbons.
- Liquid nitrogen quickly freezes tires and other rubber wastes so they can be ground and recycled into asphalt paving and molded rubber products.
- Hydrogen is used at refineries to create cleaner, reformulated fuels for vehicles.
- CO2 is used as a propellant in pressure packaging, in many cases replacing fluorinated hydrocarbons, whose future use will be restricted.
Technology Solutions for Today and Tomorrow
Customers look to Praxair for innovative technology solutions that help them do business more profitably in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Praxair has set the industry standard for commercializing new technologies. We continuously invest in research and development, seeking advanced, cost-effective solutions to benefit our customers.
Our highly trained teams of engineers and scientists work in market-focused environments to create and fine-tune technologies that meet wide-ranging market needs. Input from our customers throughout the product development process helps us provide a continuing source of value-added innovations.
EXAMPLES:
- Our electronics team developed a way to recycle exhaust gases from the semiconductor manufacturing process, resulting in fewer emissions.
- Neuroradiologists are using Praxair XeScan® Xenon in Oxygen USP as a contrast enhancement agent with a CT scanner accessory authorized for routine use, to rapidly obtain quantitative cerebral blood flow values which are a measure of brain tissue function. This information is being used in the management of cerebrovascular diseases by Neurosurgeons, Neurologists and Critical Care Specialists at a growing number of medical centers.
- The development of our industry-leading, advanced air-separation systems, called membrane and vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA). These systems produce gaseous nitrogen and oxygen with proprietary processes that eliminate the steps of air liquefaction and distillation, greatly reducing power consumption requirements, thereby enabling customers to realize significant savings over the cost of cryogenic liquid delivery.
Praxair Surface Technologies (PST)
- Praxair Surface Technologies began making wear-resistant coatings and powders in the early 1950s, when jet-engine manufacturers looked for ways to make their parts last longer between overhauls. The solution: a variety of super-hard ceramic and metallic coatings and powders that prevent corrosion and offer wear and temperature protection. These now-vital products multiply the life span of some parts by 10 to 20 times. More than 75 percent of engine parts are now treated with some type of protective coating.
- PST also solves wear problems for metals, chemicals, plastics, oil and gas products, automotive parts and printing equipment. A line of specialty powders is used for abrasive polishing on computer hard disks and plastic eyeglass lenses.
Annual Sales
Over $4 Billion (U.S.)
Number of Employees
23,000 Worldwide
Markets
Industrial Gases:
Chemicals |
Metal Production |
Metals and Materials Processing |
Medical |
Electronics |
Refining |
Glass |
Welding |
Aerospace |
Environmental |
Pulp & Paper |
Automotive |
Pharmaceuticals |
Waste Management |
Healthcare |
Beverage |
Food Processing & Packaging |
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Surface Coatings:
Aircraft |
Paper |
Printing & Textiles |
Petrochemicals |
Primary Metals |
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Global Presence
More than half of Praxair's worldwide sales are generated outside the United States through subsidiaries and regional companies in the following countries:

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Argentina |

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Australia |

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Austria |

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Belgium |

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Belize |

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Bolivia |

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Brazil |

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Canada |

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Chile |

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Colombia |

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Costa Rica |

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Croatia |

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Czech Republic |

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Denmark |

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Equador |

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France |

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Germany |

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India |

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Indonesia |

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Israel |

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Italy |

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Japan |

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Korea |

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Mexico |

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Netherlands |

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Paraguay |

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People's Republic
of China |

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Peru |

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Poland |

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Portugal |

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Puerto Rico |

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Singapore |

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Slovenia |

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Spain |

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Thailand |

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Turkey |

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United Kingdom |

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Uruguay |

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Venezuela |
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New York Stock Exchange Symbol:
PX
Click here for the current
World Headquarters:
Praxair, Inc.
39 Old Ridgebury Road
Danbury, Connecticut 06810-5113
1-800-PRAXAIR
(716) 879-4077






If you have questions or comments, contact us at info@praxair.com
Copyright © 1997 Praxair Technology, Inc.
last updated 02/28/97