Posted January 4, 2011
Airgas acquires Conley Gas
Airgas has completed the acquisition of Conley Gas Ltd., a supplier of pure gases to the specialty gas industry.
The La Porte, Texas-based business purifies, repackages, and distributes high-purity hydrocarbons such as methane and ethylene. With additional operations in Stryker, Ohio, Conley has 10 full-time employees and generates annual revenues of about $9 million.
Airgas has consolidated and integrated the Conley business into its Airgas Specialty Gases business unit.
"The Conley product offering is considered unique with respect to product grade and delivery method," said Bill Russo, president of Airgas Specialty Gases. "They have also built an excellent customer service model and have an outstanding reputation for safety and reliability. We are very happy to welcome Conley employees to Airgas, and we are excited to provide our new customers with access to the most complete offering of products and services in the industry."
Conley was started in 1995 by Lee Phillips and served both domestic and international customers. Conley's international business consisted of high-purity cryogenic ethylene transported in ISO intermodal shipping containers and used in liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants around the world. The company's domestic business primarily focused on selling methane and ethylene to wholesaler and end-user markets.
In separate transactions, Airgas recently purchased two other businesses with aggregate annual revenues of $5 million, including a beverage CO2 distributor in Texas and a provider of medical gases, equipment, and certification services in the Pacific Northwest. Since the beginning of its fiscal year in April, Airgas has completed seven acquisitions totaling approximately $20 million in acquired annual revenues.
