Posted November 2, 2011
Praxair acquires American Gas
Praxair Distribution Inc. has acquired American Gas Group (AGG), a supplier of specialty gases worldwide.
AGG is comprised of Specialty Gases of America Inc., American Specialty Gases Inc., Semiconductor Resources Inc. and Specialty Gases of America LLC. The business includes facilities in Toledo, Ohio and Wheeling, Ill., with 56 employees and annual sales of $28 million. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
AGG is one of the largest independent specialty gas producers in North America and packages a variety of specialty gases including EPA Protocols, hydrocarbons, VOC mixtures, reactive mixtures, high-purity chemicals and research-grade gases in addition to industrial and medical gas products.
John Armelagos, one of the owners of AGG prior to the sale to Praxair, said, "Praxair is a perfect fit for our company and our two organizations complement each other. We have been working for several years to put this deal together. The tragic and untimely death of Ron Corns, AGG's CEO, is a great loss for all of us. Ron was instrumental in developing and fostering the relationship with Praxair and was excited by the vision of what our two organizations could achieve together. We will greatly miss his leadership."
"The addition of AGG to the Praxair network strengthens our Midwest specialty gas production capabilities and provides an important channel to support our distributor network," said John Panikar, president, Praxair Distribution Inc. "AGG has a world class facility, capable people and an extensive product offering to support growth. We are excited to have the American Gas Group employees on the Praxair team and look forward to sharing technology and best practices."
