Praxair Starts Oxygen Supply Plant in Uruguay - Analyst Blog

Industrial gas producer and supplier, Praxair Inc. PX started a new plant yesterday for supplying oxygen at the Montes del Plata pulp mill located in Punta Pereira, Uruguay. The plant can produce 125 tons of gaseous oxygen per day through non-cryogenic vacuum-pressure-swing-adsorption (VPSA) technology.

Montes del Plata pulp mill is a joint venture between Arauco of Chile and Stora Enso of Finland and Sweden. With an amount of $2 billion invested in the mill, it is expected to produce 1.3 million tons of cellulose pulp annually. Praxair's association with the mill will enable the company to fortify its position in Uruguay. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.  

A week ago, Praxair started operating a new packaged gas fill plant in North Dakota. The plant can efficiently fill industrial gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide, in cylinders, vessels and trailers. Also, the company had started a new air separation plant, with a capacity of 600 tons per day, in Memphis, TN. Through it, the company can supply liquid and gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and argon to various customers in the southeastern U.S.
 
Additionally, in Apr 2014, Praxair began operating an air separation plant, with a capacity of 270 tons per day, in Pisco, Peru. Just a month ago, in Mar 2014, another new air separation plant, with a daily production capacity of 1,250 metric tons, was started by the company for the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

A series of plant start-ups and contract wins across various nations signify the growing preferences for Praxair's world class technology, high quality products and gas supply services. By 2017, the company anticipates to reach revenues of $16 billion, including hydrogen sales of $1.7 billion.

Praxair presently has a $38.8 billion market capitalization and carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other major players in the same industry include Compass Minerals International Inc. CMP, Koninklijke DSM N.V. (RDSMY) and A. Schulman, Inc. SHLM. While Compass Minerals International sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Koninklijke DSM and A. Schulman hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).