Praxair Acquires Packaged Gas Distributors in California and Texas

DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Praxair, Inc. PX announced today that it has acquired two independent distributors of industrial and specialty packaged gases and related supplies – Cryospec, Inc. (Cryospec) in San Francisco, California, and Garland Welding Supplies, Inc. (GWS) in Garland, Texas, with combined 2014 annual sales of about $10 million. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Cryospec has served the life science and electronics industries in the greater Bay Area for 17 years from its facilities located in South San Francisco and Fremont, California.

"Praxair is the best operational and strategic fit for us," said Douglas Wells, Cryospec's owner and president. "Joining Praxair enables us to provide an even broader array of products and services to our customers."

GWS, family owned and operated since its founding in 1967, is one of the oldest independent gas and welding products distributors in the greater Dallas area. The Company operates a cylinder filling plant in Garland and a retail store in Rockwall, Texas.

"GWS has a proven history of reliably serving our customers," said Andrew Simons, owner and president. "As part of Praxair, we will continue to provide quality service, but with added supply reliability and other benefits that Praxair brings to our customers and employees."

"The acquisition of these first-class distributors enables Praxair to further strengthen its presence in these important areas," said Praxair Distribution, Inc. President Scott Kaltrider. "We are pleased to welcome the dedicated employees of these two distributors to Praxair and look forward to serving our new customers."

About Praxair

Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 250 company with 2014 sales of $12.3 billion, is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others. More information about Praxair, Inc. is available at www.praxair.com.

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