Sep 11 2007
A new liquefier to be built by Air Products will generate an additional 400 tonnes per day (TPD) of industrial gases to meet fast growing demand in Polish manufacturing sectors. The new liquefier will be located at the company's Kedzierzyn facility in the south of Poland, taking the total capacity there for oxygen and nitrogen products to 800 TPD. The facility is scheduled to be on-stream early in 2009, subject to approvals from the authorities.
Manufacturing in Poland grew by 7.4 percent in the six years to 2006. Nearly 30 percent of the total Polish manufacturing output and approximately 25 percent of new manufacturing investment are located within 150km of Air Products' Kedzierzyn facility. It is expected that the Polish gases market will become severely short of capacity in 2008 as demand continues to rise and will increasingly rely on imports.
Commenting, Air Products' vice president, bulk gases-Europe, Graham Rhodes said, "We are delighted to be making our first major new investment in Poland so soon after the acquisition of the BOC industrial gas business from The Linde Group. This signifies the confidence we have both in the market and in our highly motivated commercial team to leverage our proven competitive technology positions in key industries such as glass, metals and food. This will strengthen our market leading position."
The company says it also expects to generate distribution synergies, given Kedzierzyn's proximity to existing Air Products business clusters in the Czech and Slovak Republics.
In April, Air Products completed the acquisition of the BOC Gazy industrial gas business from The Linde Group, making Air Products the leading industrial gas supplier in Central Europe's fastest growing economy.