Airgas Inc (ARG)

Airgas, Inc. became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1986. The Company through its subsidiaries is a distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies. The Company has two reporting businesssegments, Distribution and All Other Operations. The Distribution business segment's main products include industrial, medical and specialty gases sold in packaged and bulk quantities, as well as hardgoods. The Company's air separation production facilities and national specialty gas labs mainly produce gases that are sold by the Distribution segment's business units. Business units in the Distribution business segment also recognize rental revenue and distribute hardgoods. Gas sales include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, hydrogen, welding and fuel gases such as acetylene, propylene and propane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ultra high purity grades, special application blends and process chemicals. The All Other Operations business segment consists of six business units. The main products manufactured and distributed are carbon dioxide, dry ice (solid form of carbon dioxide), nitrous oxide, ammonia and refrigerant gases. It is the second largest U.S. manufacturer and distributor of liquid carbon dioxide, and the largest U.S. manufacturer and a distributor of dry ice. Customers for carbon dioxide and dry ice include food processors, food service businesses, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, and wholesale trade and grocery outlets, with food and beverage applications accounting for approximately 70% of the market. It is the largest manufacturer of nitrous oxide gas in North America, with four nitrous oxide production facilities operated by the Company. Nitrous oxide is used as an anesthetic in the medical and dental fields, as a propellant in the packaged food business and in the manufacturing process of certain electronics industries. Airgas Specialty Products is a distributor of anhydrous and aqua ammonia. Industrial ammonia applications mainly include the abatement of nitrogen oxide compounds in the utilities industry (DeNOx), chemicals processing, commercial refrigeration, water treatment and metal treatment. Refrigerants are used in a variety of commercial and consumer freezing and cooling applications. Airgas purchases and distributes refrigerants and provides technical and refrigerant reclamation services. The Company markets these products to its diversified customer base through multiple sales channels including branch-based sales representatives, retail stores, strategic customer account programs, telesales, catalogs, eBusiness and independent distributors. The Company holds the following registered trademarks: 'Airgas,' 'Radnor,' 'Gold Gas,' 'SteelMIX,' 'StainMIX,' 'AluMIX,' 'Outlook,' 'Ny-Trous+,' 'Powersource,' 'Red-D-Arc,' 'RED-D-ARC WELDERENTALS,' 'Aspen,' 'Gaspro,' 'GAIN,' 'Walk- O2-Bout,' 'Airgas Puritan Medical,' 'Penguin Brand Dry Ice,' 'Kangaroo Kart,' 'National Farm and Shop,' 'National/HEF,' 'UNAMIX,' 'UNAMIG Xtra,' 'UNAMIG Six', and 'UNATIG.' The Company also holds trademarks for 'Airgas National Welders,' 'Airgas National Carbonation,' 'Airgas National Cryogenics,' 'AcuGrav,' 'AIM,' 'Freshblend,' 'Aspen Refrigerants,' 'Mastercut,' 'Reklaim,' 'Safe-T-Cyl,' 'When You're Ready To Weld' and 'Your Total Ammonia Solution' and a service mark for 'You'll find it with it.' The U.S. industrial gas industry operates in a highly competitive environment. The Company is subject to laws and regulations relating to health, safety and the protection of the environment and natural resources.