Air Products Signs Long-Term Contract in Nanjing, Eastern China, Strengthening Its Position in Chinese Petrochemical Industry
May 02 2005 - 1:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
Air Products Signs Long-Term Contract in Nanjing, Eastern China,
Strengthening Its Position in Chinese Petrochemical Industry LEHIGH
VALLEY, Pa., May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products
(NYSE:APD) has signed a long-term contract with Wison (Nanjing)
Chemical Company Ltd to supply onsite gases oxygen and nitrogen to
Wison's new carbon monoxide (CO) and methanol plant located in
Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park (NCIP), Nanjing, Jiangsu Province,
China. An air separation unit (ASU) adjacent to the plant that is
capable of producing greater than 1600 tons per day of oxygen is
planned to be built and operational by late 2006. Concurrently, Air
Products will expand its liquid production capacity to meet
customers' demand in the fast-growing merchant market. This plant
will be Air Products' sixth plant that will come on-stream in China
in 2006-2007 to support its expanding business. As announced
earlier this year, Wison has been awarded a long-term contract to
supply CO to Celanese, a world leader in acetic acid production,
for Celanese's 600,000 MT acetic acid plant being built in NCIP.
The plant is expected to be ready for production in late 2006 or
early 2007. Gaseous oxygen and nitrogen will be used in a
clean-burning coal gasification process to generate CO. Acetic acid
is a basic chemical that becomes part of paints, adhesives, plastic
bottles, foods, construction materials and hundreds of other
products for the growing consumer markets. "We are committed to
supplying CO to Celanese based on readily-available coal processed
by state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly technologies," said
Mr. Hua Bang Song, chairman of Wison Group. "To achieve this, a
long-term relationship with a partner who has demonstrated success
in reliability, quality and safety is important. Air Products is
our preferred partner for this important project. We are impressed
with their expertise, speed of service and commitment." Air
Products has a long history in serving chemical and other
industries in the Nanjing region. The long-term contract with Wison
and the investment in Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park
significantly reinforce Air Products' position in supporting the
growth of its customers in the region. Nanjing Chemical Industrial
Park is one of two state-level petrochemical parks in China.
Located about 30 kilometers north of Nanjing on the north of the
Yangtze River, the Park is a major constituent of the Nanjing New
& High Technology Industry Development Zone, with superior
support of good transportation network and logistics. "Air Products
has a proven track record of investing in and building successful
partnerships with key industrial parks in China, and we are excited
about their investment in NCIP to support the infrastructure
build-up which is critical to the chemical investments," said Mr.
Lu Yi, standing deputy director and general manager of Nanjing
Chemical Industrial Park. The new on-site plant in Nanjing Chemical
Industrial Park will also enable Air Products to expand its liquid
capacity economically to meet growing demand in China for steel and
automobile industries. Nanjing and other cities in Jiangsu Province
have attracted a very large amount of investment, both from Chinese
companies and major international companies. "Our products help to
provide people a better quality of life, and we are committed to be
a good corporate citizen in China. We are honored to play a key
role in supporting Wison and China's economic development. This
investment is part of our China strategy and continued commitment
to build long-term infrastructure to meet the industrial gas needs.
We will be in a better and stronger position in Eastern China to
support the growth," said Wilbur Mok, president of Air Products
China. Air Products is one of the first multinational industrial
gas companies to enter China with a joint venture in 1987. For more
information, visit http://www.airproducts.com/ or
http://www.airproducts.com.cn/. ***NOTE: This release may contain
forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially,
due to changes in current expectations. DATASOURCE: Air Products
CONTACT: Media Inquiries: (Asia): Jessica Cheng, (852) 2863-0585, ,
or (North America): Tom Yencho, +1-610-481-1192, , or Investor
Inquiries: Phil Sproger, +1-610-481-7461, , all of Air Products Web
site: http://www.airproducts.com/
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