LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD) and Linde Gas North America today announced
they have formed Hydrochlor, a 50-50 joint venture to supply
high-purity anhydrous hydrochloric acid (HCl) to the electronics
and other industries.
As part of the agreement, Hydrochlor will build a facility to
process and package HCl supplied via pipeline from The Dow Chemical
Company. The new facility will be located on Dow's Freeport, Texas, site. Oversight for
Hydrochlor will be governed by a team of managers from each partner
company. The facility, scheduled to be commissioned in the second
quarter of 2012, is designed to meet current merchant requirements
and can be expanded to serve growth in market demand.
Hydrochlor will sell HCl exclusively to the joint venture
partners, who will continue to market HCl independently. Until the
new facility's startup, Dow will continue to supply HCl
independently to Air Products at its Hometown, Pa., facility and to Linde at its
Lovington, New Mexico,
location.
"This significant investment in Hydrochlor secures a vital
domestic supply of high-purity HCl for a variety of end markets,"
said Corning Painter, vice president and general manager of
Electronics for Air Products. "The Hydrochlor agreement is another
example of Air Products' commitment to ensuring surety of supply of
critical materials to our customers."
"This is an important development for our customers," said
Cliff Caldwell, vice president of
Electronics and Specialty Gases for Linde
North America. "There have been concerns regarding the
continuity of supply for high-purity HCl into the merchant market
for some time. This new production and filling plant will finally
put these concerns to rest. When completed, the Freeport facility will be the largest HCl
production plant in the country and will allow Linde to continue
supplying critical high-purity HCl to its U.S. and international
customers."
HCl is a key raw material used by semiconductor manufacturers
for cleaning reactors used in the epitaxial process and also is
used for chamber cleaning. A majority of North American merchant
HCl is supplied to the pharmaceuticals and agricultural industries.
HCl also is used as a chemical intermediate in the manufacture of
inorganic chlorides.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy,
technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio
of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance
materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940,
Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets
such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare
services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and
adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture,
operational excellence and commitment to safety and the
environment. In fiscal 2010, Air Products had revenues of
$9 billion, operations in over 40
countries, and 18,300 employees around the globe. For more
information, visit www.airproducts.com.
About Linde
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company
with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries
worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of
EUR 11.2 billion (USD 15.3 billion). The strategy of The Linde
Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and
focuses on the expansion of its international business with
forward-looking products and services.
Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business
partners, employees, society and the environment -- in every one of
its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde
is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of
customer value and sustainable development.
For more information, visit Linde North
America online at http://www.lindeus.com.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2010.
SOURCE Air Products