APD Air Products and Chemicals Inc

Siemens Recognizes Air Products With Excellence Award for MRI Services LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products, the largest international supplier of helium, announced today that its KeepCOLD(R) Cryogenic Fill Services Program has received the "Best Practices-Logistics" award from Siemens Medical Systems. Air Products received the award at a special ceremony in Florida on October 28 and was one of only three companies out of more than 300 vendors recognized for its outstanding achievement. "We're thrilled to receive this award from Siemens, and we see it as recognition of not just the logistics of our program, but of the quality of people we have who help deliver the outstanding level of service that our customers have come to expect from us," said Robert A. Hoffman, worldwide helium MRI manager for Air Products. "Their hard work and dedication, from our Helium Operations Center, to our Helium Supply Manufacturing Group, to the actual KeepCOLD technicians themselves who perform the fills, are the reasons why we can achieve an uptime rate in excess of 99 percent for our customers. That achievement is by far best in the industry," he noted. How the KeepCOLD Process Works Today, Air Products has access to more helium production capacity than any other company worldwide. That, along with its process of getting helium to its customers throughout the United States, has helped to make the company a leader in the field. The Operations Center -- or the nerve center of the KeepCOLD program -- is located at the company's headquarters in Allentown, Pa., and is responsible for scheduling fills and responding to emergency situations. Using weekly MRI cryogen system readings, the Operations Center monitors usage and determines a service window for the KeepCOLD field technicians. Field technicians then plan their deliveries -- usually between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. -- performing, on average, two fills per night. Of course, the technicians need the helium to deliver in the first place and that responsibility falls under the Helium Manufacturing Group who takes crude helium, converts it to pure helium and transports it to one of the 13 transfill sites located across the country. There, additional work is performed to maintain product purity and ensure that the helium is available at the 42 locations throughout the country where one of 50 highly trained KeepCOLD technicians deliver the final product to their customer, such as Siemens. Air Products first began providing liquid fill services to Siemens in 1988. Over the past 15 years as Air Products service line expanded, so too did the company's relationship with Siemens' growing MRI customer base. In February 2003, Air Products was singled out with a Top Supplier + Award by Siemens Medical Solutions for outstanding performance. This is the fourth consecutive year that Air Products has been recognized by Siemens for product reliability and service excellence. Back in August, Air Products announced that KeepCOLD would be the exclusive cryogenic provider for Siemens Medical Systems' entire United States magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet base through December 2007. Under the agreement, Air Products will be providing a significant number of Siemens Medical Systems MRI units with liquid helium and nitrogen, as well as related onsite fill services, through its KeepCOLD offering. MRI -- a way of generating sectional images of the skeleton and inner organs -- is a technique that uses magnetic field and radio waves instead of x-rays or ultrasonic waves. To be able to create a powerful enough magnetic field, the magnet must be cooled to superconductivity levels using liquid helium, which maintains a temperature of -452 degrees F. About Air Products Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in technology, energy, healthcare and industrial markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of products, services and solutions, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates. 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. With annual revenues of $6.3 billion and operations in over 30 countries, the company's 18,500 employees build lasting relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding, integrity and passion. For more information, visit http://www.airproducts.com/. ***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: Katherine Hilgert, +1-610-481-1188, e-mail: ; or Investor Inquiries: Alexander W. Masetti, +1-610-481-7461, e-mail: , both of Air Products Web site: http://www.airproducts.com/

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