Air Liquide Celebrates 10 Years in China

Air Liquide (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd. (ALHZ) celebrates its 10 th anniversary today. ALHZ is a joint venture established in January 1995, between Air Liquide (62%) and the Hang Yang Group (38%), in Hangzhou, the capital of east Zhejiang Province in China.

The celebration recognises the development of Air Liquide Hangzhou which since its establishment, has continually developed and built on its core competencies. Today ALHZ has emerged as a leader in the Air Separation Unit market in China. This provides a competitive edge for Air Liquide as we develop our gas activity in this huge country, at the same time committing to an ambitious investment plan of 500m euros over the next five years. Progress in China is an excellent example of our strategic program to invest in fast growing economies.

Managing more than one billion RMB (over 100 million euros) of contracts, ALHZ has supplied many large plants to major Chinese steel and chemical customers. In 2005, ALHZ supplied plants to three major steelmakers: Capital Steel, Anshan Steel and Bao Steel, together totaling a production capacity of more than 8500 t/d oxygen.

This celebration is a good opportunity for ALHZ to recognize the contributions of, and to thank, the two parent companies, our customers, the local government, our employees and the many others who have contributed to the development of the company. More than 200 guests will attend the celebrations today.

This 10th anniversary of ALHZ operations will also be an occasion to celebrate Innovation Day, which has already been celebrated in many Air Liquide group subsidiaries. ALHZ will exhibit, through a technical show, the products from different Air Liquide activities including engineering, healthcare, food, electronics, environment, automobile, space, pharmaceuticals and welding in the form of posters, models, and on the spot demonstrations.

In addition, on November 19,550 employees and their family members will participate in the ALHZ Family Day. The Chairman and General Manager of ALHZ, Mr. Marc Ducrocq, will grant the awards to the 43 employees who have served ALHZ since 1995.