Air Liquide receives the EM ASIA Innovation Award 2011

Air Liquide was honored with EM ASIA Innovation Award at NEPCON China 2011 in the category Environmentally Friendly Production Equipment for its ALIXTM Inertwave solution. The EM ASIA Innovation Awards program recognizes top performing companies from the electronics manufacturing industry for achieving the highest standards in the various manufacturing-related products, materials and equipment that have been introduced and offered for sale in Asia between January 1st 2010 and December 31st 2010. Selection criteria include innovation, cost, speed/throughput improvements, quality contribution, ease of use, maintainability and reparability, and technology advancement.

ALIXTM Inertwave is an innovating patented brand solution developed by Air Liquide group for electronic assembling industry, which can significantly improve soldering performance, reduce production costs, and increase environment protection in wave soldering process. ALIXTM Inertwave adopts a creative gas diffusion technology to create an optimal inerted soldering atmosphere. In that environment, the soldering quality is significantly improved and defect rate is distinctly reduced (particularly voids, bad wetting, bridging etc.). Moreover, ALIXTM Inertwave reduces dross formation up to 90%, as well as flux's consumption up to 40% due to less oxidation of solder. ALIXTM Inertwave has also a positive influence on environment protection and working conditions by reducing significantly the dross formation and the needs of cleaning the solder bath.

ALIXTM Inertwave has obvious advantages on low-cost investment, quick impact, and high profitability. It is specially used for lead-free wave soldering process to widen process window and meet ISO 14000 standard. The ALIXTM Inertwave system could be easily installed and maintained on any type of wave soldering machine and require no modification on the machine.

Mr. Jean-Yves Iatrides, Senior Vice President of Industrial Merchant & Acquisitions at Air Liquide China was present at the award ceremony, and stated, "To date, over 700 wave soldering systems are equipped with ALIXTM Inertwave globally, and we hope to bring this green solution and more gas applications into lead-free soldering processes. With Air Liquide expertise in the gas application field, we have been supporting electronics manufacturers achieving higher product quality, in the way which is more energy-efficient and cost-effectively."