China: €75m invested for two steel producers

Air Liquide has signed long-term contracts with two steel producers in China and will invest €75 million overall to meet the needs of these new customers. This investment strengthens the Group's leading position in the Chinese steel market.

China is the largest steel maker worldwide with a production that rose 14% to a record 568 million tonnes in 2009 - nearly half the world's production. As China is now focusing on better utilizing its steel-making capacities, oxygen enhances productivity.

The first supply contract will provide oxygen and nitrogen to Bohai Steel Group in Tangshan, Heibei Province (near Tianjin) from a large 2,200 tonnes per day Air Separation Unit. Under the terms of the second contract signed with Jianbang Group in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, Air Liquide will invest in an 800 tonnes per day oxygen unit.

Both units will use the latest high-reliability and low-energy technologies from Air Liquide Hangzhou, Air Liquide's engineering center in China. They are scheduled to start up in the second quarter of 2011.

Jean-Marc de Royere, Senior Vice-President Asia-Pacific, a member of the Executive Committee, declared, "We thank Tangshan Bohai Steel Group and Shanxi Jiangbang Group for their trust. Those successes illustrate Air Liquide's ability to meet customer requirements in China for safety, reliability, low-energy and short construction periods. Emerging Economies are a growth driver of Air Liquide.”