Start up of ASU in Tangshan

On June 4, 2008, our new Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Tangshan of Hebei Province achieved its first production. With 700 tons per day, this ASU is the largest one Air Liquide ever started for a long term contract in China. The project took only 19 months from the signature of contract to start-up, the shortest realization time in our history. The plant was designed and manufactured by Air Liquide Hangzhou, the Air Liquide engineering centre in China, who used the latest technologies providing both high reliability and high-energy-efficiency required by the Chinese government.

This new ASU is located in Laoting County, 70 km southeast of Tangshan, Hebei Province. It supplies oxygen, nitrogen and argon to Tangshan Hengang steel mill through pipelines. It will also supply liquid products to the local market. Tangshan Hengang steel mill produces yearly 600 thousand tons of strip steel and special pipes. The products are mainly exported to Korea and North America.

Commenting on this new achievement, Mr. Remi Charachon, Managing Director of Air Liquide China, said, "This project is in line with Teng Fei: it enables us to extend our market coverage in North Hebei. I would like to warmly thank all the teams involved since the beginning of the project for their hard work to overcome all the difficulties linked to a fast track project. We can learn from it and do better!”