Matheson K-Air India Announce Plans To Invest $100M USD And Build Air Separation Plant Near Pune, India

Online, March 9, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Matheson K-Air India Private Limited (MKI) has announced plans to undertake a series of investments totaling in excess of $100 Million [USD], that will include construction of a new 200 ton per day (TPD) air separation plant (ASU) in Pune, India.

The 200 TPD plant will be MKI's first ASU in India and the first in a network of ASU's that MKI has planned for the Indian market. The Pune ASU is expected to be fully operational by December 2012. The Pune ASU will produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon for delivery to end user customers and distributors located primarily within a 300 kilometer radius of the facility.

MKI plans to invest in excess of $100 Million [USD] over the next five years in an effort to expand its business and serve the growing demand for industrial gases throughout India. In addition to installing a network of ASU's, MKI intends to strengthen its gases distribution capability by building new industrial gas fill plants and distribution centers in key Indian markets.

Kiran Karnawat, Managing Director of MKI, stated, "The Pune ASU will improve the availability and reliability of gases supply that MKI will be able to offer our customers and make us much more competitive. Installation of our first ASU is an important step for MKI that will enable us to become a fully integrated gases supplier to the Indian market".

According to Phil Kornbluth, Executive Vice President, International & Helium for MKI partner Matheson, "Matheson plans to significantly expand our presence in the rapidly growing Indian market for industrial gases. The Pune ASU is one of the first in a series of projects that MKI will be announcing in the coming months".

Matheson K-Air India is a joint venture between Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc., an American corporation, and K-Air India Private Limited, an Indian corporation that was established in March 2010. MKI, headquartered in Pune, is a leading Indian supplier of packaged gases, helium and bulk gases.

Matheson is a single source for industrial, medical, specialty and electronic gases, gas handling equipment, high performance purification systems, engineering and gas management services, and on-site gas generation with a mission to deliver innovative solutions for global customer requirements. Matheson is the largest subsidiary of the Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation Group, the largest Japanese supplier of industrial gases and one of the five largest suppliers of industrial, specialty, and electronics gases in the world.