Overview
Air Liquide, founded in 1902, supplies gases, related technologies and services to industrial and healthcare customers worldwide; oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are core molecules in its portfolio and have been central to the group’s activities since its creation.[1] Its main activities span Industrial Merchant, Large Industries, Healthcare and Electronics, alongside Engineering & Construction and Global Markets & Technologies.[2]
The company’s stated ambition is to “invent a sustainable future,” reflecting a focus on innovation, support for customers and patients, and responsible growth.[3][4][5] Air Liquide is present in 60 countries, serves more than 4 million customers and patients, and has a revenue base spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.[1][6] In 2024, it generated about €27.1 billion in revenue and employed 66,657 people.[7][8] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Products & services
Air Liquide’s core products are industrial gases and related delivery systems. In Large Industries, it supplies oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and carbon monoxide through major production plants and pipeline networks, and also operates cogeneration plants that provide steam and electricity to customers.[9][10] Its air separation capability is specifically described as separating air into about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% argon, with some large units also producing noble gases such as neon, krypton and xenon.[11] In Industrial Merchant, the company sells a wide range of gases, application equipment and associated services, with distribution in bulk liquid, gaseous cylinders and local small production units for customers with larger needs or remote sites.[12] Air Liquide also notes cryogenic liquid transport within roughly a 200-250 km radius from the production site, on-site installations at customer premises, and new small on-site gas generators designed to provide continuous, reliable supply tailored to customer production needs.[13][14][15]
In Electronics, Air Liquide supplies gases, complex materials, equipment and services used mainly in semiconductor manufacturing, as well as flat-screen and photovoltaic production.[16] Its carrier gases are very high purity gases—mainly nitrogen, but also oxygen, argon, helium and hydrogen—used to dilute and transport molecules for chip manufacturing and for cooling and inerting production environments; these contracts are described as long-term take-or-pay agreements with an average duration of 15 years.[17] The company also sells electronic specialty materials such as silane, xenon and nitrous oxide, advanced materials for newer chip generations, equipment and installations to distribute gases, materials and chemicals on customer sites, and analytical and site-management services for daily handling of gases, materials and chemical products.[18][19][20][21]
In Healthcare, Air Liquide supplies medical gases, medical devices and home healthcare services. Its named medical gases include medical oxygen for respiratory diseases or intensive care, oxygen-nitrous oxide mixtures for analgesia, and nitric oxide for intensive care; it also installs and maintains hospital medical gas distribution networks and provides permanent inventory control.[22] Outside hospitals, it markets ventilators for intensive care, transport and home use, as well as equipment for administering medical gases and aerosol therapy.[23] In home healthcare, it supports patients with respiratory diseases, sleep apnea, COPD and diabetes using medical devices and associated long-term monitoring services, including remote support enabled by digital tools.[24][25] Through Seppic, it also develops specialty ingredients including vaccine adjuvants, pharmaceutical film-coating systems, and eco-friendly thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers and active ingredients for cosmetics.[26] In Air Liquide’s 2024 group revenue mix, Industrial Merchant represented 44%, Large Industries 26%, Healthcare 16% and Electronics 9%.[27] [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]
Geographic presence
Air Liquide has a broad international footprint and reports its operations primarily across three regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The group says it is present in 60 countries, with its head office at 75 quai d’Orsay in Paris. Its wider geographic infrastructure also includes major innovation or office sites in Paris, Frankfurt, Grenoble, Tokyo, Delaware, and Shanghai.[28][29][30][31]
Geographically, Air Liquide’s sales base is relatively balanced between EMEA and the Americas, with Asia Pacific representing a smaller but still significant share. In 2024, Gas & Services revenue was €10,186.1 million in EMEA, €10,321.3 million in the Americas, and €5,302.7 million in Asia Pacific, out of a total of €25,810.2 million, equivalent to roughly 39.5%, 40.0%, and 20.5% respectively.[32]
Its workforce is distributed in a similarly balanced way. At the end of 2024, Air Liquide had 66,657 employees worldwide, including 26,843 in EMEA, 26,089 in the Americas, and 13,725 in Asia Pacific, or about 40.3%, 39.1%, and 20.6% of the total workforce respectively.[33][34] [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]
Business segments
Air Liquide reports three main activities: Gas & Services, Engineering & Construction, and Global Markets & Technologies.[35] Gas & Services is the dominant segment and includes four World Business Lines: Large Industries, Industrial Merchant, Healthcare, and Electronics.[36] In 2024, Gas & Services generated €25.8 billion of revenue versus Group revenue of €27.1 billion, or about 95% of the total.[37][38] Engineering & Construction, which designs and builds production units for the Group and third-party customers, generated €412 million, or roughly 2% of revenue.[39][40][38] Global Markets & Technologies, focused on technological solutions for the energy transition and deep-tech markets, generated €836 million, or about 3% of revenue.[41][42][38]
Within Gas & Services, Industrial Merchant was the largest business line at €11.9 billion in 2024, about 46% of Gas & Services revenue and about 44% of Group revenue; this business supplies a wide range of gases, application equipment, and related services to customers needing smaller quantities than Large Industries customers.[43][12][37][38] Large Industries generated €7.1 billion, about 28% of Gas & Services and 26% of Group revenue, and supplies industrial gases from major production units to customers in metals, chemicals, refining, and energy.[43][10][37][38] Healthcare generated €4.3 billion, about 17% of Gas & Services and 16% of Group revenue, and supplies medical gases, services, and medical devices to hospitals and patients at home, as well as healthcare specialty ingredients.[43][44][37][38] Electronics generated €2.5 billion, about 10% of Gas & Services and 9% of Group revenue, and mainly serves the semiconductor market, with smaller exposure to flat panel display and photovoltaic applications.[43][45][37][38] [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][12][10][44][45]
Company history
Air Liquide was founded in 1902 after Georges Claude, who developed an industrial process for producing oxygen from liquid air, joined with entrepreneur Paul Delorme; the company was incorporated on November 8, 1902.[46][47] In its early years it expanded internationally, establishing operations in Europe from 1906 and then in Japan, Canada and the United States by 1916, and it was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1913.[48][49]
The company’s development accelerated after World War II. In the 1950s it introduced liquid-gas transport and pipeline networks, marking the start of its large industrial gas business, and it reinforced its technology base by opening a cryogenics-focused research center near Grenoble in 1962 and the Claude Delorme Research Center in 1970.[50][51][52][53] In the 1980s and 1990s it broadened its activities through entry into electronics and semiconductors in Japan, the 1986 acquisition of Big Three in the United States, and expansion into hydrogen, steam, healthcare and home healthcare.[54][55][56][57]
In the 2000s Air Liquide continued to grow internationally through major investments in China, the acquisition of parts of Messer Griesheim in Germany, the UK and the US, and the 2007 purchase of Lurgi, which added hydrogen and carbon monoxide technologies.[58][59][60] A major later milestone came in 2016 with the completion of the Airgas acquisition, which significantly expanded the group’s presence in the United States.[61] [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]
Sources
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