Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

Overview

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., founded in 1940, is a global industrial gases company focused on producing and supplying gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases. It serves customers through on-site, merchant, and packaged gas supply arrangements, and it also provides related equipment and engineering capabilities, including air separation, gas-processing, and cryogenic systems.[1]+4

The company primarily serves industrial and energy-related end markets, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical, and food. Its operations are organized across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and India, reflecting a broad international footprint. Air Products says its purpose is to help generate a cleaner future, and its long-term strategy combines growth in its core industrial gases business with the development, ownership, and operation of large-scale clean hydrogen projects.[1]+2

As general indicators of scale, Air Products reported fiscal 2024 sales of $12.1 billion, operates in about 50 countries, and its official careers materials describe a workforce of more than 21,000 people globally.[7]+2 [1]+8

Products & services

Air Products & Chemicals’ product portfolio is centered on industrial gases. Its named products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, and process gases such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases; the company defines syngas as a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Industrial gases represented over 90% of consolidated sales in fiscal 2024, 2023, and 2022, and approximately half of those regional industrial gases sales were attributable to atmospheric gases.[10] Technically, atmospheric gases are produced through air-separation processes, with cryogenic distillation described as the most prevalent method, while process gases are produced by methods other than air separation. For hydrogen, Air Products states that it purifies byproduct sources from the chemical and petrochemical industries and is investing in gray, blue, and green hydrogen production capabilities.[11]

The company supplies these gases through on-site and merchant offerings. In on-site gases, it builds or acquires large production facilities located on or near customer sites, or supplies customers through pipeline systems from centrally located plants; it also serves customers through smaller cryogenic and non-cryogenic on-site generators. These arrangements are generally structured under 15- to 20-year contracts for large sites and 10- to 15-year contracts for smaller plants, typically with fixed monthly charges or minimum purchase requirements and price-escalation provisions.[12] In merchant gases, Air Products delivers liquid bulk product in liquid or gaseous form by tanker or tube trailer, usually stores it in liquid form in equipment that it designs and installs at the customer site, and vaporizes it into gas as needed; it also sells packaged gases delivered in cylinders or dewars.[13]

Air Products also sells equipment and related technical services. It designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. Its equipment businesses include cryogenic and gas-processing equipment for air separation, Rotoflow turboexpanders and other precision rotating equipment, Gardner Cryogenics helium and hydrogen transport and storage containers, as well as turbomachinery, membrane systems, and cryogenic containers supplied globally.[14][4] In fiscal 2024, the company’s consolidated sales mix was approximately 49% on-site gases, 44% merchant gases, and 7% sale of equipment.[15] [10]+6

Geographic presence

Air Products & Chemicals organizes its operations geographically into the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Middle East and India, with a separate Corporate and other category that includes global equipment businesses and corporate support functions.[16][17] In FY2024, external-customer sales were $5.0 billion in the Americas, $3.2 billion in Asia, $2.8 billion in Europe, and $0.1 billion in Middle East and India, plus $0.9 billion in Corporate and other; on that basis, the Americas accounted for about 42% of total sales, Asia about 27%, and Europe about 23%.[17] The company also describes packaged-gas operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and states that its largest equity affiliates operate in Algeria, China, India, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Thailand.[18][19]

In its geographic information disclosure, based on country of origin, FY2024 sales to external customers were $4.9 billion from the United States, $2.0 billion from China, and $5.2 billion from other foreign operations.[20]+2 Long-lived assets were concentrated in the United States ($9.2 billion), Saudi Arabia ($5.1 billion), China ($3.8 billion), and other foreign operations ($5.3 billion), indicating a substantial asset base outside the U.S.[21][22] The company’s principal executive offices are at 1940 Air Products Boulevard, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18106-5500.[23][24] [16]+8

Business segments

Air Products & Chemicals reports five official reportable segments: Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East and India, and Corporate and other. The first four are the company’s regional industrial gases segments; together they cover the production and sale of atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, process gases such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas, and specialty gases, supplied through on-site and merchant channels. Segment performance is evaluated using segment operating income.[25]+8

Using FY2025 external sales as a guide, segment contributions were approximately Americas 42.6%, Asia 27.2%, Europe 24.8%, Middle East and India 1.1%, and Corporate and other 4.3%, meaning the regional industrial gases segments generated about 95.7% of total sales. Corporate and other comprises the global sale of cryogenic and gas-processing equipment for air separation, as well as turbo machinery and equipment distribution businesses, and it also carries corporate support, R&D, administrative, and certain foreign-exchange-related items.[34]+2 [25]+11

Company history

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. was founded in 1940 in Detroit by Leonard Parker Pool, built around the idea of supplying industrial gases through on-site oxygen plants for customers.[37] The company leased its first oxygen gas generator in 1941, and during World War II it shifted into oxygen-generator production for military use and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1944.[37] By 1959, Air Products had expanded into liquid hydrogen production for U.S. missile programs, an early sign of its growing role beyond traditional industrial gas supply.[38] In 1969, the company supplied large volumes of industrial gases to support the Apollo 11 launch and mission.[39]

In its more recent history, Air Products underwent a major leadership change when Seifi Ghasemi became chairman, president, and chief executive officer in 2014.[40] The company also reshaped its portfolio in 2016 by completing the spin-off of its Electronic Materials division as Versum Materials, marking a significant strategic separation in its modern history.[41] [40]+4

Sources

• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. — Full financial report (2024 Y)
  21 citations

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• www.airproducts.com[8]
• www.airproducts.me[9]
• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. — Full financial report (2023 Y)[12]
• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  13 citations

  [14][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]
• www.airproducts.com[37]
• time.com[38]
• www.airproducts.com[39]
• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. — Full financial report (2016 Y)[41]