Air Products and Chemicals Investor Relations Material

Air Products and Chemicals, more often than not referred to as Air Products, is an American company operating globally. The core of its business is selling various types of gases and chemicals, and a majority of the company’s revenues are generated from the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania and its shares have been trading on the NYSE since 1962.

Air Products was founded in 1940 in Detroit, Michigan by Leonard Parker Pool. His idea was to sell Oxygen to mid-level consumers, but business proved slow at first. When the US got involved in the Second World War, this all changed. Air Products began selling oxygen generators to help the Allied war effort. After the war, Air Products gained enough momentum to continue to grow and eventually started selling a wide array of different gases and chemicals to civilian clients.

Air Products has, like many similar companies, conducted various spin-offs during the years. These spin-offs allow the two resulting companies to better hone in on one niche and area of specialization. One of the most notable ones was the spin-off of its Materials Technologies business into Versum (now a part of MERCK).

Air Products supplies customers in a wide array of fields. Their primary customer base can be found in technology, energy, food production, industries, healthcare, and more. Wherever there is a need for specialty gases, Air Products is more than likely ready to supply it. The company supplies various atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. Outside of these, it also supplies process and specialty gases as well as various coatings and related technology and equipment. When looking at the competition, we find names such as Air Liquide and Linde amongst Air Products peers.

Air Products has had a working relationship with NASA for decades. It has supplied the liquid oxygen and hydrogen needed for the space shuttle’s external tanks. The gases supplied by Air Products have been used for every space shuttle launch in recent decades, as well as the Apollo and Mercury missions.