IIR Member news: Air Liquide

Air Liquide, a corporate member of the IIR, has signed a contract with LGETA (LG Electronics Tianjin Appliances Co. Ltd.), for the supply of a wide range of gases to LGETA's expansion project in Tianjin. Tianjin is the 4th largest city in China, with 10 million inhabitants and is also the most important industrial city and port in North China. Since the early 1990s, Tianjin's sales have been growing at a double-digit rate. Air Liquide started its business in Tianjin in 1996 and LGETA was one of its first customers in North China. LGETA is LG Electronics' No.1 home appliances manufacturing plant worldwide. Ten thousand employees work at the LGETA site, which had an annual turnover of roughly 2 billion euros in 2003. LGETA expects to grow 30% in 2005 compared with 2003. In order to meet LGETA's expansion-related needs, Air Liquide will build, own and operate a new on-site gas station and supply nitrogen, and hydrogen as well as argon, oxygen, helium and CO2 by pipeline to the workshops. This gas station will include a nitrogen generator (1000 m3/h) and a hydrogen generator (200 m3/h). The new plant will start production early 2005.