(Archived) United Technologies Extends Contract with Praxair

DANBURY, Conn., August 11 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today announced the signing of a five-year contract with United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX), headquartered in Hartford, Conn., for the supply of gases, hardgoods and consumables to UTC's companies at more than 200 locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The contract, an extension of Praxair's existing bulk gases contract with UTC, represents about $6 million in additional sales annually.

The facilities will use Praxair’s bulk, industrial package and specialty gases and related equipment for heat treating, welding and cutting for metal fabrication and maintenance, calibration of emissions testing equipment, and research and development laboratories. UTC’s business units include Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Hamilton Sundstrand, Carrier, Sikorsky Aircraft, Otis Elevator, UTC Power and United Technologies Research Center.

"Praxair was selected because of their productivity improvement goals, their production and distribution network, and lower overall cost," said UTC Commodity Specialist Prasad Kambli. "We are particularly pleased with Praxair's ability to maximize potential savings to our sites right in the first year, so our business units can see significant benefits right away."

"As a total solution, service-based provider, we have the ability to meet the diversified needs of a large, multi-national, multi-site account like UTC," said Bill Gittler, director of national accounts for Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair. "For example, using Praxair's exclusive StarSolver® Productivity Enhancement Program to accurately and systematically analyze UTC’s processes, our productivity specialists identify and recommend changes to improve their production performance, and reduce labor and overhead costs."

Other improvements include cylinder to bulk gas conversions, gas cylinder management, and installation of gas distribution systems for lower residual losses and increased safety and reliability. Additional savings can be achieved through e-commerce solutions, including Praxair Express^SM exchange, the e-business extranet web site that provides customers in the United States and Canada with easy-to-use, online-purchasing tools and information resources that save time, improve transactional efficiency and reduce costs.

UTC is a diversified global corporation with six operating companies and a standalone Research Center. UTC employs approximately 155,000 people worldwide and operates in 180 different countries. It is the 49th largest U.S. corporation and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In 2002, UTC revenues were $28.2 billion.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2002 sales of $5.1 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.