(Archived) Praxair Acquires United Welding of Dallas

DANBURY, Conn., April 29, 2004 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today announced that its subsidiary Praxair Distribution, Inc. purchased United Welding Specialties of Dallas, Texas, a division of Union Industrial Gas, of Dallas.

"United Welding has had a very strong presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for more than 30 years," said Praxair Distribution President Wayne Yakich. "United Welding will be a very welcome addition to Praxair and to our Texas business team." United Welding will become part of Praxair Distribution's Gulf States Division, headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Including United Welding, over the past three years Praxair Distribution has acquired seven packaged businesses, two beverage carbonation businesses and a medical gas distributor in the U.S. and in Canada.

Praxair Distribution Inc. and its subsidiaries and distributors deliver a large array of industrial, medical and specialty gases, equipment, supplies, and services to thousands of customers in the United States and Canada. With hundreds of locations throughout North America, Praxair Distribution provides differentiated product and service offerings that help customers achieve their objectives faster, better and at lower total cost.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2003 sales of $5.6 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.