(Archived) Praxair and Cloos Commercialize New Tandem Process For Automated Welding

DANBURY, Conn., May 6, 2004 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today announced that its subsidiary Praxair Distribution, Inc. has renewed an agreement with Cloos Robotic Welding Inc., an international leader in arc welding and robot technology, for the exclusive commercialization of the high-capacity MIG/MAG Tandem welding process for all automated welding applications, including robotics. The contract involves the sale of Cloos equipment and consumables supporting applications where high-speed and increased deposition rates are required.

“Praxair and Cloos welding specialists have teamed up to optimize the Tandem process for specific shielding gases and operating parameters,” said Janet Coffman, vice president of marketing for Praxair Distribution. “The new process has been installed now at a number of customer locations where it has proved to be ideal for robotic applications and adaptable to any robot cell configuration. Praxair Distribution’s RoboStar^® gases for welding of carbon steel, aluminum and stainless steel, and its ProStar^® line of consumables and accessories compliment the offering.”

Compared to a conventional welding machine, the Tandem welding process uses two in-line wires in a V-shape configuration. One behind the other, the welding wires are fed simultaneously and melted in a double arc. The result is an excellent seam quality with little spatter and up to triple the deposition rates and travel speeds of conventional systems: ideal characteristics for automated applications.

“For almost 20 years, Cloos has been supplying the U.S. market with advanced German quality for manual and automated arc welding technology," said Hartmut Boegel, vice president and general manger of Cloos Robotic Welding. "Together with Praxair, we look forward to providing even better service to many more customers in this important market."

Based in Schaumburg, Illinois, Cloos Robotic Welding provides turnkey system solutions for robot welding. Its parent company, Carl Cloos Scheweisstechnik Gmbh in Haiger, Germany, has been a family business for more than 80 years, with subsidiaries in Great Britain, USA, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and China.

Praxair Distribution and its subsidiaries and distributors deliver a large array of industrial and specialty gases, equipment and supplies, technical expertise, and services to thousands of customers in the United States and Canada. With hundreds of locations throughout North America, Praxair provides differentiated product and service offerings that help customers achieve their objectives faster, better and at lower total cost. For more information on Praxair's offerings to the metal fabrication industry, visit www.praxair.com/metalfab.

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.