(Archived) Praxair Establishes Praxair Distributor Council

DANBURY, Conn., May 10, 2004 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today announced the formation of its Praxair Distributor Council. The objective of the new council is to advise the company in developing business strategies that will allow long-term sustainable gas products growth for both Praxair and its distributor network. The new council consists of representatives from Praxair’s senior management and six independent distributors selected by Praxair.

“Praxair is the only fully integrated gas supplier that offers a complete line of bulk and cylinder industrial, medical and specialty gases,” said Brian Eastep, Praxair’s vice president of independent distributors, North American Industrial Gases. “The independent distributors are an important part of Praxair’s channel to market and key to its overall channel strategy for growth. Accordingly, the council will focus on the development and implementation of mutually profitable programs, such as shared marketing, and will serve as a two-way communication conduit.”

“Through this initiative, we hope to provide an open forum for productive discussions and innovative ideas to grow,” Eastep added. “By listening to each other, we can maximize opportunities to improve sales and revenue and, ultimately, show continuous improvement toward the goal of long-term financial success.”

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.