(Archived) Praxair Opens New Dry Ice Plant in Lamarque, Texas

DANBURY, Conn., March 22, 2004 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) today announced the startup of a new production and distribution facility of its UltraIce™ premium-quality dry ice in LaMarque, Texas, near Houston. Featuring state-of-the-art, automated equipment to produce, cut and wrap blocks, nuggets, rice and slices of dry ice, the plant is supplying a global airline caterer in Dallas, Texas, and the fast-growing needs of the local marketplace.

"Our location and large production capability will enable us to serve previously untouched dry ice markets at competitive prices," said Derek Castle, vice president of operations for Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. "When it comes to dry ice, we want to be the best company serving this important new growth segment."

Airline caterers use Praxair's UltraIce dry ice to refrigerate food and beverages stored in the airline serving carts. Other applications for dry ice include freezing and chilling for the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, blast cleaning, special foggy effects, and refrigeration for outdoor activities like camping, hunting and boating.

Praxair Distribution, Inc. 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.

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.