(Archived) Randy Kramer Named President of Praxair Europe

DANBURY, Conn., November 8, 2004 — Praxair Inc., (NYSE:PX) announced today that Randy S. Kramer, formerly senior vice president of sales, has been appointed president of Praxair Europe, effective January 1, 2005.

Kramer will succeed Alan Westendorf who is retiring at the end of 2004 after five years as head of Praxair’s European operations and a total of 39 years with Praxair.

Announcing the appointment, Praxair’s executive vice president, Steve Angel, said: “Randy has held a wide range of management positions at Praxair, and his business acumen, global experience and customer focus will be vital in managing our expanded European operations.”

Angel noted that Kramer is currently working with Westendorf and a Praxair integration team in preparing for the recently announced planned purchase of industrial gases assets from Air Liquide in Germany. Subject to regulatory approval, this acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Following the acquisition, Praxair’s total annual sales in Europe will be approximately 830 million Euros, or about $1 billion. Praxair has major business activities in Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Benelux.

Kramer joined Praxair in 1979 and held positions in procurement, materials and business management, and sales before being named director, global account management in 1996. He was also vice president of global procurement and vice president of carbon dioxide products and services before being appointed senior vice president, sales in 2001.