(Archived) Praxair Names Byers to Lead New Division

DANBURY, Conn., February 9, 2006 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) has appointed Steve Byers to lead the integration of the businesses and employees of Constar LLC into the newly created Southern Division of Praxair Distribution, Inc. Byers has been named division general manager of the Southern Division. He was formerly Central California Division general manager.

Constar LLC of Norcross, Georgia, and its affiliates were acquired by Praxair, December 31, 2005. They join 14 other divisions and three joint venture companies that now make up Praxair Distribution.

Steve Byers is one of Praxair's experienced and successful leaders, with a proven track record of profitably developing new markets and products," said Wayne Yakich, president of Praxair Distribution, Inc. "Constar is a strong business, and I expect Steve to integrate Constar's strengths with those of the existing Praxair businesses to enhance the new Southern Division's product and service offerings to our customers."

Byers said, "We look forward to providing industrial, medical, and specialty gas customers with a more comprehensive array of packaged gases, welding equipment and supplies as a result of the products and services the Constar acquisition brings to our business."

Praxair Distribution, Inc. and its subsidiaries and distributors deliver a wide 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 2005 sales of $7.7 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