(Archived) Praxair Names Phillips North East U.S. Division General Manager

DANBURY, Conn., March 10, 2006 — Praxair Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) has named Bob Phillips to the position of North East U.S. Division General Manager reporting to Pat Heffernan, vice president and general manager. Phillips was formerly Director of Safety, Environmental and Engineering Services.

"Bob brings a very strong and broad-based knowledge of safety, management and engineering to this position," said Heffernan. "I am confident his experience and leadership will help our North East Division's highly skilled sales and operations teams consistently exceed customer expectations while achieving our growth and profitability goals for 2006 and beyond."

"Praxair Distribution's North East U.S. Division was created by merging our East Coast and Eastern Great Lakes Divisions," said Heffernan. "The geography now covered includes a wide range of customers. I am confident Bob and his division team will provide superior customer service to aggressively compete in this critical marketplace and win additional business for Praxair."

Before joining Praxair in 2002, Phillips was General Manager, Electronic Materials Operations for BOC Edwards in Medford, Oregon. Phillips worked for BOC for 14 years in engineering, marketing technical support and operations. Phillips began his career in the packaged gas industry in 1986 as Plant Supervisor for Union Carbide in North Royalton, Ohio, which is now part of Praxair Distribution's North East Division.

Phillips holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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.