ALLENTOWN, PA (November 30, 1993) -- Air Products, PLC, a subsidiary of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., has completed a new electronics specialty gas facility in Keumiee, southern Belgium that will begin serving customers in January 1994. The state-of-the-art facility replaces an existing Air Products facility and is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe. It will provide ultrahigh-purity (UHP) specialty gases to meet the increasingly stringent purity specifications of European semiconductor manufacturers. Designed so that it can be expanded in the future, the new facility also will enable Air Products to meet increased market demand for the company's broad line of electronic specialty gases. The Keumiee facility, a similar facility in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, and a third electronics specialty gas facility under construction in Tsukuba, Japan are part of Air Products' previously announced $250 million global electronics initiative.

Employing the most stringent purity specifications for a facility of its kind, the Keumiee plant features the latest technologies for computerized order tracking, cylinder preparation and treatment, fill, gas mixing, analytical instrumentation, and disposal. For example, the facility will utilize innovative cylinder preparation and treatment technology to virtually eliminate particles and moisture outgassing from its electronics specialty gas cylinders. In addition, all production rooms at the new facility are built to Class 10 cleanroom standards and an advanced SPC/SQC program for in-process and final product qualification will allow statistical verification of low particle, moisture, and other gas contaminant levels.

At a recent dedication of the new facility, Arthur T. Katsaros, vice president and general manager of Air Products' Electronics Division, said, "UHP electronic specialty gases supplied from the rigorous contamination control protocols practiced at Keumiee underscore Air Products' commitment to consistently supply the European electronics industry with the highest product quality available in the industry." Katsaros continued, "This new facility also positions us to meet increased market demand for our electronic specialty gases." He noted that worldwide sales of Air Products' specialty gases to the electronics industry have doubled in the last five years, making Air Products a leading worldwide supplier of electronic specialty gases.

In addition to electronic specialty gases, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. supplies a complete range of bulk gases, gas handling equipment, and operating services to the industry. The company combines this broad scope of supply and proven performance in its MEGASYS™ service approach which can cover virtually every aspect of point-of-use ultrahigh-purity gas supply, including design, installation, operation and technology development of all gas supply systems. In addition to offering chemical reprocessing, gas-to-chemical generation, and wafer reclamation services, Air Products is a principal producer of liquid dopants and CVD precursors.

If you have a general question or comment about Air Products, please click on "tell me more," below.