GLOBAL OPERATIONS
Air Products is headquartered in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and conducts business in over 40 countries outside the United States. The company has majority or wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries that operate in Canada, 17 European countries (principal administrative offices in Hersham, UK and Hattingen, Germany), 10 Asian countries (principal administrative offices in Singapore and Hong Kong) and four Latin American countries. Air Products also has interests in entities operating in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
OWNERSHIP
Founded in 1940, Air Products is a Delaware corporation and is traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Over 85% of Air Products’ common shares are held by institutional investors. At the close of business on December 31, 2008, there were 209,653,292 shares of Air Products common stock outstanding.
| Organizational Scale (fiscal 2008 year-end) |
| Employees: |
21,100, of whom approximately 11,600 were located outside the U.S. |
| Sales: |
$10,415 million |
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| Capitalization: |
Total assets
Total debt, continuing operations
Shareholders’ equity |
$12,571 million
$3,967 million
$5,031 million |
| Production sites: |
>600 production facilities worldwide, supplying merchant gases, tonnage gases, electronics and performance materials, and equipment |
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING 2008
- Sold interest in vinyl acetate ethylene polymers joint ventures
- Completed sale of Polymers Emulsions business
- Sold High Purity Process Chemicals (HPPC) business
- Board authorized management to pursue the sale of the U.S. Healthcare business
The U.S. Healthcare, Polymer Emulsions, and HPPC businesses have been accounted for as discontinued operations. The company reports earnings under four business segments: Merchant Gases; Tonnage Gases; Electronics and Performance Materials; and Equipment and Energy. |
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