INOX Air Products Joint Venture in India Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary

Air Products (NYSE:APD) joint venture (JV) in India today marked a major milestone as INOX Air Products Pvt Ltd. celebrates 20 successful years of business in India. The milestone marks one of the longest-lasting Indo-American JVs in India. The achievement comes at a time when the JV recently brought onstream the first of six liquefiers which will serve the growing onsite and merchant liquid industrial gases market in India.  

“I am exceptionally proud to celebrate this 20-year anniversary with our partners, the Jain Family.  INOX Air Products is one of our company’s most successful joint ventures.  We have had a thriving presence in India for two decades and the future prospects, for both the JV and Air Products, are very encouraging with the projected growth of the economy in the country, and along with it the increased use of industrial gases,” said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Air Products.

“It has been truly an exciting journey working with our partners at Air Products, having grown INOX Air Products significantly over the past 20 years by leveraging our combined strengths. As India becomes the world’s fastest growing economy, the future holds great potential for the JV as we continue to invest in expanding our network capacity to support the growing manufacturing sector,” said Pavan Jain, Chairman and Managing Director at INOX Air Products.

The anniversary is highlighted by the JV’s current project, which entails bringing on six industrial gas liquefiers to serve the growing onsite and merchant liquid industrial gas market in India.  The first liquefier is already onstream and the remaining five will be brought onstream over the next year. The six plants, with a $100 million-plus combined investment, will have a total production capacity of over 1,200 metric tonnes per day (TPD) of liquid product.

The partnership started in 1999 when Air Products acquired a 50 percent equity stake in Industrial Oxygen Company Ltd. and became an equal joint venture partner with the Jain Family. Through a series of strategic acquisitions that began in the year 2000 and culminated in the year 2015 with that of ESSAR Steel’s 5,100 TPD air separation unit, the joint venture partnership quickly established leadership positions in the onsite, merchant and packaged gas businesses. 

Over the past two decades, INOX Air Products has continued to invest ahead of the curve by enhancing its capacity, geographical reach and technological capabilities thereby consolidating its position as one of the largest integrated industrial gases players with a national footprint. Throughout its history, INOX Air Products has earned a reputation for developing and growing leadership positions in the merchant industrial gases market in India and has continued to apply its engineering and technological know-how to deliver a wide portfolio of customized solutions for its diversified customer base.

Today, INOX Air Products has more than 40 operating locations and 1,200 employees throughout India and is one of largest manufacturers and suppliers of industrial and medical gases including: oxygen, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and specialty gas mixtures throughout the country. The company specializes in providing products, technologies and services to a vast cross-section of industries including the chemical, pharmaceutical, metals, steel, food, wastewater treatment, cement, glass, textiles, paint, medical and pulp and paper sectors, among other markets. It is also the largest supplier of gases to the healthcare segment nationally.