1990 - 2010: Creation of Air Liquide Healthcare and acquisition strategy in the health sector That same year, it acquired SEPPIC, a French specialty chemicals company, as part of its activities in the healthcare sector. In 1986, Air Liquide expanded into the United States with the acquisition of Big Three for $1.05 billion, a US-based company with operations in many countries across Europe and Asia. In March 2014, the group announced its intentions to expand and modernize the center. In 1970, the company inaugurates the Claude-Delorme Research & Development Center, located in Les Loges-en-Josas (Yvelines) where over 250 researchers work in 35 laboratories, covering various research areas such as applied mathematics, clinical trials and process engineering. In 1962, Air Liquide launched its activities into the space industry. In the 1960s, the company acquired American Cryogenics, as well as several other American companies. In 1957, Air Liquide began its activity in the large industry and created networks of pipelines irrigating several large industrial basins in the world. This marked the beginning of the popularization of scuba diving.ġ950s: Large industries and Space research activities The same year, La Spirotechnique launched the CG45, the first modern diving regulator to be marketed. In 1946, Air Liquide founded La Spirotechnique, a design and marketing company for regulators and other diving equipment. In 1945, after the Second World War, Jean Delorme, the son of Paul Delorme and the second President of the Group, wanted to renovate and develop industrial tools. They were the first modern diving regulators. In 1943, under the aegis of engineer Émile Gagnan (an employee of Air Liquide) and Lieutenant-Commander ( ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Air Liquide manufactured scuba set prototypes that Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas used to shoot the underwater film Épaves (Shipwrecks), directed by Cousteau the same year. In 1938, Air Liquide acquired La oxígena S.A.and started its activities in Argentina. On February 20, 1913, the company was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.ġ930 - 1950: International development and innovations In 1906, Air Liquide began operations in Belgium and Italy, followed by Canada, Japan and Hong Kong. The company originally had a capital of 100,000 francs. On November 8, 1902, Paul Delorme gathered twenty-four subscribers, mainly engineers, to financially support the project, and became the first president of 'Air liquide, a company for the study and exploitation of Georges Claude processes'.

On May 25, 1902, and after two years of research, Georges Claude developed a process for liquefying air in order to separate the components (oxygen, nitrogen, argon).

History 1900 - 1930: Creation and introduction to the Paris Stock Exchange The major R&D groups within Air Liquide focus on analysis, bioresources (foods and chemicals), combustion, membranes, modeling, and the production of hydrogen (H 2) gas. The company's research and development ( R&D) targets the creation of industrial gases, and also gases that are used in products such as healthcare items, electronic chips, foods, and chemicals. It also has major sites in Japan, Houston, Newark, Delaware, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Dubai. Air Liquide owned the patent for Aqua-Lung until it expired.Īir Liquide's headquarters are in Paris. It has headquarters at the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is the second largest supplier of industrial gases by revenues and has operations in over 80 countries. ( / ˌ ɛər l ɪ ˈ k iː d/ AIR lih- KEED, French: literally ' liquid air') is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers.

Airgas liquid nitrogen