A decade of joining forces: Air Liquide and Airgas integrated strength in the U.S.

A U.S. foothold that has become one of the Group's primary growth driver

The integration of Airgas has been instrumental in reinforcing Air Liquide’s geographic footprint in the Americas. The Group’s customer base has since doubled in the U.S., propelling the country to become its largest market.

Matthieu Giard, Group Vice President overseeing operations in the Americas, highlights the business and strategic impact of this synergy: "Ten years after the acquisition of Airgas, North America stands as one of the Group’s most dynamic regions, a testament to the sheer effectiveness of the Airgas model and our strategic alignment. This landmark integration gave Air Liquide an unmatched local footprint across the United States, which today represents more than 70% of our sales in the Americas and nearly 30% of sales globally."

This success validates a broader growth strategy that the Group continues to replicate worldwide. "Acquisitions are a key driver of Air Liquide’s growth strategy, and this success story is one of its finest examples,” adds Matthieu Giard. “Moving forward, the Group maintains this momentum through a balanced approach: securing major milestones like the recent DIG Airgas acquisition in South Korea, while simultaneously multiplying smaller, tactical investments. These are essential to reinforcing our local density, as demonstrated by the dozen bolt-ons made in 2025, particularly to support Airgas’ growth in the U.S."

Ten years after the acquisition of Airgas, North America stands as one of the Group’s most dynamic regions.

Territorial density and customer culture: the resilience of a unique model

The operational strength of Airgas lies in its strong local presence. Driven by 18,000 employees across 1,400 locations, the entity relies on an omnichannel sales strategy that combines a best-in-class digital e-commerce platform with a strong focus on the customer, ensuring supply chain resilience for its diverse customer base.

For Marcelo Fioranelli, CEO of Airgas, the journey has redefined industry standards: "Reflecting on the 10 years since Airgas joined Air Liquide, it is remarkable to see how this combination has redefined our industry by combining the strength of a global industrial group with deep local agility and customer intimacy driven by an entrepreneurial, service-oriented culture."

Despite the passage of time, the commitments made at the time of the merger remain unchanged. "Throughout our decade-long journey since the merger, we have stayed true to the focus stated in our 2016 letter to shareholders: ‘The purpose of our business is to take care of our customers, to meet or exceed their requirements, and to help them be successful in their businesses.’ For sectors where seamless operations, reputation, and performance carry immense stakes, Airgas is a key ally our customers cannot do without. Today, this unique model allows us to support customers from construction to long-term operations across critical growth sectors—including space and power generation—ensuring flawless local operational support, from maintenance and specialty gases to total supply security. In the healthcare sector in particular, this allows us to support the growth of our customers in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and medical care sectors," notes Marcelo Fioranelli.

This combination has redefined our industry by combining the strength of a global industrial group with deep local agility and customer intimacy.

Navigating transformations through an integrated model

The U.S. industrial landscape is currently undergoing major energy and manufacturing transitions, driven by reshoring, significant investment programs that are stimulating growth—particularly in the semiconductor sector—and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. In this environment, the demand for highly reliable industrial gas supply networks has never been more critical.

This is where the synergy between Air Liquide’s industrial infrastructure and Airgas’ supply chain excels, as explained by Adam Peters, CEO of Air Liquide North America: “This profound shift requires robust industrial gas supply networks, and this is precisely where our unique integrated model comes into its own. The success of our growth rests on the strong synergy between our capabilities: Air Liquide brings a world-class industrial infrastructure recently strengthened by large investments in ultra-pure gas production facilities for the manufacturing of cutting-edge chips, as well as by the development of strategic projects in the U.S. Gulf Coast, a major industrial basin. We also leverage state-of-the-art technologies and advanced R&D, while Airgas brings a complementary offering of bulk gases, packaged gases, and hardgoods, supported by an unmatched local distribution network.”

A decade after Airgas and Air Liquide joined forces, this “perfect alliance” is now more than ever a leading player in the U.S.: “By combining our strengths, we can respond to evolving demand and support our customers throughout their value chain, reduce logistical complexity, and ensure seamless business continuity. Ultimately, it is this ability to leverage our combined network to guarantee large-scale supply that makes us the leader in the U.S. industrial gas market,” concludes Matthieu Giard.