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W
hat is the history of Air Liquide in
Russia?
The Air Liquide Group went through
two phases in Russia: we first developed
the sale of equipment through our
engineering department, starting in
1989, which enabled us to sell several
industrial gas production plants in
Russia.
In 2005, we signed our first long-term
gas supply contract with Severstal for
the Cherepovets site, on which the
largest plant for separation of air
gases for the steel industry was built
(3,000 tonnes per day) and then
another plant was built in 2012 with a
capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day. In
2007, Air Liquide staff members star-
ted to operate the Cherepovets plant
and supply industrial gases and asso-
ciated services to our local customers.
Since 2007, Air Liquide has invested
more than 380 million euros in Russia
to develop fifteen industrial sites
of all sizes that are mainly located
West of the Urals, in the regions of
Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny
Novgorod, Tatarstan, etc. Our plants
mainly produce air gases (oxygen,
nitrogen and argon).
Could you tell us about your fields of
expertise?What are theprofiles of your
customers?
Air Liquide has developed its activities
in Russia around its traditional profes-
sions: Major Industry (Chemicals,
Petrochemical Industry and Metals),
Industrial Merchant, Health and
Electronics. With more than 500 staff
members in the country, we are investing
in the country for the long term.
What makes industrial gases interesting
is that they are required for all the
sectors of activities, such as agri-food,
metalworking, glass manufacturing,
the automobile industry, health and
electronics (semi-conductors and
solar panels). We sell innovative services
and gas to industrial companies and
medical stakeholders.
In Major Industry, our customers
especially operate in the oil and gas
industry, steel, chemicals and glass
production.
We have more than 1,500 customers
that operate in the industrial merchant
business sectors, to which we supply
gas, for example the retailer Auchan
for transforming meat and to other
customers for optimizing food preser-
vation. We also work for the pharma-
ceutical industry, the construction
sector, welding, etc. Air Liquide also
supplies gases and special products
to major Russian electronics compa-
nies and is developing in the Health
Sector by selling medical oxygen to
hospitals.
We are also strengthening our activities
in the oil and gas industry in order to
supply local solutions in production
areas that are far from traditional oil
and gas regions: gas for inerting and
intensifying oil wells, special mixtures
Air Liquide is the world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and
health. The company has been operating in Russia since 1989 and is one of the
leaders of the Russian industrial gas market today, thanks to its 15 industrial sites
located in strategic regions.
Bruno PONSON,
General Manager of Air Liquide Russia
©DR
A well-established industrial
gas specialist
RUSSIA - FRANCE
©DR
