Praxair Inc. said first-quarter sales were bolstered by strong energy and manufacturing activity in North America, though demand globally from semiconductor makers remains soft.
Praxair is among the world”™s largest suppliers of industrial and medical gases, with some 400 people at its Danbury headquarters. In the first quarter, Praxair sales were up 5 percent from a year ago to $2.8 billion, with North America sales up 6 percent to $1.4 billion. Praxair”™s profits were up 7 percent to $419 million.
Praxair Surface Technologies, which provides coatings for jet engines and energy drilling equipment, saw sales rise 8 percent to $169 million.
During the quarter, Praxair sold a unit to Fremont, Calif.-based FM Industries Inc. that makes electrostatic chucks (ESC) for chip processing equipment, with ESCs using the attraction of opposite charges to “clamp” wafer substrates in place for micro-fabrication processes.
The companies did not disclose financial terms except to say the unit had $28 million in revenue last year. FM picks up 70 employees who work in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and in Phoenix.
Also during the quarter, Praxair acquired an industrial gas business in Russia from SIBUR-Russian Tyres, now known as Cordiant.
