Praxair China Signs 15 Year Supply Deal With Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel

Praxair China Signs 15 Year Supply Deal With Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel

April 06, 2006

    GUANGZHOU, China, April 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Praxair China, a leading industrial gases supplier in
China, has entered into a new long-term agreement with
Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel Corp. (Lianzhong) for
the supply of oxygen, nitrogen and argon to its stainless
steel works, which is under construction in the Guangzhou
Economic and Technology Development Zone (GETDD).  

    Praxair China will build, own and operate a
state-of-the-art air separation plant due for commissioning
in the 4th quarter of 2006 to supply high volumes of
pipeline oxygen, nitrogen and argon to Lianzhong.  The
facility will provide a backup supply of merchant liquid
products to the local market.

    Invested by Taiwan-based Yieh United Steel Corp.
(YUSCO), one of the largest integrated stainless steel
mills in Southeast Asia and the world's 7th largest
stainless steel producer, Lianzhong is China's first
overseas-invested integrated stainless steel company.  It
will be the largest stainless producer in Southern China. 
The first phase of the project currently produces 300,000
tons per year of cold rolled stainless steel coils.  Phase
II, which will begin production in late 2006, will produce
800,000 tons of stainless steel slabs and hot rolled
coils.

    Commenting on this new development, Praxair China
President David Chow said, "This agreement is of great
importance for the company.  It reinforces our confidence in
the economic development of China.  With six air separation
units in Guangdong Province, Praxair will be the largest
industrial gases operator in the region and will provide
unequalled reliability to our customers.  The supply to
Lianzhong adds another leading industrial player to
Praxair's portfolio of customers.  It strengthens Praxair's
position as the top supplier to the leaders of Chinese
industry."

    About Praxair China

    Praxair China, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., is the
leading global industrial gases supplier in China, serving
a diverse group of industries through the production, sale,
distribution and value-added application of industrial
gases.  With over 1000 employees across the country,
Praxair China, headquartered in Shanghai, operates 13
wholly owned companies and 11 joint ventures.  More
information on Praxair China is available on the Internet
at http://www.praxair.com.cn .

    About Praxair

    With 27,000 employees and operations in 40 countries,
Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) is a global, Fortune 500 company. 
Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and
South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2005
sales of $7.7 billion.  The company produces, sells and
distributes atmospheric and process gases, and
high-performance surface coatings.  Praxair products,
services and technologies bring productivity and
environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries,
including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage,
electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and
others.  More information on Praxair is available on the
Internet at http://www.praxair.com .

    About Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel
Corporation

    Invested by Taiwan-based Yieh United Steel Corp,
Lianzhong (Guangzhou) Stainless Steel Corporation (LISCO)
is a large scale, modern integrated stainless steel
production enterprise approved by the State Council. 
Designed with the world's most advanced cutting edge
technology, LISCO will be the first and best-integrated
stainless steel manufacturer in the Southern China. The
plant will have melting shop, continuous slab caster, hot
strip mill and cold rolling mill.  LISCO Project meets the
strong demand of economic growth in the area and will keep
clean production method to protect the environment. Its
design has been granted as one of the Key Engineering
Projects of Guangdong Province in 2005 and also been listed
as the Encouraging Projects of State.

    About Yieh United Steel Corporation (YUSCO)

    Yieh United Steel Corporation (YUSCO) was founded in
December 1988.  With about 1,500 employees and the total
investment exceeds 40 billion N.T. Dollars, YUSCO is the
largest integrated stainless steel mill in Southeast Asia
and the world 7th largest stainless steel producer.  The
plant is located in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan. 

    For more information, please contact:

     Juno Chen, Praxair Asia, Media
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Praxair China