Air Products Reaches Microbulk Solutions Milestone with 10,000th Installation

Air Products (NYSE: APD) achieved a milestone in May with the 10,000th customer installation of its innovative Microbulk Solutions for small volume industrial gas customers. The installation of Microbulk Solutions at a customer manufacturing facility located in Georgia marked the achievement of the global product offering first introduced in the United States in 2005, and offered in Europe prior to 1990. Microbulk Solutions is a novel gas supply and services option that provides the most technically-advanced and cost-effective alternative to traditional cylinder gas packaging in the marketplace.

“Microbulk delivery service and on-site storage and blending systems are very popular and have reached the 10,000th installation because the offering brings the advantages of bulk supply to operations with less than traditional bulk delivery volumes. At the 10,000th installation, Microbulk was the answer for our customer’s argon needs for vacuum furnaces. Whether it is argon or nitrogen for heat-treating furnace atmospheres, nitrogen or oxygen for laser-assist gases, or argon and argon blends for weld shielding, Microbulk supply can mean efficient, economical and reliable supply for small-volume users,” said John Tapley, Microbulk business development manager at Air Products.

Air Products’ Microbulk Solutions has had an impact for several markets including metals processing, biotechnology, foods, electronics and healthcare industries, and for applications with relatively small volume gas requirements. The service appeals to small-volume customers by virtually eliminating cylinder handling and reducing the number of product deliveries.

Microbulk tank trucks provide fast fills into storage tanks that are designed to offer customers a range of flexible supply options. They feature automatic fill shut-off devices; computer telemetry that remotely monitors tank levels, or programmable digital liquid level gauges to help customers monitor their inventory; and tanks with enhanced thermal qualities to limit product loss during periods of little or no use. Microbulk Solutions provide a much simplified supply chain option over the former gas supply practice of many industries’ processing operations that historically relied on high-pressure cylinders and dewars―a labor-intensive approach often resulting in wasted residual gas and the potential for interrupted supply, cross-contamination and safety issues.