Feb. 2007 — An international partnership formed by Praxair, Air Liquide and ThyssenKrupp Minergy has signed a 20-year agreement to supply industrial gases to ThyssenKrupp CSA Companhia Siderúrgica, a joint venture between the German group ThyssenKrupp Steel AG and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.

ThyssenKrupp CSA plans to construct the first new steel mill to be built in Brazil since 1986. The $3.5-billion facility, which will begin operations in early 2009, is expected to produce five million tonnes of steel plates annually. It will be located in the district of Santa Cruz on the west side of Rio de Janeiro.

For the new steel production facility, the partnership will build an air separation plant consisting of two cryogenic units with the capacity to produce 3,000 tonnes/day of industrial gases, primarily oxygen. The facility will also supply blast-furnace air and compressed dry air for the steel complex.

The partnership is comprised of White Martins, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. and the largest industrial gases producer in Brazil; Air Liquide, an international industrial gases company; and ThyssenKrupp Minergy, a subsidiary of the ThyssenKrupp group, which focuses on supply and logistics in the fields of minerals, energy, coke and coal.

Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings.