Leading industrial-gas company Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD) recently announced that it will showcase its PolarFit cryogenic solutions at the forthcoming NPE Expo scheduled to be held in Orlando, Florida, from April 1-5. PolarFit is used for grinding, deflashing, process cooling and inerting.
The company will feature, at the NPE Expo, the PolarFit ultra-fine-grinding mill, a versatile grinding system, which breaks hard-to-grind materials into smaller particle sizes in a cost-effective manner.
The mill is designed for cryogenic size reduction of a vast spectrum of materials including nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, pigments, plastics and power coatings. It leverages multiple size reduction mechanisms to deliver consistent yield of particles between 45 and 240 microns, and sometimes, as small as 10 microns.
The PolarFit ultra-fine-grinding mill effectively uses liquid nitrogen to remove heat generated in the grinding process by controlling the temperature of the product or the mill. The benefits of this includes ultra-fine particle size, more uniform particle distribution, higher yields of particles in target range, enhanced product quality and lower production costs.
Air Products, which had sales of $10.1 billion in 2011, offers industrial gases as well as a variety of polymer and performance chemicals and serves technology, energy, industrial and health care customers globally. The company competes with Praxair Inc. (PX) among others.
Air Product’s industrial gas-based technologies and process improvement solutions help manufacturers boost production rates, improve product quality, safety and efficiency while reducing overall operational costs. The company’s state-of-the-art lab in Allentown, Pennsylvania, offers manufacturers access to the latest testing equipment and services, which helps in determining the feasibility of using cryogenics in their production process and improve throughput and quality while minimizing costs.
Air Products benefits from a long-term take-or-pay contract, a consolidated industry structure, diverse customer base and sustained pricing power. However, soaring energy and raw material costs pose a threat to margin expansion. To compensate for rising raw material costs, Air Products has been increasing the price for a range of chemicals it makes for industrial use.
The company envisions better operating performance and new plant on-streams to boost sales and earnings in the back half of 2012. It also expects accelerated growth across Asia and North America in the second half of the year. We are currently Neutral on Air Products. The stock currently holds a short-term Zacks #4 Rank (Sell).
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