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Air Products history
Air Products company history timeline
By 1940, Pool and Pavlis had a functioning generator.
The company was founded by Leonard Parker Pool in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, PA.“
Public Company Incorporated: 1940 as Industrial Gas Equipment Co.
Air Products leases its first oxygen gas generator to a small Detroit steel company in 1941.
In 1944, Air Products moves to Chattanooga, Tennessee and produces 240 oxygen generators for the armed forces and for "lend-lease" to foreign allies.
In 1945, Air Products secures a contract with Weirton Steel Company in West Virginia to lease three generators that produce six tons per day of oxygen.
In the mid-1950’s Air Products gained an opportunity from the launching of the first Sputnik, which American scientists surmised was powered by liquid hydrogen.
With the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Air Products wins the competition to make a new rocket propellant – liquid hydrogen – for the Air Force and later NASA at the legendary "three bears" plants.
In 1957, Air Products enters the international market for industrial gases through Air Products (Great Britain), Ltd., a joint venture with the Butterley Company.
In 1960, company founder Leonard Parker Pool is featured on the cover of Business Week.
In the 1960’s oxygen-fired furnaces became more popular for steel-making than older, hearth-style furnaces, and this increased oxygen consumption.
Air Products could not sustain the phenomenal growth it experienced in the 1960’s, but each year its sales and profits increased at least 9% in bad years and over 20% in good ones.
In 1961, Air Products begins manufacturing chemicals through a joint venture to convert refinery by-products into oxo-alcohols for use in producing plasticizers.
The diversification of Air Products into chemicals began in 1962 with the company's purchase of Houdry Chemicals and, later, Air Company, a specialty chemical company.
In 1962, the company acquires the Houdry Process Company and its subsidiary, the Catalytic Construction Company.
Air Products stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time in 1962 as its sales pass $100 million.
In 1969, Air Products purchased Escambia Chemicals, paying a cash price well below its market value.
The company's position in chemicals expands with the 1969 acquisition of Escambia Chemical Corporation, a United States company in Pensacola, Florida.
Despite the disappointment of the synfuel project, Air Products sales grew an average of 20% per year throughout the 1970’s.
In the 1970’s, when three employees died from PVC induced cancer, Air Products periodically tested 492 other workers at two plants for possible exposure.
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Air Products competitors
Company Name  | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airgas | 1982 | $5.3B | 18,000 | 426 |
| DuPont | 1802 | $13.0B | 34,000 | 378 |
| Eastman | 1920 | $10.6B | 14,500 | 198 |
| The Dow Chemical Company | 1897 | $56.9B | 54,000 | 103 |
| BP America Inc | 1909 | $183.5B | 70,100 | 37 |
| Calpine | 1984 | $10.1B | 2,256 | 102 |
| Marathon Petroleum | 2009 | $178.2B | 43,800 | 547 |
| ConocoPhillips | 2002 | $81.1B | 10,400 | 20 |
Air Products history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Air Products, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Air Products. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Air Products. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Air Products. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Air Products and its employees or that of Zippia.
Air Products may also be known as or be related to Air Products, Air Products & Chemicals, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., Air Products and Chemicals, Air Products and Chemicals Inc, Air Products and Chemicals Inc. and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.