Airgas history

McCausland started his industrial gas business in 1982, when he bought his first gas distributor for $5 million.

In December 1986 Airgas made an initial public offering of stock, raising $5.5 million.

In September 1987 a secondary offering raised $20 million.

By January 1991 Airgas completed a total of 111 acquisitions and sales exceeded $300 million.

As an incentive to local success McCausland offered managers stock in the subsidiaries they operated; in 1992 the stock could be exchanged for Airgas stock based on the subsidiary's contribution to profits.

Already the largest producer of acetylene gas nationwide, Airgas in late 1993 began construction on an acetylene gas production facility to fulfill a $15 million contract to supply Dow Corning with the gas via pipeline to that company's Midland, Michigan, plant.

In the fiscal year ending March 31, 1996, the company reported sales of $838.1 million.

The spring 1997 acquisition of American Dry Ice increased the company's market share of liquid carbon dioxide and added dry ice to its product list.

Features of the web site, launched in 1998, allowed prequalified buyers to browse the catalog, place orders, and check the status of shipments and accounts.

In early 2000 Airgas signed a five-year agreement to provide safety supplies to Boeing manufacturing facilities nationwide.

In March 2001, one year after Airgas introduced 30-pound and 112-pound cylinders of chlorofluorocarbon and hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant, Greyhound Lines signed a two-year agreement to purchase air conditioning refrigerant for its fleet of 2,400 buses.

In October 2002 the company launched its line of seven Gold Gas Premium Shielding Gases.

In June 2005, Airgas, Inc. acquired LaRoche Industries.

In October 2009, John McGlade, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Products, a competing concern, privately asked McCausland whether he'd be interested in merging the two companies.

In November 2015, Airgas agreed to be acquired by France’s Air Liquide for a total of $13.4 billion.

The acquisition was finalized and announced on May 23, 2016 and Airgas is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Liquide.