(openPR) - On 2 May 2011, Messer Austria acquired the gas business of Sapio Gase GmbH.

Messer Austria, the Austrian subsidiary of Messer, the largest privately run specialist for industrial gases, intends to consolidate its market position in Upper Austria through its purchase of the gas business of Sapio Gase GmbH. The transaction was completed on 2 May 2011. Sapio Gase, a subsidiary of SAPIO, an Italian company, has a strong presence in the in-dustrial sector there.

‘Through our takeover of Sapio Gase GmbH, we anticipate a strengthening of our market position in Upper Austria, a region of considerable impor-tance to the gas business in Austria generally. At the same time, this ac-quisition enables us to achieve a greater range of supply and a useful ad-dition to our regional presence’, notes Michael Beck, Managing Director Messer Austria. With the takeover of Sapio Gase, among other things Messer acquires the customer base of some 1,400 customers for bottled gas, for the most part metal-processing operations and small commercial operations.

Messer expands in Eastern Europe

Thus far, Messer has a total of 20 air separation plants in central and south-eastern Europe, five of them still in the construction stage. During the past year, 2,359 employees generated sales of EUR 363 million in this region. In Austria, Messer Austria has seven locations of its own and mar-kets bottled gases through 74 gas centres.

Messer is one of the leading industrial gas companies, and is active in over 30 countries in Europe and Asia, as well as Peru, with over 60 operating companies. Its international activities are managed from Frankfurt am Main, whilst management of core technical functions – logistics, engineering, production and applications engineering – is undertaken from Krefeld. In 2010, 5,288 employees generated consolidated sales of € 909 million.

From acetylene to xenon, the Messer Group has one of the most diverse product portfolios on the market – it produces industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, shielding gases for welding, specialty gases, medical gases and many different gas mixtures.

The Messer Group has state-of-the-art research and competence centers in which it develops applied technologies for the use of gases in almost every sector of industry, in food technology and environmental technology, medicine as well as research and science.

Messer Group GmbH
Vice President
Corporate Communications
Diana Buss
Gahlingspfad 31
47803 Krefeld

Phone: +49 (0) 2151 7811-251
Fax: +49 (0) 2151 7811-598
Email: diana.buss@messergroup.com
www.messergroup.com