Air Products Chemicals

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, extended its $60-a-share tender offer for Airgas Inc., Radnor, for the second time, moving the deadline to Aug. 13 from June 4.    - Harold Brubaker

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it bought Poly-Flow Engineering L.L.C. from Ktech Corp. for an undisclosed amount. PFE, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M., and has 100 employees, makes equipment used to clean semiconductor-manufacturing machines. It also provides equipment for the medical, optical fiber and solar industries. Air Products sells specialty gases for the energy, technology and health-care industries.    - Jingwen Hu

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it is raising prices for the fifth time in less than seven months on lines of its surfactants. The increase, effective June 15, is for up to 10 cents a pound. Although the company did not give a reason for the latest increase, it cited rising raw-material costs in the previous announcements. Surfactants are wetting agents used in paints, coatings, inks and adhesives.    - Paul Schweizer

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it will begin a new $1 billion stock repurchase program just as it completed buybacks for the same amount. The final portion of the first program was $299 million in repurchases made during the summer quarter. The company, a distributor of industrial gases, said it had 210 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 31. The stock lost 78 cents on Monday to close at $81.58, down from a 52-week high in July of $97.79.     -Paul Schweizer

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, today forecast that its revenue would grow by 11 percent to 13 percent a year over the next four years - making it a $15 billion-a-year company by 2015. In its fiscal 2010, which ended last September, Air Products' revenue was $9.0 billion. The revenue forecast was made at an investor conference by John McGlade, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, and was based, he said, on its strength in the energy and environmental fields and in emerging markets around the world.

Edward M. Phillips, 73, of West Mount Airy, a chemical engineer and educator, died of heart failure March 25 at Chestnut Hill Hospital. A native of Camden, Dr. Phillips earned a bachelor's degree from Lafayette College and a master's degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. He later earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. From 1959 to 1972, Dr. Phillips was a research engineer with Arco in Philadelphia and a project engineer with Esso in Florham Park, N.J. For two years, he was an associate professor in chemical engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

In the Region Hydraulics acquisition Airline Hydraulics Corp. , an employee-owned company in Bensalem, has acquired Fluid Power Service Corp. , a provider of hydraulic system design and machinery located near Buffalo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The 60-year-old Airline Hydraulics, which distributes fluid power and automation products, said the acquisition will add 45 Fluid Power employees, bringing its total workforce to about 300. - Mike Armstrong New hospital wing Chestnut Hill Hospital , owned by the for-profit Community Health Systems Inc. , is opening a $40 million expansion on Monday.

Looking to increase its operations in South America, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., of Allentown, said Tuesday that it agreed to pay $884 million to buy a 67 percent stake in Indura S.A., which is based in Santiago, Chile. Air Products had two regional headquarters in Europe and three in Asia, but this move expands the South American presence, which previously took the form of subsidiaries in Brazil and Argentina and a joint venture in Mexico. "Air Products' investment in Indura continues our strategy to expand our global presence in high-growth regions with strong local partners," John E. McGlade, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Air Products, said in a statement.

Peter McCausland is stepping aside as president and chief executive of Airgas Inc., the Radnor company he founded 30 years ago, built into the largest of its kind, and steered through a high-profile takeover fight that ended 14 months ago, the company said Thursday. After Airgas's shareholder meeting in August, McCausland, 62, will become executive chairman and Michael L. Molinini, 61, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be promoted to president and CEO. The move is a key step in leadership transition at Airgas, but McCausland will retain significant power in his new position and in his continued role as chairman of the company's management committee.

In the Region Hydraulics acquisition Airline Hydraulics Corp. , an employee-owned company in Bensalem, has acquired Fluid Power Service Corp. , a provider of hydraulic system design and machinery located near Buffalo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The 60-year-old Airline Hydraulics, which distributes fluid power and automation products, said the acquisition will add 45 Fluid Power employees, bringing its total workforce to about 300. - Mike Armstrong New hospital wing Chestnut Hill Hospital , owned by the for-profit Community Health Systems Inc. , is opening a $40 million expansion on Monday.

Looking to increase its operations in South America, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., of Allentown, said Tuesday that it agreed to pay $884 million to buy a 67 percent stake in Indura S.A., which is based in Santiago, Chile. Air Products had two regional headquarters in Europe and three in Asia, but this move expands the South American presence, which previously took the form of subsidiaries in Brazil and Argentina and a joint venture in Mexico. "Air Products' investment in Indura continues our strategy to expand our global presence in high-growth regions with strong local partners," John E. McGlade, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Air Products, said in a statement.

Peter McCausland is stepping aside as president and chief executive of Airgas Inc., the Radnor company he founded 30 years ago, built into the largest of its kind, and steered through a high-profile takeover fight that ended 14 months ago, the company said Thursday. After Airgas' shareholder meeting in August, McCausland, 62, will become executive chairman, and Michael L. Molinini, 61, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be promoted to president and CEO. The move is a key step in leadership transition at Airgas, but McCausland, a prominent Philadelphia-area businessman who is on the boards of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Independence Seaport Museum, will retain significant power in his new position and in his continued role as chairman of the company's management committee.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it will begin a new $1 billion stock repurchase program just as it completed buybacks for the same amount. The final portion of the first program was $299 million in repurchases made during the summer quarter. The company, a distributor of industrial gases, said it had 210 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 31. The stock lost 78 cents on Monday to close at $81.58, down from a 52-week high in July of $97.79.     -Paul Schweizer

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it bought Poly-Flow Engineering L.L.C. from Ktech Corp. for an undisclosed amount. PFE, which is based in Albuquerque, N.M., and has 100 employees, makes equipment used to clean semiconductor-manufacturing machines. It also provides equipment for the medical, optical fiber and solar industries. Air Products sells specialty gases for the energy, technology and health-care industries.    - Jingwen Hu

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, today forecast that its revenue would grow by 11 percent to 13 percent a year over the next four years - making it a $15 billion-a-year company by 2015. In its fiscal 2010, which ended last September, Air Products' revenue was $9.0 billion. The revenue forecast was made at an investor conference by John McGlade, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, and was based, he said, on its strength in the energy and environmental fields and in emerging markets around the world.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, said it is raising prices for the fifth time in less than seven months on lines of its surfactants. The increase, effective June 15, is for up to 10 cents a pound. Although the company did not give a reason for the latest increase, it cited rising raw-material costs in the previous announcements. Surfactants are wetting agents used in paints, coatings, inks and adhesives.    - Paul Schweizer

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. on Thursday increased its offer for Airgas Inc. to $5.3 billion in cash from $5 billion, saying it wanted to build shareholder support ahead of a key date in the takeover fight. Airgas shareholders of record on July 19 will have the right to vote for a competing slate of directors and other measures at the company's annual meeting, which is expected to take place no later than Sept. 17. Air Products of Allentown, a major producer of hydrogen and other industrial gases used in a wide range of industries, nominated three directors who would replace, among others, Airgas founder and chief executive Peter McCausland.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, extended its $60-a-share tender offer for Airgas Inc., Radnor, for the second time, moving the deadline to Aug. 13 from June 4.    - Harold Brubaker