Cold Jet and Airgas Bring Environmentally Responsible Cleaning Technology to North American Industry

LOVELAND, OH and RADNOR, PA--(Marketwire - April 12, 2010) -  Cold Jet, LLC, and Airgas today announced a new strategic alliance between Cold Jet and Airgas' Red-D-Arc subsidiary to provide environmentally responsible turn-key cleaning solutions to service providers and manufacturing operations throughout North America.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to bring Cold Jet's innovative cleaning technology, in a uniform and comprehensive package, to companies throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico," said Gene Cooke, Cold Jet President and CEO. "While already embraced by many of the world's leading contract cleaners and manufacturers, Red-D-Arc's North American footprint, coupled with its ability to simultaneously provide an array of associated products and services through its Airgas affiliates, elevates this technology to a new level, easily accessible regardless of location, scope of cleaning project or access to a capital budget."

Adopted by a variety of industries, Cold Jet's dry ice blast cleaning systems use high-density dry ice made from reclaimed carbon dioxide as the cleaning medium and therefore provide a non-abrasive, non-conductive, chemical-free, water-free process with no secondary waste. Unique attributes have made this technology a cleaning, product finishing and quality best practice for a variety of industries.

• Food & Beverage Processing: Water-free process effectively cleans and decontaminates surfaces of E.Coli, Listeria and Salmonella.
• Manufacturing Lines: Allows hot, in-place cleaning of production lines and production molds without disassembly thereby reducing downtime and increasing product quality.
• Power Generation: Restores equipment to peak performance with minimal outage time.
• Disaster Remediation: Effectively cleans fire, water and smoke damage without water. Proven to kill 99% of mold spores when AAQP standards followed.
• Packaging & Printing: Effectively removes inks, glues and other adhesives. Provides the additional benefit of package decontamination for food, personal care and pharmaceuticals.

While most known for welder rentals, Red-D-Arc offers a complete portfolio of products for a variety of industries. "The Cold Jet dry ice cleaning systems are a perfect complement to our product line," said Mitch Imielinski, President of Red-D-Arc. "Now customers will have a one- stop shop for their cleaning solutions at any Red-D-Arc location -- a Cold Jet cleaning system, high-density dry ice, and other accessories with just one phone call, on one order, and at a competitive price. And, we have a particularly efficient supply chain with Airgas being the largest producer and wholesale distributor of dry ice in the U.S."

Red-D-Arc offers the cleaning systems as part of its Blasters Plus program. The Blasters Plus program provides customizable packages to include cleaning system, dry ice consumables and any needed accessories, including compressors and coolers, with flexible rental, rent-to-own or purchase terms. The Blasters Plus program is available at Red-D-Arc's North American facilities. For Red-D-Arc rental information, telephone 1-866-733-3272 or visit www.reddarc.com/iceblast.

About Cold Jet
Cold Jet is the world leader in developing innovative, environmentally responsible cleaning solutions that help companies reduce maintenance costs, enhance product quality, prolong equipment life, and improve productivity and worker safety. Cold Jet's extensive line of dry ice blasting systems are used in a variety of industries, making productive use of recycled carbon dioxide while eliminating the need for chemicals and water in the cleaning process. In addition to its dry ice-based cleaning systems, the company's dry ice production equipment is used by every major gas company worldwide to produce the highest density dry ice available. Cold Jet is a private company with global headquarters in Loveland, Ohio and international operations in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit www.coldjet.com or call 1-800-337-9423.

About Airgas and Red-D-Arc
Red-D-Arc Welderentals™, an Airgas company, is the largest provider of welding and welding-related rental products and services in North America, with over 50,000 units in our fleet. Started in 1955, Red-D-Arc became an Airgas company in 1995 and currently offers rental welding-equipment through over 50 service centers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as through Airgas Construction Stores, and a dealer network that includes the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Kazakhstan, and Australia. For more information, visit www.red-d-arc.com.

Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), through its subsidiaries, is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related hardgoods, such as welding supplies. Airgas is also the third-largest U.S. distributor of safety products, the largest U.S. producer of nitrous oxide and dry ice, the largest liquid carbon dioxide producer in the Southeast, and a leading distributor of process chemicals, refrigerants and ammonia products. More than 14,000 employees work in over 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also distributes its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information, visit www.airgas.com.

Contact Information:

For Cold Jet:
Kellie Grob, APR, (513) 716-6366