Airgas, Inc. Appoints Ronald J. Stark President of Airgas North Central Region.Business Editors RADNOR, Penn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2003 Airgas, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :ARG See argument. arg - argument ) has appointed Ronald J. Stark, formerly president of Chart Industries' Distribution and Storage Group, as president of its Airgas North Central region, one of 12 regional companies that make up Airgas' distribution business. Stark brings more than 18 years of experience in the industrial gas and equipment business with Chart; MVE MVE Murray Valley Encephalitis MVE Market Value of Equity MVE Midwest Vocal Express (barbershop chorus) MVE Mid Valley Engineering (Modesto, CA) MVE Modulo Variable Expansion , Inc.; and Praxair. He will be based in West Chicago West Chicago, city (1990 pop. 14,796), Du Page co., NE Ill.; inc. 1906. Mostly residential, the city produces chemicals. , IL and manage a region that includes the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, as well as Northern Illinois For the university, see Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. Economics , Northern Indiana Northern Indiana is the region of Indiana including 26 counties bordering parts of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The area is generally sub-classified into other regions. The northwest is economically and culturally intertwined with Chicago, and is considered part of the Chicago , portions of North Dakota North Dakota, state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Minnesota, across the Red River of the North (E), South Dakota (S), Montana (W), and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (N). , South Dakota, Nebraska, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to simply as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan, and more casually as the land "above the Bridge". . "We are very excited about recruiting Ron Stark to Airgas to run our North Central region," said Shaun Powers, division president - East, who oversees six of Airgas' 12 regional companies. "Ron's knowledge of the industry and his business achievements while at Chart, where he ran Chart's largest and most profitable business segment, demonstrate his talent at leading an organization." Stark began his career at Praxair in 1985 and advanced through a series of positions in applications engineering, bulk gas sales, non-cryogenic product management and key account management. In 1992, he joined MVE, a Minnesota-based supplier of cryogenic storage and distribution technology, and advanced through positions including product manager, director of sales for the industrial gas market, vice president and general manager of the international market and vice president and general manager of the industrial gases market. After Chart acquired MVE in April 1999, Stark became president of Chart's Distribution and Storage Group in June 1999, merging five separate companies into the world's leading supplier of cryogenic storage technology. The group represented about 46% of Chart's $300 million in annual sales. In April 2003, Airgas launched a new MicroBulk gas delivery supply offering, which uses delivery vehicles custom-designed and built for Airgas by Chart. The first two units operate in the Chicago market. About Airgas, Inc. Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. Its integrated network of nearly 800 locations includes 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, please visit www.airgas.com. |
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