Airgas Acquires Watt Welding in Oregon and DC Welding in Sacramento.

RADNOR, Pa. -- Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) today announced the completion of its tenth and eleventh acquisitions of the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2004. The nation's largest distributor of packaged gases and related supplies has acquired the assets and operations of Watt Welding Supply, Inc., (WWS), an industrial gas and welding supply distributor with three locations south of Portland, OR, and DC Welding in Sacramento, CA.

A total of 17 WWS employees working at a cylinder fill plant in Tigard, OR, and two nearby retail locations in McMinnville and Newberg have joined Airgas Nor Pac, one of 13 regional companies within Airgas.

"We are pleased to welcome Steve Watt and his colleagues to Airgas," said Mark Clemens, president of Airgas Nor Pac, which is based in Portland, OR and operates 45 other locations in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Northern Idaho and western Canada. "The fill plant in Tigard and two retail locations will help us better serve customers south of Portland."

Steve Carpenter, one of the owners of DC Welding, and five others employees have joined Airgas Northern California & Nevada (NCN), which is based in Sacramento and operates 42 locations in the region. DC Welding operated from a single location in Sacramento.

"Airgas NCN is pleased to welcome Steve Carpenter and the other DC Welding employees to our team," said Jim McCarthy, president of Airgas NCN. "Steve has an outstanding reputation within our industry and within the Sacramento business community."

The two acquisitions, which closed November 30, 2004, were among 11 completed so far this fiscal year, including Airgas' largest acquisition to date of BOC's U.S. packaged gas operations on July 30. In total, the year's acquisitions have added $260 million in acquired sales.

"Our business development team continues to see a full pipeline of acquisition opportunities," said Airgas Chairman and CEO Peter McCausland. "These kinds of acquisitions are a core competency for our regional companies. We are excited to welcome new locations and new employees to our strong regional company network."

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 about 900 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.

Forward-Looking Statement 

This press release may contain statements that are forward-looking, as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its rules, regulations and releases. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's plans to integrate the assets and operations of Watt Welding Supply and DC Welding; the employment of both companies' employees; the expectation that the business will help serve the needs of Airgas' customers and the pipeline of acquisition opportunities. Airgas intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. All forward-looking statements are based on current expectations regarding important risk factors and should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the results expressed therein will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement include the inability to successfully integrate the operations of Watt Welding Supply and DC Welding; the Company's inability to retain the former employees of both companies; customer acceptance of the Company's products; the Company's inability to identify and consummate future acquisitions and to successfully integrate these and future acquisitions and other factors described in the Company's reports, including Form 10-K dated March 31, 2004 and Forms 10-Q dated June 30, 2004 and September 30, 2004 filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.