Airgas Acquires Dantack Corporation

Airgas, Inc. (Radnor, Pennsylvania) recently announced it has acquired the assets and operations of Dantack Corporation (Grand Prairie, Texas) safety distributor with branches in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia. The business generated more than $18 million in sales during 2006.

The operations will be managed by Airgas Southwest, one of the Airgas regional companies, as a stand-alone business for the first few months. Later, operations in Ohio and Virginia will transition to other Airgas regions.

Airgas is one of the largest distributors of safety products in the U.S. with $438 million in sales in fiscal 2007 through telesales and field-based safety specialists within its regional companies.

The owners of the business for the past two decades, Cathy Croy and Mark Dannemiller, will oversee the transition, in which about 40 Dantack employees are being offered employment by Airgas in the three locations. Mark Dannemiller is joining Airgas Southwest as a general manager for safety sales. Dantack President Cathy Croy remains as a consultant during the integration.

?Dantack?s extensive local coverage throughout Texas, combined with its national accounts program, makes it a great strategic fit for Airgas,? said Brent Sparks, president of Airgas Southwest. ?We welcome Dantack?s associates and customers and look forward to merging its business with our own strong safety business.?

?We believe joining forces with Airgas will provide the best long-term opportunities for Dantack?s associates and customers,? said Dannemiller. ?Our customers will benefit from Airgas' intense focus on customer service, with access to all the leading brands of safety products, plus access to the broader product offering of the nation?s largest distributor of packaged gases and related products.?