We define core specialty gases as all specialty gases except those sold into the electronics industries, but including specialty gas products sold into the medical market. In “The Next Big Deal for Specialty Gases” (CryoGas, February 2013, p. 26), Thomas Badstubner describes how the specialty gas industry has evolved over the past 50 years.
He notes that during this time period, innovations in production processes, engineering, equipment, and distribution have transformed the specialty gas business with ultra high purity (UHP) gases now being produced in hundreds of locations, instead of just a handful. According to Badstubner, “Independent specialty gas producers have progressed to the point that some are now producing Grade 7.0 gases (100 parts per billion total impurities).”
The major industrial gas companies dominate the core specialty gas market in terms of market share, but distributor-type independents are increasingly investing in the sophisticated labs and equipment necessary to produce and deliver core specialty products. In this article we review the continued evolution of the dynamic US core specialty gases market and supply chain, and look at how independent distributors are playing an increasingly large role in this business.
What’s Core
Core specialty gases are high purity and UHP gases and precision blends of gases produced to meet very specific needs. They include air, argon, carbon dioxide, emissions gases, helium, specialty gas mixtures, hydrocarbons, hydrogen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, rare gases, refrigerant gases, sulfur hexafluoride, medical gases and medical device gases, calibration gases, food and beverage gases, and other pure gases and process chemicals.
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