BOC opens largest commercial helium facility in China

06-28-2006: BOC recently opened the largest Chinese commercial helium distribution center, which will supply gaseous and liquid helium to customers throughout China, earlier this month. The facility is located in one of China's main industrial parks, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) in Jiangsu province.

"The Suzhou investment is the latest in a series of commitments that BOC has made to strengthen our position in the rapidly growing Chinese market. BOC plans to continue to invest in our Chinese infrastructure in an effort to provide the highest level of service to Chinese helium customers," said Phil Kornbluth, vice president, global helium, BOC.

China is one of BOC's fastest growing helium markets. Demand has grown at the rate of 16 percent during the last five years, driven by scientific and medical applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as well as high-tech applications including optical fiber and semiconductor manufacturing.

BOC employs 18 people at the facility, including drivers, plant workers and managers.