Huneidi, centre, and Götzelmann shaking hands

GULF Cryo has announced a significant investment through acquiring shares in Tyczka Air Austria, part of the Tyczka Group, becoming a minority partner.

“Gulf Cryo and the Tyczka Group will bring together technical, commercial, and financial resources into Tyczka Air Austria to create a well-positioned industrial gas company in a highly industrialised area. The joint efforts of both companies will over time substantially enhance the company’s growth in the liquid air gases market in Austria and Germany,” a Gulf Cryo statement said. 

Last year, construction work for a new-generation air separation unit (ASU) began at Tyczka Air Austria located at the industrial park Braunau/Neukirchen in Austria. The construction work and pre-signing of customers remain ahead of the original schedule with an anticipated plant commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The air separation plant is expected to have a daily production capacity of approximately 225 tonnes of industrial gases per day, primarily separating air into its pure components – nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. On completion, over 20 million euros ($27 million) will have been invested in the project. The ‘cold box’, which is at the core of the ASU, was installed in April and with a height of around 60 m has become the new landmark of the industrial park Braunau/Neukirchen.

Tyczka Air Austria will be able to leverage and benefit from the unique capabilities of both organisations. With Gulf Cryo’s expertise and long operating history of air separation units combined with the Tyczka Group’s extensive experience and knowledge of local markets, it is hoped Tyczka Air Austria will become a formidable competitor in the region.

Amer Huneidi, chairman of Gulf Cryo, commented: “I am very excited about working closely with Tyczka’s management team in making Tyczka Air Austria a long-term success and confident that a similar history of corporate entrepreneurialism can deliver substantial benefits to both shareholders and customers”.

The Tyczka Group with headquarters in Geretsried/Germany works with around 600 employees in its core business areas of energy supply with liquefied petroleum gas (propane and butane) and industrial gases. With Tyczka Air Austria the Tyczka group founded its second company in Austria.

Dr Frank Götzelmann managing director of Tyczka Group, remarked: “We look forward to our cooperation with Gulf Cryo in the operation of the plant and the marketing of our products,”

This investment into Austria expands Gulf Cryo’s footprint to 12 countries and is its first venture in Europe.

Huneidi concluded; “Securing a foothold in Europe, is an exciting development for Gulf Cryo which has historically focused on the Middle East and more recently North Africa. Over the last three years we have undertaken a major capital and acquisitions spend and made aggressive investment decisions to expand into new territories with important moves into Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. We now have a clear objective to be a solid and profitable player in the Austrian and German industrial gases market.”

Gulf Cryo LLC is a closed shareholding company operating in the industrial gas field in the Middle East. It was founded as the Kuwait Oxygen Company in 1953. Today Gulf Cryo comprises over 30 production and distribution sites. It is the leading manufacturer and distributor of industrial, medical, food and speciality gases in the Middle East. Over time, Gulf Cryo has secured a position offering total solutions in storage and delivery modes, as well as equipment rental. Currently it operates in 12 countries, including all of the GCC, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey. With advanced production facilities, it continues to build and maintain an edge in experience, knowledge and technical expertise.