Universal Air Gases
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersBethlehem, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
Universal Air Gases firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Universal Air Gases
- Legal name
- Universal Industrial Gases, LLC
- Website
- https://uigi.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1990
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Universal Air Gases industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Gas Production Equipment and Supply
- NAICS
- Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512), Pump and Compressor Manufacturing (33391), Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413)
- SIC
- Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial Gas & Air Separation Equipment (ASU, PSA, Cryogenic Systems) (IMAHAEAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Air Separation (Oxygen/Nitrogen/Argon) (IMAEACAA), Gas Handling Equipment & Storage (Cylinders/Tanks/Valves) (IMAEACAL)
Keywords
Where Universal Air Gases is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bethlehem
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Universal Air Gases business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- On-Site Gas Supply Contracts: UIG designs, builds, owns, and operates air separation plants at customer facilities, supplying oxygen, nitrogen, and argon through long-term gas supply contracts. The company provides flexible commercial options including turnkey solutions where UIG handles everything from design to operation, as well as DIY options where customers own the plant while leveraging UIG's expertise.
- Engineering and Technical Services: Comprehensive engineering services including plant design, installation, commissioning, refurbishment, and integration of industrial gas systems. Also includes operational services such as plant operation and maintenance (O&M), remote monitoring, troubleshooting, outage support, and parts sourcing for both UIG-owned and third-party plants.
- Merchant Liquid Products: UIG owns and operates ASUs producing liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for wholesale supply to regional markets. The company sells liquid products in compliance with industry specifications to industrial gas companies and distributors. UIG does not operate its own trucking fleet, avoiding direct competition with liquid customers for end-user supply contracts.
- Cryogenic Equipment Sales and Leasing: Sale and leasing of cryogenic storage tanks, vaporizers, and distribution equipment. UIG offers new and used ASME-coded cryogenic storage tanks available as-is or fully refurbished, with flexible commercial options including direct sales, turnkey design and installation, and leasing arrangements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Gas Supply Contract - UIG Owned Plant |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Plant Ownership - Customer Owned Plant |
| Subscription | Annual | Operations and Maintenance Services |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Cryogenic Equipment Purchase or Lease |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Universal Air Gases product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Universal Industrial Gases (UIG) designs, builds, owns, and operates industrial air separation plants that produce oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, and supplies those gases to industrial customers either through on-site pipeline delivery or via wholesale merchant liquid sales. Its offering spans cryogenic Air Separation Units (ASUs), non-cryogenic VPSA oxygen and PSA nitrogen generators, ASME-coded cryogenic storage tanks, and complementary engineering, consulting, operations and maintenance services.
Product overview
Universal Industrial Gases (UIG) operates as an industrial gas company offering a portfolio of air separation products and related services. The core product line centers on Cryogenic Air Separation Plants (ASUs) and non-cryogenic VPSA Oxygen Plants for on-site gas generation, complemented by Cryogenic Storage Systems and Merchant Liquid Products for bulk gas distribution. Services include on-site production of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; industrial gas consulting; and engineering/technical services spanning plant design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance. The company also provides online Conversion Calculators as supporting tools. UIG's integrated approach enables customers to choose between turnkey plant ownership or gas supply contracts, with services covering the full lifecycle from development through ongoing operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cryogenic Air Separation Plants (ASU) UIG designs, builds, and operates cryogenic air separation plants that produce high-purity oxygen, nitrogen, and argon for industrial operations, using cryogenic distillation to separate atmospheric air into its component gases at scale.
- Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) Oxygen Plant Non-cryogenic oxygen generation system using VPSA technology to produce oxygen with purities between 90-95% at volumes from 20 to 100 tons per day, offering a cost-effective alternative to cryogenic ASUs for applications not requiring ultra-high purity.
- Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Nitrogen Systems Non-cryogenic nitrogen generation using pressure swing adsorption to separate nitrogen from air at purities from 95% up to PPB levels, supporting demands from thousands of cubic feet per hour through hundreds of tons per day.
- Cryogenic Storage Systems ASME-coded cryogenic storage tanks for liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and CO2 with capacities from 300 to 80,000+ gallons, including vaporizers and distribution systems for safe on-site gas storage.
- Merchant Liquid Products Wholesale supply of cryogenic liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon produced from UIG's network of ASUs across the United States, sold to industrial gas distributors and end users in compliance with industry specifications.
- On-Site Oxygen Production Customized on-site oxygen generation solutions delivering continuous, reliable oxygen supply directly to facilities via pipeline, eliminating transportation costs and storage requirements for high-volume users.
- On-Site Nitrogen Production On-site nitrogen generation using PSA or cryogenic air separation to produce nitrogen at purities from 95% to PPB levels, delivered directly to facilities via pipeline.
- On-Site Argon Production Argon recovered as a co-product from cryogenic air separation, supplied as high-purity argon (up to PPB levels) for welding, shielding, and specialized industrial applications.
- Industrial Gas Consulting Advisory services covering operational and maintenance aspects of gas plants, review of gas requirements, evaluation of supply contracts, and assessment of future plant configurations.
- Engineering & Technical Services End-to-end engineering support including plant design, project management, installation, commissioning, refurbishment, and integration of industrial gas systems, plus operational services such as 24/7 remote monitoring, troubleshooting, outage support, and parts sourcing for both UIG-owned and third-party plants.
Quantifiable outcome
- Elimination of liquefaction and transportation costs through on-site production
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Universal Air Gases
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Universal Air Gases technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Universal Air Gases partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Universal Air Gases competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Air Products and Chemicals: Air Products is a US-based global industrial gas major with leading positions in on-site supply, hydrogen, and ASU technology. It is the largest American-headquartered competitor and the natural benchmark for UIG's claim of being the second-largest American-owned gas company.
- Linde: Linde (formed from the Praxair-Linde merger) operates the world's largest industrial gas business, including ASU manufacturing via Linde Engineering. It is the dominant competitor in UIG's served markets and shares the same on-site supply and merchant liquid model.
- Messer Group: Messer is the largest privately held industrial gas company in the world, with significant US operations (Messer Americas) following its 2019 carve-out from the Linde/Praxair merger. Its private, family-controlled structure mirrors UIG's flexibility pitch and it competes directly for on-site and merchant contracts.
- Air Liquide: Air Liquide is one of the global 'big three' industrial gas majors with full on-site, merchant, and ASU engineering operations. While vastly larger and globally diversified, it competes head-to-head with UIG for large on-site supply contracts and brings comparable cryogenic and non-cryogenic technologies.
- Nippon Sanso Holdings (Matheson Tri-Gas): Nippon Sanso Holdings owns Matheson Tri-Gas, a major US industrial gas supplier with on-site, merchant, and electronics gas operations. Comparable to UIG in product mix (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, specialty gases) and overlapping customer verticals.
Direct peers
- Chart Industries: Chart Industries designs and manufactures cryogenic equipment, including air separation and gas processing systems used across industrial gas supply chains. It is one of the closest pure-play comparables to UIG's cryogenic ASU, VPSA, and cryogenic storage business, with similar end customers in steel, chemicals, and energy.
- Nikkiso: Nikkiso's Cryogenic Industries division designs and manufactures cryogenic pumps, vaporizers, and air separation equipment used in industrial gas plants. It is a direct equipment-side peer to UIG's ASU and cryogenic storage business with comparable customer overlap in steel and chemicals.
- Fives Group: Fives Group's Cryogenics division supplies cryogenic gas processing and air separation technology for industrial gas, LNG, and CO2 applications. It competes with UIG on the equipment engineering side for large ASU and gas processing projects.
Regional players
- Iwatani Corporation: Iwatani is a Japan-based industrial gas specialist with on-site supply, merchant liquid, and hydrogen distribution operations. While primarily serving Japanese customers, it offers a comparable business model of integrated gas supply plus cryogenic equipment to UIG.
- Yingde Gases: Yingde Gases is one of the largest independent on-site industrial gas suppliers in China, focused on merchant and pipeline supply to steel, chemicals, and electronics customers. It is a relevant comparable for UIG's on-site supply model and capital structure, though operating primarily in China rather than North America.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Universal Air Gases social profiles
Digital presenceUniversal Air Gases financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Universal Air Gases leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Universal Air Gases funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Universal Air Gases M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Universal Air Gases
What does Universal Air Gases do?
Universal Industrial Gases (UIG) designs, builds, owns, and operates industrial air separation plants that produce oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, and supplies those gases to industrial customers either through on-site pipeline delivery or via wholesale merchant liquid sales. Its offering spans cryogenic Air Separation Units (ASUs), non-cryogenic VPSA oxygen and PSA nitrogen generators, ASME-coded cryogenic storage tanks, and complementary engineering, consulting, operations and maintenance services.
Is Universal Air Gases a public or private company?
Universal Air Gases is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Universal Air Gases founded?
Universal Air Gases was founded in 1990. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Universal Air Gases based?
Universal Air Gases is headquartered in Bethlehem, United States, in the North America region.
How does Universal Air Gases make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. On-Site Gas Supply Contracts are the primary driver. The others are engineering and Technical Services, merchant Liquid Products and cryogenic Equipment Sales and Leasing.
Who are Universal Air Gases's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Air Products and Chemicals, Linde, Messer Group, Air Liquide and Nippon Sanso Holdings (Matheson Tri-Gas). Direct peers are Chart Industries, Nikkiso and Fives Group. Regional players are Iwatani Corporation and Yingde Gases.
Does Universal Air Gases have an API?
No public API is recorded for Universal Air Gases.
What industry is Universal Air Gases in?
Universal Air Gases's product category is Industrial Gas Production Equipment and Supply. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAEAI, Industrial Gas & Air Separation Equipment (ASU, PSA, Cryogenic Systems), with a secondary code of IMAEACAA, Air Separation (Oxygen/Nitrogen/Argon). Its NAICS code is 32512 and its SIC code is 3564.