What AFROX does

African Oxygen Limited (trading as AFROX, legal entity African Oxygen (Pty) Limited) is sub-Saharan Africa's market leader in industrial gases, welding products, and liquefied petroleum gas, founded in 1927 and headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. The company manufactures and distributes industrial gases (oxygen, argon, acetylene, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, shielding gas mixtures, laser gases, refrigerants), medical gases (medical oxygen, nitrous oxide, medical air) registered under the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, LPG under the Handigas brand, and a full range of welding consumables and equipment (Vitemax, Dripac, Transarc, Saffire). Operations span 41 manufacturing sites across South Africa and 11+ other African countries, with the company also managing operations in five additional African markets on behalf of its parent, The Linde Company.

AFROX serves five primary customer segments — Industrial Manufacturing (manufacturing plants, mines, processing facilities), Healthcare (public and private hospitals and clinics), Hospitality (restaurants, hotels, beverage dispensing), Agriculture (farming and greenhouse applications), and individual consumers (domestic LPG, hobbyist welding). Go-to-market is sales-led and multi-channel: direct B2B account management, the eShop e-commerce platform, a 24-hour customer service center, regional websites for Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi, Gas and Gear physical retail stores, and a mobile app with scan-to-reorder for cylinder replenishment. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Linde Group (a global gases and engineering major operating in 100+ countries) following its 1963 JSE listing and subsequent acquisition by Linde; legal entity remains African Oxygen (Pty) Limited in South Africa.

Name

AFROX

Legal name

African Oxygen (Pty) Limited

Website

https://afrox.co.za

Company type

Public

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Gases and Welding Products

NAICS

Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512), Chemical Manufacturing (325), Basic Chemical Manufacturing (3251), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (3241)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Welding & Cutting Gases (IMAEACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food & Beverage Gases (Carbonation/Freezing/Packaging) (IMAEACAI), Gas Handling Equipment & Storage (Cylinders/Tanks/Valves) (IMAEACAL), Electronics & Semiconductor High-Purity Gases (IMAEACAG), Process Gases & Gas Delivery Consumables (Specialty/Bulk/UHP) (HDAHAGAL)

Keywords

• Industrial gas supplies
• Welding consumables
• Medical gases
• LPG distribution
• Gas equipment manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Gas Sales: Sale of industrial gases including oxygen, acetylene, argon, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, CO2, shielding gases, and special gas mixtures. Gases supplied in cylinders with various rental period options.
2. Cylinder Rental: Cylinders supplied on rental basis covering maintenance and replenishment. Rental options include monthly, quarterly, annual, and 3 or 5 yearly periods. Rental charges cover regular testing and replacement of cylinders.
3. Welding Equipment and Consumables: Sale of welding consumables including electrodes, MIG wires, TIG rods, filler materials, and welding equipment such as regulators, torches, and accessories.
4. Medical Gases: Supply of medical gases to healthcare facilities in both public and private sectors, including medical oxygen, nitrous oxide, and medical air.
5. Hospitality Gases: Gases for hospitality industry including Handigas for cooking/heating, Suremix for beverage dispensing, and Partigas for balloon helium.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AFROX manufactures, packages, and distributes industrial gases (oxygen, argon, nitrogen, acetylene, helium, hydrogen, CO2), shielding and specialty gas mixtures, medical gases, and LPG (Handigas) for domestic and industrial customers. It also sells welding consumables (electrodes, MIG/TIG wires, filler materials), welding and gas equipment (regulators, torches, arc power sources), PPE, and industrial chemicals, supplying its products via cylinder rental, direct B2B sales, an eShop platform, and Gas and Gear retail outlets across southern Africa.

Product overview

AFROX is a sub-Saharan Africa's market leader in industrial gases and welding products, operating since 1927. The company offers a diversified portfolio organized around several core product lines: (1) Industrial Gases including oxygen, argon, acetylene, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, LPG (Handigas), shielding gases, special gases, laser gases, refrigerants, and medical gases; (2) Welding Consumables including electrodes (Vitemax, Transarc, Afrox 7018-1 Dripac), MIG wires (MIG 3000 Plus), filler materials, and hardfacing wires; (3) Arc Accessories including TIG and MIG accessories, cutting discs, and welding tools; (4) Equipment including arc welding machines, gas equipment (regulators, torches, flashback arrestors), and scientific equipment; (5) Personal Protective Equipment including welding helmets and safety gear; (6) Healthcare products including medical gases registered under the Medicines Act. The company operates 41 manufacturing sites across southern Africa and distributes through an extensive eShop platform alongside traditional Gas and Gear retail outlets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Gases A portfolio of atmospheric and fuel gases (oxygen, argon, acetylene, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, CO2) supplied in cylinders for welding, cutting, fabrication and general industrial processing.
• Medical / Healthcare Gases Medical-grade gases (medical oxygen, medical air, nitrous oxide/Entonox, medical CO2) registered under South Africa's Medicines and Related Substances Control Act (101/1965) and manufactured in ISO 9001 certified plants, supplied to public and private hospitals and clinics.
• Handigas LPG Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplied under the Handigas brand for domestic cooking and heating in households and for industrial use.
• Shielding Gas Mixtures Engineered shielding gas mixtures (Argoshield, Stainshield, Tigshield, Coppasshield, Roboshield, Alushield, Fluxshield) for MIG, TIG and other arc welding processes across carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum.
• Specialty, Laser and Refrigerant Gases Calibration gases, specialty gas mixtures, Lasermix and Rofin Lasermix laser-cut/weld gases, plus refrigerants (R134a, R404A, R410A, R507A, R22, R407C) for air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
• Suremix Beverage Dispensing Gas Carbon dioxide and nitrogen based beverage dispensing gas mixtures marketed under the Suremix brand, for use with draught beers, wines and soft drinks.
• Partigas Balloon Helium Helium balloon gas marketed under the Partigas brand, used for decorative and promotional balloon applications.
• Agrigas Agricultural Gases Agricultural gases marketed under the Agrigas brand, supplying oxygen and acetylene variants for farming and crop applications.
• Food Preservation Gas Modified atmosphere packaging gases used to extend shelf life and preserve freshness of food products.
• Welding Consumables Welding consumables including Afrox Vitemax and Transarc branded electrodes, Afrox 7018-1 Dripac hydrogen-controlled low-alloy steel electrodes, MIG 3000 Plus MIG/MAG wire, Flux Cored Arc wires, Metal Cored Arc wires, Filler Materials, Gas Tungsten Arc welding consumables, Filmax MIG/TIG filler wires and rods, and hardfacing wires.
• Welding and Gas Equipment Arc welding power sources and plasma cutters including Miller Migmatic, Miller Maxstar, Miller Big Blue series and Afrox Industrial inverter welders; gas equipment such as regulators, cutting torches, mixing equipment and flashback arrestors under Saffire, Transarc, Smoothflo and Witstar brands; plus specialized scientific gas regulators and delivery systems.
• Arc Accessories and PPE Arc welding accessories (twist-lock, jaw-type and optimus electrode holders, TIG/MIG accessories, cutting discs, welding tools), auto-darkening welding helmets such as the Transarc OHE410, and supporting industrial chemicals (anti-spatter products, torch coolant, NDT materials, pickling paste, passivating paste).
• Cylinder Rental Subscription Service Subscription-based cylinder rental covering maintenance, regular testing and replacement, billed monthly, quarterly, annually or over 3–5 year terms against customer gas holdings.
• Healthcare Medical Gas Supply Service Supply and ongoing service of medical gases to hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities under Afrox Healthcare, including medical oxygen, medical air, nitrous oxide and medical CO2.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Linde GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Linde Group is the parent company of Afrox, operating as a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in over 100 countries worldwide. Linde's strategy focuses on earnings-based, sustainable growth with forward-looking products and services. Afrox manages operations in 12+ African countries on behalf of The Linde Group.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SOL Group: European-based industrial, medical, and specialty gas producer with home-care and LPG businesses. Closely comparable in product portfolio — including medical gases, LPG (Homegas), and technical gases — and operates with a similar cylinder-rental-plus-gas business model.

Regional players

• Iwosan Gas: Nigerian industrial and medical gas supplier and Afrox's most direct regional competitor in West Africa. Comparable business model in cylinder and bulk gas distribution, primarily serving Nigerian and adjacent markets rather than southern Africa.
• Yingde Gases Group: China-focused on-site and merchant industrial gas supplier. Comparable business model — on-site plants, bulk and cylinder supply — but primarily serves mainland China rather than Africa.

Emerging players

• Air Water Inc. Japanese industrial gas and diversified gases company with growing international presence. Comparable in industrial and specialty gas manufacturing, with welding gas and on-site supply overlap, though primarily Japan-domiciled.

Broad incumbents

• Linde plc: Global industrial gases and engineering leader and Afrox's parent company. Directly comparable as the worldwide market leader in industrial, medical, and specialty gases, with a similar product portfolio but operating at global scale in 80+ countries.
• Messer Group: Privately held global industrial gases company operating in Europe, Americas, and Asia. Comparable product mix (industrial, medical, specialty gases) and family-owned governance model contrasting with Afrox's listed-then-acquired history.
• Air Liquide: One of the two global majors in industrial and medical gases alongside Linde/Air Products. Comparable product breadth (industrial, medical, specialty, welding gases, LPG-related) and similar large-scale, capital-intensive operating model.
• Nippon Sanso Holdings (Taiyo Nippon Sanso): Japanese-headquartered global industrial gas major operating in Japan, US, Europe and Asia. Comparable across industrial, electronics, and medical gases, and a relevant competitor in the electronics/specialty gas segment where Afrox's special gases overlap.
• Air Products and Chemicals: Global industrial gas major with comparable merchant and on-site gas supply, hydrogen, and specialty gas offerings. Closely comparable in business model — bulk/cylinder gas, on-site plants, medical gases — though with a different geographic focus.

Others

• Chart Industries: Cryogenic equipment and process technology supplier serving industrial gas producers. Comparable as a supplier to the industrial gas value chain that Afrox operates in, particularly around cryogenic storage and distribution for gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and LNG.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/123405491021435
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-oxygen-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFROX