INOX Air Products, also known as INOX AP, is the India-based industrial gas company. It is a joint venture between INOX Leasing and Finance Limited and Air Products & Chemicals.[3][4] The company is engaged in the manufacturing, trading, and supply of industrial and medical gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen,[5] helium, nitrous oxide, acetylene, and specialty gas mixtures.[6]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| ISIN | INE321A01012 |
| Industry | Industrial gases |
| Predecessor | Industrial Oxygen Company Private Limited |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Founder | Devendra Kumar Jain |
| Headquarters | , India |
Area served | India |
Key people | Pavan Jain, Siddharth Jain |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  ₹1,558 crore (US$190 million)[1] (2020) |
| ₹1,783 crore (US$210 million)[2] (2021) | |
| ₹859 crore (US$100 million)[2] (2021) | |
| Owner | Jain family Air Products & Chemicals. |
| Parent | Inox Leasing and Finance Limited (49.74%) Air Products & Chemicals (49.74%) |
| Website | inoxairproducts |
History
editThe company was established by the Jain family in the year 1963, as Industrial Oxygen Company Private Limited in Pune, India. In 1999, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., acquired a 50 percent equity stake in the company, and a new entity was incorporated; INOX Air Products.[7]
The company is headquartered in Mumbai and it operates 44 plants across the country for supplying medical and industrial gases.[8] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company became one of the largest producers of medical oxygen by supplying it to hospitals across India.[9]
Operations
editIn West Bengal, INOX AP has the largest storage capacity of 1,000 tonnes and the pan-India distribution infrastructure. The company has been supplying medical Oxygen to hospitals in the state using its fleet of 54 specialized cryogenic tankers with a total trunking capacity of 380,000 liters of Oxygen.[10]
It also operates an Ultra-High Purity Cryogenic Oxygen Plant in Modinagar in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh,[11] a 1,250-tonnes per day (TPD) Air Separation Unit at Bokaro Steel Plant,[12] a three air separation unit of combined 1700 TPD capacity at Hazira in partnership with ArcelorMittal[13] and a 180 TPD Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu.[14]
As of 2021, the company has a combined capacity to manufacture more than 3,300 tonnes per day (TPD) of liquid gases.[15] The future expansions will push total liquid gases production to 4,800 TPD by 2024.[16]
Mergers and acquisitions
editBelloxy was a joint venture between Linde plc and INOX Air Products. Later as per the directives given by Competition Commission of India, Linde had to divest its shareholding in the JV to address anti-competitive issues which arose due to its proposed merger with Praxair.[17][18] In 2020, Linde's board approve the sale of Belloxy and the latter became a 100% subsidiary of INOX AP.[17]
Controversies
editIn the aftermath of the 2017 Gorakhpur hospital deaths,[19][20] the company started selling medical oxygen directly to Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital but at a 17.5% higher than the previous price, which raised doubts on the new deal.[21][22]
In 2022, an Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling of Tamil Nadu state ruled against the company and denied input tax credit under the Goods and Services Tax on leasehold rights acquired for the construction of air separation unit in the state.[23]
References
edit- ^ "Rating Rationale March 05, 2021: Inox Air Products Private Ltd". crisil.com.
- ^ a b "CARE Ratings Inox Air Products Private Limited December 06, 2021" (PDF). careratings.com/.
- ^ "Forbes India - Inox: The Wind Beneath Its Wings". Forbes India. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ kondratieva&, ksenia (8 May 2018). "Industrial gases maker Air Products to invest $100 m to set up 6 units". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Sharma, Pratibha; Rajalakshmi, N.; Muthukumar, P. (2020). Bajpai, Sanjay; Krishna Pai, Ranjith (eds.). India Country Status Report on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (PDF). New Delhi: Department of Science and Technology (India). p. 17.
- ^ Roy, Arti; Shreenivas, Sudarshan (21 January 2021). "CARE Ratings Inox Air Products Private Limited January 21, 2021" (PDF). CARE Ratings. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Mukul, Jyoti (19 February 2021). "INOX Air Products announces Rs 2,000 cr investment in industrial gases". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Inox Air to invest ₹2,000 crore to set up 8 medical oxygen plants". mint. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Chatterjee, Dev (11 November 2021). "Inox Group reaches settlement over division of business; stocks rise". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Sampson, Joanna (24 September 2020). "INOX Air Products to supply oxygen to 3 Bengal Covid-19 hospitals". gasworld. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "UP CM inaugurates UP's biggest oxygen plant to aid medical supplies". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "INOX Air Products inaugurates new ASU for SAIL Bokaro in India - 아이가스저널". www.igasnet.com (in Korean). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Maulik Pathak (27 April 2021). "ArcelorMittal to set up 1k bed Covid facility at Hazira | Ahmedabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (14 June 2021). "Inox Air Products says its Hosur plant will get operational in 2022". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Prasad, Rachita. "Inox Group plans Rs 2,000 crore capex to increase medical, industrial gas production". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Kandavel, Sangeetha (14 June 2021). "Inox Air Products says its Hosur plant will get operational in 2022". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Linde India board approves sale of Belloxy Divestment biz to Inox Air Products". www.indiainfoline.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Mittal, Sudhir; Peter, Augustine; Nahta, U.C. (6 September 2018). "Notice under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 given by Linde Aktiengesellschaft and Praxair, Inc" (PDF). Competition Commission of India. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Press, Delhi (18 December 2017). The Caravan: December 2017. Delhi Press.
- ^ Khan, Kafeel (17 December 2021). The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor's Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-93-90742-72-1.
- ^ "New Contract for Liquid Oxygen With Increased Price, Corruption Scam at BRD Medical College?". NewsClick. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Bagchi, Poorbita (10 August 2018). "One Year Of BRD Hospital Tragedy: What Has Changed In The Hospital's Functioning?". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Dave, Sachin. "No input tax credit for 99-year lease: AAAR". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.