Air Products Japan (President: Patrick Loughlin) has decided to spin off its industrial gas business out of the 2 lines of business handling industrial gases and electronic materials/functional chemicals which have been operated in Japan.

In December 2015, APJ established a new company named Air Products Japan K.K., and the industrial gas business is going to be transferred completely into the new company headquartered at Shinagawa, Tokyo for a scheduled start of operation from March 1.

The new company is 100% owned by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, US which has appointed Wilbur Mok (President, Industrial Gases-Asia, Air Products and Chemicals) as the first president of the new company.

The spin-off at this time has followed the decision at the side of head office which decided to spin off its business of material technologies handling electronics materials and functional chemicals in September last year. The business has already been decided for transfer to Versum Materials to be newly established by September of this year.

The business in Japan will be continued by Air Products, Inc. Japan　 based on Kawasaki as before, but it seems that the company name will be changed to something after Versum Materials by September.