- 1981: Peter McCausland, working for Messer Griesheim recommended that Messer purchase CONNOX

- 1982: J.B. Doherty (TDH Capital) $1mil and another asset based lender ($3.85mil) along with McCausland purchased CONNOX.

- US Airgas was formed as the holding company for CONNOX with McCausland 60% owner

- 1980’s: Growth through Acquisition. Utilized the Anchor and Ad On strategy. Purchased small distributors that were eager to sell businesses that they started after WWII on GI Bill. Embraced rural markets and looked for the correct population density and had no goal of national scale sales.

-1986: Merging with WERCO. WERCO was a $68mil manufacturer of welding supplies. WERCO purchased Airgas but Airgas Inc. was the company formed and McCausland ran the company after the 1st year.

- December 1986: Airgas made initial public offering on the NYSE and by Sept. 1987 had raised $20mil for aggressive acquisition.

- Acquisition Speed: In fiscal year 1988, there were 16 acquisitions; in 1989, 29 more; in 1990, another 24; and in 1991, another 21. In 1988, Airgas had 100 locations around the country; a year later, 200 locations; in 1990, 225; and in 1991, almost 250 locations.

By 1992, Airgas operated 25 regional hubs, including Sierra Airgas, Mountain Airgas, Midwest Airgas, New Hampshire Airgas, Lone Star, Cascade, Keystone, Gulf States, Great Lakes, Great Western and Airgas Canada. At 10 years old, the company’s annual sales topped $350 million

- Cylinders: Cylinder purchase price is recouped after roughly 4 years of rental income. The cylinders last 50 or more years. This income is used for acquisition, debt reduction and inflation hedge.