Airgas Announces Supply Pact With University Of Missouri - Industrial Distribution

September 2, 2010

RADNOR, Penn. - Airgas, Inc. recently announced it has signed a supply agreement with the University of Missouri, one of the nation's largest and most prestigious public research universities. Under the agreement, Airgas will provide specialty gases, equipment, safety products, and services to the university system, which includes campuses in Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis, MO, and the Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, MO. The agreement, with estimated annual sales of $1 million, was facilitated by Airgas' and the University of Missouri's affiliation with E&I Cooperative Purchasing. Airgas has a national competitively awarded supplier contract with E&I.

"We are pleased to be partnering with the University of Missouri to help optimize their overall purchasing process and track spending through more effective supply chain management," said Todd Morris, Airgas director for laboratory markets. "To meet these goals, we are implementing a SciQuest interface with their e-procurement system and we are putting our AIM™ (Airgas Inventory Management) programs in place at the university. All of this will streamline the supply chain and deliver total cost reduction."

"Airgas' unique e-procurement capabilities will provide a seamless integration with our systems, enabling the university to operate at optimum efficiency and maximize budgets," said David Silvey, University of Missouri System senior strategic sourcing specialist. "Keeping our laboratories and other university areas appropriately supplied with the right inventory can be challenging. Through our partnership with Airgas, we'll benefit from our customized e-Business solution, Show Me Shop, the university's system-wide eProcurement system."

Airgas has developed a strategic organization focusing on specific market segments in order to fully understand customer challenges and provide custom-tailored solutions. Airgas market segment leaders work with account managers and teams within 12 Airgas regional organizations and more than 850 branch locations nationwide to provide the right solutions for a broad array of industries. The Airgas laboratories group, Airgas Mid America, and Airgas Mid South work with the University of Missouri.