Air Products Highlights Productivity and Quality Benefits of Freshline® Solutions for Meat Processors at AMI Expo

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products' (NYSE: APD) Freshline® solutions can help meat processors improve productivity, increase product yield, and lower costs while producing high-quality products. The company will highlight its portfolio of technology and equipment for freezing, chilling, mixing, forming, and more at this year's AMI Expo in Dallas, Tex., from May 1-3.

Among the company's featured offerings are Freshline® LIN-IS, a specially designed liquid nitrogen (LIN) injection solution that can be retrofitted to new or existing mixers, grinders, and blenders for fast, consistent, and repeatable cooling; the Freshline® DM tunnel freezer, which allows manufacturers to process both IQF (individually quick frozen) and flat or trayed products in a single machine; and the Freshline® QS tunnel freezer, an economical and easy-to-operate option for food processors who want to convert to continuous freezing, alleviate a bottleneck in their operation, or grow and diversify their existing product line.

Air Products' portfolio of Freshline solutions includes cryogenic food processing equipment that uses LIN to rapidly chill, cool, or freeze a high-quality product. Accounting for more than three-quarters of the earth's atmosphere, nitrogen is plentiful, making it a reliable alternative to carbon dioxide (CO2), which experiences regular, seasonal supply shortages.

In many freezing and chilling applications, LIN can be a cost-effective alternative to CO2, and the conversion can be quick and easy. Air Products has successfully converted many customers from CO2 to LIN, providing them with a multitude of quality and operational benefits that cannot be achieved with CO2. These benefits include a uniform temperature throughout the cooling or freezing process, superior product quality, increased throughput, and better turn-down.

As part of AMI's Meat Tech sessions, Chris Johnson, marketing manager for North America Foods at Air Products, will discuss "Why Use Liquid Nitrogen in the Meat Industry?" on Wednesday, May 2, at 3:00 p.m. at booth #1625. Manufacturers attending this presentation will discover the many operational and quality benefits that can be achieved by using liquid nitrogen in their meat processing applications.

Johnson, along with other Air Products food specialists, also will be available throughout the show at the company's booth #2221 to speak with food processors about how Air Products' Freshline solutions can bring economic and product quality benefits to their specific operation.

Air Products has been providing the food industry with solutions for freezing, chilling, coating, mixing, forming, packaging, and wastewater treatment for more than 40 years. With state-of-the-art, fully-equipped food laboratories in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Air Products can test a customer's product to determine the feasibility of using the company's Freshline solutions for their specific process. For more information or to schedule a product trial, call 1-800-654-4567 (610-706-4730 outside of the U.S.), or visit us online at www.airproducts.com/industries/FoodBeverage.aspx.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) provides atmospheric, process and specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology. For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 18,000 employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the energy, environment and emerging markets. These include semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of $10.1 billion. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com. 

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2011.

SOURCE Air Products