Praxair, Inc. (PX: NYSE) is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and the third-largest worldwide by revenue. The company was founded in 1907 and currently has 27,000 employees operating in over 50 countries, with headquarters in Danbury, CT. Praxair produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process, and specialty gases, as well as high-performance surface coatings. They develop technology, products and services that help to sustain and protect our planet and are committed to improving their customers’ economic and environmental performance around the globe.
Praxair’s vision is to be the best performing industrial gases company in the world as determined by their customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and their communities. As with all companies, the vision alone is not enough to help them reach their full potential. The Board believes that a culture of strong integrity, ethics, and compliance must be driven by example and emphasis at the top. That leadership for Praxair is Chairman, President and CEO, Steve Angel, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Even with strong leadership, a company cannot generate meaningful, sustainable results without the support of good employees to execute the vision. That’s why Praxair strives to create an inclusive environment where diversity is valued and professional growth is promoted. One of the core values at Praxair is “The Right People.” They find great value in attracting and developing talented people from diverse backgrounds who will use their talents to make an impact in the world and to help the company grow and achieve success.
Giving back to the communities where they do business is another core value at Praxair. In 2015, the Global Giving Program contributed $6.4 million to help support communities, provide educational opportunities, promote diversity and inclusion, improve access to health and wellness programs, and preserve and protect the environment around the world. Providing scholarships to community colleges and technical schools for skills that are needed in local workforces and making contributions to organizations and universities to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education are just a couple examples of how Global Giving dollars are helping communities. Through the program, personal contributions made by full-time U.S. Praxair employees and its subsidiaries and active outside directors of Praxair are matched up to $15,000 per year.
Praxair’s global commitment to STEM education was evident on October 22, 2015 when nearly 100 welding students graduated from the Praxair Skills Pipeline program in Louisiana. The first phase of the program provided more than $300,000 to train these new welders in an accelerated one-year curriculum. Funded by Praxair’s Global Giving program, they will be expanding the program to other areas across the country this year and will have invested more than $1 million in welding workforce development by the end of 2016.
Praxair is one of 23 companies in Danbury, Connecticut that supports the Danbury Schools and Business Collaborative. Praxair volunteers commit their time, energy, creativity, and resources to mentoring students and have provided more than 4,000 hours of service. Several mentors have been with the same child from elementary school through their graduation from high school.
At Praxair, Making our Planet More Productive is more than a slogan. This phrase demonstrates how well they provide efficiency, energy, and environmental advantages to customers around the world. Much of these improvements are a result of going a step further and working with customers to overcome challenges and help achieve their goals, rather than simply providing products. Praxair also has a strong commitment to “Safety First” in all of their locations. Their highest priorities for employees, contractors, families, and customers include safety at work, safety on the road, and safety at home.
As demonstrated by these many examples, Praxair has built its reputation with honesty, ethical conduct, full compliance with the law, operational excellence, and strong financial discipline. They also maintain high standards of customer service, quality, and safety. For these reasons, we are proud to feature them as this month’s Shining Light Company!
DISCLOSURE: Shining Light Companies are exemplary companies who live out the Golden Rule in their business practices, demonstrate strong servant leadership and create compelling value through the products and services they offer. This is intended for general information purposes concerning only the values, corporate culture and business practices of the companies being spotlighted. It DOES NOT incorporate any analysis of the companies’ investment merit based on intrinsic value, fundamental analysis, etc. This must not be construed as investment advice or a buy/sell recommendation. These companies may or may not be included in our LightPoint Portfolios at any given time.