An air-separation company that already has operations in Provo said Wednesday it will build a new plant in the Salt Lake area.

Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP said the booming oil and gas drilling and production industries in the region prompted it to meet demand for industrial gases, including oxygen and nitrogen.

"Utah, and the Rocky Mountain region in general, is a great location for us because there's demand in the oil and gas industry, and it's just a good marketplace for us," said Air Liquide spokesman Michael Rosen.

"Additional product not used in the oil and gas industry is available for many of our other markets: food and pharmaceuticals and the automotive industry. We had some infrastructure established in that region, and it was a wonderful opportunity to expand our production in an area that has strong oil and gas customer demand."

Rosen said a specific site has not been selected, but the company expects to have construction under way in about six months.

The new plant, about 150-by-300 feet on a four- or five-acre plot, would begin operation in late 2007 or early 2008, he said.

"We won't be adding additional staff," Rosen said. "Both the Provo plant and Salt Lake City-area plant will be managed by the existing staff we have in that area."

The Provo facility has about 30 employees.

The company expects the new plant to generate 300 tons per day of liquid product shipped in cryogenic cylinder trucks for the Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming markets.

However, Rosen said the company would serve "wherever there's a need, including into Canada."

France-based Air Liquide has about 4,000 employees in the United States, part of a total of 36,000 workers worldwide. About 80 percent of its 2005 sales were outside of France. Its gases are used in the oil and gas, chemicals, metal, refining, food manufacturing, automotive, technology and research and other industries.

"Air Liquide has had a presence in the Provo-Salt Lake City area for the last 40 years and is a good corporate citizen," said Jeff Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Corp. of Utah, in a prepared statement. "Air Liquide brings to the area the basic building blocks required for economic growth."

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