AIR PRODUCTS' JOINT VENTURE TO INVEST OVER $30 MILLION IN NEW INDUSTRIAL GAS FACILITY TO SERVE MAJOR STEEL CUSTOMER IN INDONESIA Facility Also to Supply Growing Merchant Market in Country's Eastern Region ALLENTOWN, Pa., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/Asianet/ --- PT. United Airproducts Indonesia (UAPI), a joint venture of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and PT. Astra International, will invest over $30 million to build, own, and operate a new air separation facility at Maspion Group's facility in the Maspion Industrial Estate Gresik in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia. The plant -- slated to come on-stream in mid-1997 -- will provide gaseous oxygen to an electric arc furnace. In cooperation with Maspion, UAPI also will build a nitrogen pipeline system to serve other customers in the industrial complex and the surrounding area. In addition, the plant will have the capacity to supply over 300 metric tons per day of liquid products to the merchant market in the Surabaya, Gresik, and East Java areas. Commenting on the company's recent moves in Indonesia, Bruce Gibson, president of PT. United Airproducts Indonesia, said, "This new investment in Indonesia comes at a crucial time when the market for liquid products is estimated to grow at a rate of 20 percent per year. The investment, which is the first significant investment by a major industrial gas company in the Surabaya area, will enable UAPI to capitalize on the industrial growth expected by major corporations in the Maspion Industrial Estate Gresik and nearby areas over the next few years. It also positions the company to become a more active participant in the developing pipeline and on-site market."CONTACT: Jennifer A. Castello of Air Products And Chemicals, 610-481-5302/