Air Products to Feature Freshline® Solutions for the Poultry Industry at International Poultry Expo

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Jan 19, 2011, 01:30 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Jan. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To remain successful in today's globally competitive environment, poultry and other food processors must look for ways to improve productivity, increase product yield and lower costs while producing high-quality products. Air Products (NYSE: APD) offers not only the gases, equipment and technology to help poultry processors succeed, but more importantly the industry experience and technical know-how to help them with many of their production challenges. Among its portfolio of food processing solutions for the poultry industry are Air Products' Freshline® LIN-IS (liquid nitrogen injection solution), DM tunnel freezer, and continuous sauce chiller, which the company will feature at the upcoming International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Ga., from January 26-28.

With an understanding of the challenges that poultry processors face today, Air Products will have food experts on-hand at Booth #5944 to explain the benefits of using cryogenics to chill and freeze poultry products, help identify ways to get more value out of existing equipment and processes, and discuss Air Products' full range of Freshline solutions for the poultry industry, including:

The Freshline LIN-IS solution is a specially designed liquid nitrogen injection solution that can be retrofitted to new or existing mixers, grinders and blenders for fast, consistent and repeatable cooling. LIN-IS can be used to manage the temperature of minced or chopped proteins through controlled injection of liquid nitrogen into the product during mixing, which can reduce the difficulty of subsequent forming caused by the heat generated by these machines.

The Freshline DM tunnel freezer is a highly flexible cryogenic freezing solution that allows manufacturers to process both individually quick frozen (IQF) and flat or trayed products in a single machine. The dual-mode freezer can offer significant capital savings, as well as improved product quality, when processing a variety of poultry items, such as diced and sliced products, wings, filets, cutlets, and breaded and trayed products. The Freshline DM tunnel freezer can help poultry processors adapt quickly to changing market demand by allowing them to switch between IQF and non-IQF products without changing equipment. This can result in maximum uptime and can lead to optimum efficiency.

The Freshline continuous sauce chiller uses the high power of liquid nitrogen (LIN) to cool and chill many types of liquids and semi-liquids, such as sauces, gravies, marinades, broths, purees and mixed meal combinations. Due to the extremely low temperature of LIN (-320 degrees F), products are chilled within seconds or minutes -- instead of hours -- which can significantly cut cycle times compared to batch cooling. For ready meals and other trayed items that are further frozen, pre-cooling of sauces can help debottleneck downstream freezing systems by reducing the heat load to the mechanical freezer. This can result in reduced ice build-up and increased production throughput.

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. The company has Freshline solutions for every customer, from large manufacturers with multiple product lines to small food processors with a niche product and every operation in between. For more information about Air Products' complete offering to the poultry industry, stop by Booth #5944 at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Ga., from January 26-28 to consult with one of the company's food experts; call 800-654-4567 (mention code 843); or visit www.airproducts.com/food.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. In fiscal 2010, Air Products had revenues of $9 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 18,300 employees around the globe. 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, 2010.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos of Air Products' Freshline LIN-IS, DM tunnel freezer and continuous sauce chiller are available at www.airproducts.com/PressRoom/CompanyNews/Archived/2011/19Jan2011.htm.

SOURCE Air Products