Airgas, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, announced today that Red-D-Arc Welderentals, an Airgas company, has acquired the assets and operations of eKipro Rentals and Grupo Industrial Daymaga, known collectively as ‘eKipro’.
eKipro’s five locations in Poza Rica, Veracruz; Tampico, Tamaulipas; Salamanca, Guanajuato; Hermosillo, Sonora; and Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, as well as more than 100 associates joined Airgas’ Red-D-Arc Welderentals subsidiary, effective May 1, 2015.
President of Red-D-Arc Welderentals Mitch Imielinski said: "The acquisition of eKipro will increase Red-D-Arc’s presence in Mexico and strengthen our position in this important area, particularly within Mexico’s energy sector.
"We’re very pleased to welcome our new associates and customers to the Airgas family and look forward to continuing to offer excellent service and an expansive range of products."
Red-D-Arc Welderentals is the largest provider of welding and welding-related rental products and services in North America, with over 60,000 welders, 3,700 weld positioning and weld automation products, and over 1,600 electric power generators in their fleet.
Red-D-Arc’s international presence includes service centers in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as a dealer network that includes the Caribbean, the Middle East, Kazakhstan, and Australia.
eKipro was founded in 2008 by Mauricio Gracia Peña.
Peña.said: "I believe the quality of service and breadth of product offering available to current and future customers in Mexico of both companies will be stronger with this combination.
"It is an honor for the eKipro team and me to join Airgas through Red-D-Arc."
Headquartered in Villahermosa, Tabasco in Mexico, eKipro is a specialty equipment rental and services company that generated $16 million (Mex$212 million) in sales in calendar year 2014. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.