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Ground was officially broken Monday, April 28, on Messer’s $70 million, state-of-the-art air separation unit that will be constructed in Berryville’s business park.
State and local officials joined Messer representatives including Messer Group chairman Stefan Messer for a private groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning in the business park, followed by a public reception at the Berryville Community Center.
The public event included a ceremonial groundbreaking as well as remarks by Stefan Messer, and other company officials, Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney and economic development director Dean Lee and Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Lee said Messer’s $70 million commitment represents the largest initial investment in the history of Berryville and Carroll County.
Students from the Berryville School District were in attendance along with community leaders. Berryville High School band members under the direction of Doug Blevins performed before the ceremony.
Messer had announced plans for the air-separation unit in January, saying the new facility will address the growing demand for industrial gases in the southern part of the United States, reinforcing Messer’s commitment to supporting expanding industries in the region. Messer separates air into elements used in manufacturing and other industries. The air is compressed in order to be pushed into a “cold box,” where expansion turbines are used to lower the temperature and the air is liquified. It can then be separated into oxygen and nitrogen, which can be used in a variety of manufacturing and medical applications.
Construction of the air-separation unit is expected to be completed in 2026.
The local facility will be Messer’s second in Arkansas. The company has a plant in Lewisville, approximately 30 miles east of Texarkana. Messer officials said the Berryville site will complement the Lewisville plant, enhancing production capacity to meet increasing demand for industrial gases.
Messer is the largest privately held industrial gas business in the world and a leading industrial and medical gas company in North America, South America, Asia and Europe, the company said in a January news release. Messer Americas sales account approximately for 52 percent of Messer worldwide sales of $4.7 billion, according to the news release.
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