Polidano Group enters gases market with Lm3 million investment

Polidano Group celebrated Christmas with a bang. A huge party, under an enormous marquee erected at the group's offices at Hal Farrug, was held to launch a new company - PoliGas.

Directors Charles and Paul Polidano, who welcomed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to the party, said that their vision was to engender healthy competition, which in the long run benefited the consumer.

The Prime Minister praised the group directors for their latest and continuous investment in products and human resources. The group employs 3,500 people. Also on display were the 20 recently acquired state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz trucks, a Lm1 million investment.

Charles Polidano said that the men who drive the new trucks are the ones getting the most benefit from that investment. "It will be the same as driving a top-of-the-range luxury Merc, except they will be a lot higher up," he said. Paul Polidano said that after years of monopoly the introduction of PoliGas has shown immediate advantageous prices to clients.

This was not the first time that Polidano Group has been the catalyst for a better deal for the consumer, he said. Giving an example of a "drastic price decrease" in cement, he said that Polidano broke the cement monopoly by investing in cement storage facilities as well as a ship to ensure a regular supply.

Many of the group's employees and sub-contractors mingled with the other guests, who included Nationalist party general secretary Joe Saliba, ministers Censu Galea, Francis Zammit Dimech and Jesmond Mugliett, and former finance minister John Dalli.

The new investment in PoliGas, which supplies and manufactures cryogenic gases, amounted to Lm3 million. PoliGas has invested in the latest American technology to produce and bottle nitrogen. The plant also has the facility to mix gases.

Their list of cryogenic products includes: oxygen, nitrogen, industrial carbon dioxide, food grade carbon dioxide, argon, argon mixtures, nitrous oxide and acetylene.

Gases such as argon and carbon dioxide will be imported.

Besides, the company will also provide equipment to the mechanical and electronics industries, to include: mig welding sets, tig welding sets, electric arc welding sets, welding rods, drive rolls and drive roll kits, welding consumables and accessories for steel and stainless steel, and propane and acetylene gas equipment.

"A feature worth mentioning is that our gas cylinders are made from a special steel, grade which makes them lighter than any other on the market, making them easier to handle," engineer Simon Zammit said.

Asked whether the plant posed any risks, Charles Polidano said: "The plant is equipped with the latest health and safety technology and the company is geared to have zero impact on the environment. Besides, Polidano Group as a whole is also working towards having a 100 per cent waste recycling system."