Airgas USA LLC

Airgas USA LLC, doing business as Airgas, is a foreign-owned industrial gas supplier providing compressed and liquid gases, welding supplies, and related equipment to the federal government as a prime contractor competing in full-and-open procurements without set-aside designations. The company is a subsidiary of Airgas Inc., headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and operates from its Kennesaw, Georgia facility as a large business across primary NAICS 325992 (Industrial Gas Manufacturing) and PSC 6830 (Gases: Compressed and Liquefied).

Airgas dominates compressed and liquid gas supply to defense agencies, with a footprint of 3,435 prime awards carrying $113.2 million in combined potential value across 85 federal customer agencies. The top five agencies by award count—Defense Logistics Agency Energy (2,473 awards, $45.1 million), Naval Sea Systems Command (343 awards, $3.6 million), Naval Supply Systems Command (62 awards, $2.1 million), United States Marine Corps (50 awards, $949 thousand), and Defense Health Agency (43 awards, $6.8 million)—account for 86 percent of awards. DLA Energy alone drives $45.1 million in potential value and 2,473 delivery orders across five major indefinite delivery contracts, with SPE60120D1514 carrying 611 task orders worth $2.4 million in combined potential value. The top-value ranking shifts slightly: DLA Energy remains dominant at $45.1 million; NASA Langley Research Center places second at $8.4 million across 12 awards; and Defense Health Agency third at $6.8 million. The concentration reflects Airgas's near-monopoly position as the federal government's primary supplier of aviator's breathing oxygen, liquid nitrogen, helium, argon, carbon dioxide, and specialty welding gases to defense and civilian agencies.

Airgas holds three named IDCs: a $550,743 single-award Defense Logistics Agency contract for liquid argon to Anniston Army Depot and Robins Air Force Base through December 31, 2030 (awarded July 1, 2026); a $1.34 million single-award Defense Logistics Agency contract for gaseous helium Type I Grade B to the Navy Experimental Diving Unit through January 31, 2031 (awarded February 1, 2026); and a $349,999 single-award blanket purchase agreement for gas cylinder replacements to Air Force Special Operations Command through December 18, 2030 (awarded December 19, 2025). Most delivery orders flow from five parent indefinite delivery contracts under DLA Energy: SPE60120D1514 (611 task orders, $2.4 million), SPE60120D1517 (349 task orders, $610 thousand), SPE60117D1523 (182 task orders, $229 thousand), SPE60125D1515 (139 task orders, $813 thousand), and SPE60121D1531 (124 task orders, $461 thousand). Representative work includes a $165,000 three-year purchase order from EPA Region 4 for argon gas and tank rental in Athens, Georgia (June 13, 2026); a $124,270 delivery order from Defense Health Agency for medical air and gases to Fort Liberty, North Carolina (April 1, 2026); a $67,915 Naval Supply Systems Command purchase order for high-purity helium to Kennesaw, Georgia (January 15, 2026); and a $55,052 Naval Education and Training Command delivery order for bulk medical-grade helium and carbon dioxide plus 2,000-liter storage tank rental to Panama City Beach, Florida (September 30, 2025).

Award activity has remained steady: 322 awards in 2022, 360 in 2023, 334 in 2024, and 358 in 2025, with 112 awards recorded in the first half of 2026. Fourteen awards (combined potential value $1.4 million) face ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete risk. Airgas subcontracts minimally, with named sub-awards under Chugach Technical Solutions LLC for welding equipment and fixtures to U.S. Coast Guard (April 15, 2025) and under Lockheed Martin Corporation for THAAD interceptor production helium (April 17, 2024). The company's portfolio skews heavily to commodity gas delivery orders—thousands of small-value ($1,000–$10,000) calls for aviator's breathing oxygen, nitrogen, and argon across DLA Energy contracts, punctuated by higher-value tank usage fees and storage services. Airgas competes as a large business across all awards and does not pursue set-aside certifications, positioning it as the incumbent incumbent across defense gas procurement.