At the 2026 Compressed Gas Association Safety Awards Banquet in Savannah, Georgia, the compressed gas industry gathered to celebrate more than achievements and milestones. The evening served as a reminder of what unites CGA members across every sector of the industry: a shared commitment to safety, operational excellence, environmental responsibility, and continuous improvement.

From transportation fleets traveling hundreds of millions of miles each year to facilities operating decades without a lost-time injury, the awards program highlighted how CGA members continue to put CGA’s mission into practice every day.

That mission — promoting the safe, secure, and environmentally responsible manufacture, transportation, storage, transfilling, and disposal of compressed gases and related equipment — was reflected throughout every award presented during the evening.

The program also reinforced several priorities outlined in CGA’s strategic vision, including:

• Advancing industry-wide safety performance
• Supporting sustainable and responsible operations
• Strengthening technical collaboration and standards development
• Investing in leadership development and member engagement
• Promoting knowledge-sharing across the compressed gas industry

As CGA President and CEO Rich Gottwald noted during his opening remarks, the evening honored the “unsung heroes” whose work helps ensure employees, communities, and critical industries remain safe every day.

Environmental Leadership Driving Industry Progress

The evening began with the Environmental Recognition Awards, sponsored by Messer North America, recognizing projects that delivered measurable environmental benefits while supporting reliable industrial operations.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Air Products was recognized for its Wilmington SMR Recycled Water Project, an initiative that will replace approximately one billion gallons of potable water annually with recycled water in Southern California. In a region where water scarcity remains a major challenge, the project demonstrates how industrial operations can support long-term resource conservation while maintaining critical infrastructure reliability.

Nippon Sanso

Nippon Sanso earned recognition for its participation in Community Solar Programs supporting clean energy access and renewable deployment in underserved communities. Through participation in more than 35 projects, the initiative has enabled millions of kilowatt-hours of clean electricity while significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Messer

Messer was recognized for its McGregor ASU Solar Array, the first U.S. air separation unit powered by a co-located solar array. The project achieved an 18 percent reduction in Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions during its first full year of operation while establishing a model for lower-carbon industrial gas production.

Together, the projects showcased how CGA member companies are incorporating sustainability into industrial operations while continuing to support the industries that rely on compressed gases every day.

Safety on the Road Across Nearly Half a Billion Miles

Transportation safety remains one of the industry’s most important operational responsibilities. In the United States alone, approximately 90 percent of compressed gases are transported by truck, with CGA member companies collectively driving more than 475 million miles annually.

Sponsored by Linde, the Fleet Safety Excellence Awards recognized companies achieving exceptional vehicle safety performance across bulk and cylinder transportation operations.

Western International Gas & Cylinders, Inc.

Recognized for:

• Bulk Gas Transportation Less Than 20 Million Miles
• Cylinder Gas Transportation Less Than 3 Million Miles

GenOx Transportation, Inc.

Recognized for:

• Bulk Gas Transportation More Than 20 Million Miles

Nippon Sanso

Recognized for:

• Cylinder Gas Transportation More Than 3 Million Miles

The awards highlighted the operational discipline, driver training, and safety cultures required to transport compressed gases safely and reliably throughout North America.

Continuous Improvement at the Core of Industry Safety

The Leonard Parker Pool Safety Awards, sponsored by Air Products and Chemicals, recognized companies achieving the greatest improvement in OSHA-recordable safety performance over a two-year period.

Chart Industries, Inc.

Recipient of the Group 1 Award for companies with more than two million employee exposure hours.

TOMCO2 Systems

Recipient of the Group 2 Award for companies with two million or fewer employee exposure hours.

The awards reinforced an important principle at the center of CGA’s work: safety performance requires continuous attention, evaluation, and improvement.

Hundreds of Facilities Recognized for Long-Term Safety Milestones

One of the evening’s most significant moments came during the Safe Facility Performance Awards presentation.

The program recognizes U.S. and Canadian facilities achieving major milestones without a lost-time injury, with participating facilities honored across multiple levels ranging from five years to 50 years incident-free.

Today, more than 1,750 facilities participate in the program, demonstrating the industry’s broad commitment to workplace safety and operational excellence.

This year alone, nearly 300 facilities were recognized for reaching new safety milestones.

Bronze Level — 250,000 Hours or 5 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

• Air Liquide/Airgas -  44 Facilities​
• Linde -  12 Facilities​
• Nippon Sanso  -  5 Facilities​
• Air Products  -  5 Facilities​
• Messer -  3 Facilities​
• Roberts Oxygen - 2 Facilities​
• FIBA Technologies - 1 Facility​

Silver Level — 500,000 Hours or 10 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

• Air Liquide/Airgas -  71 Facilities​
• Nippon Sanso  -  13 Facilities​
• Air Products - 8 Facilities​
• Linde -  6 Facilities​
• Roberts Oxygen Company, Inc.  -  2 Facilities​
• Messer -  1 Facility​
• TOMCO Systems - 1 Facility

Gold Level — 750,000 Hours or 15 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

• Air Liquide/Airgas -  35 Facilities​
• Linde -  9 Facilities​
• Messer -  5 Facilities​
• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.  -  3 Facilities​
• Nippon Sanso  -  1 Facility​

Gold 1-Star Level — 1 Million Hours or 20 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

• Air Liquide/Airgas -  18 Facilities​
• Linde -  4 Facilities​
• Messer - 4 Facilities​
• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.  -  3 Facilities​
• Roberts Oxygen Company, Inc.  -  2 Facilities

Gold 2-Star Level — 1.25 Million Hours or 25 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

• Linde   -  7 Facilities​
• Air Liquide/Airgas -  6 Facilities​
• Nippon Sanso  -  2 Facilities​
• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.  -  3 Facilities​
• Messer - 2 Facilities​
• Roberts Oxygen - 1 Facility

Gold 3-Star Level — 1.5 Million Hours or 30 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

Air Liquide/Airgas ​

• Air Liquide Large Industries NA Addis, LA​

• Air Liquide Large Industries NA Bayport ASU​

• Air Liquide Large Industries NA Port Neches ASU​

• Airgas Dry Ice Charlotte, NC​

• Airgas Dry Ice Little Rock, AR​

• Airgas Merchant Gases Wilson (P), NC​

• Airgas Specialty Gases Houston, TX​

Butler Gas Products​

• Penn Hills Branch, PA​

Linde ​

• Linde Canada Inc. Bridgewater, NS ​

• Linde Canada Inc. Truro, NS​

• Linde Canada Inc. New Glasgow, NS ​

• Linde Gases US Institute, WV​

• Linde Gases US Martinez, CA​

Messer Canada​

• Matagami, QC​

Gold 4-Star Level — 1.75 Million Hours or 35 Years Without a Lost-Time Injury

Air Products and Chemicals​

• Cleveland, OH​

Airgas Dry Ice ​

• San Antonio, TX​

Messer North America​

• Nashville, TN​

Roberts Oxygen Company, Inc.​

• Branch 18, Frederick, MD

The evening also included special Palladium-Level recognitions for facilities reaching extraordinary long-term safety milestones.

Air Liquide / Airgas

Recognized for two facilities reaching 2.5 million hours without a lost-time injury:

• Airgas Gulf Coast – LaPorte, Texas
• Airgas Healthcare and Specialty Gases — Calgaz, Cambridge, Maryland

Linde

Recognized for its Garland, Texas facility achieving 50 years without a lost-time injury.

Building a Lasting Safety Culture

The Safe Facility Performance Awards program has become one of the clearest demonstrations of CGA’s long-term industry impact.

Since the program began in 2020, participating member companies have collectively earned more than 1,590 facility recognitions for reaching incident-free milestones.

Recognition totals since the launch of the program include:

These recognitions represent years — and in some cases decades — of operational discipline, workforce engagement, leadership investment, and commitment to continuous improvement.

Collaboration Strengthening Distributor Safety

The evening also highlighted the continued partnership between CGA and the Gases and Welding Distributors Association through the CGA & GAWDA Distributor Safety Awards.

The awards recognize distributor companies demonstrating significant improvement in safety performance while promoting stronger safety cultures throughout the distributor community.

This year’s recognized companies included:

Red Ball Oxygen Company, Inc.

Recipient for companies with more than 100,000 employee exposure hours.

Earlbeck Corporation

Recipient for companies with 100,000 or fewer employee exposure hours.

The partnership between CGA and GAWDA reflects the collaborative approach that continues to strengthen safety performance across the compressed gas industry.

Investing in the Next Generation of Industry Leaders

CGA’s strategic priorities place significant emphasis on member engagement, technical participation, and leadership development — priorities reflected in the New Committee Member of the Year Award.

Sponsored by Chart Industries, the award recognizes newer committee participants who quickly become active contributors to CGA’s technical and standards development work.

Donald Campbell, Messer

Donald Campbell was recognized for rapidly engaging across multiple CGA committees, participating in numerous work items, presenting at TECH24 and TECH25, and becoming a highly active contributor within only a few years of participation.

His recognition highlighted the importance of active member participation in shaping the future of industry safety and standards development.

Honoring Lifetime Contributions to Industry Safety

The evening also recognized individuals whose careers have helped shape safety practices across the compressed gas industry.

For the first time, two individuals received the Charles H. Glasier Safety Award in the same year.

Rob Riedel, Linde

Rob Riedel was recognized for extensive contributions to specialty gas safety, standards development, technical education, and international collaboration.

Tom Badstubner, Asterisk LLC and GAWDA Consultant

Tom Badstubner was recognized for decades of leadership in FDA compliance, medical gas safety, regulatory guidance, and technical collaboration across industrial, specialty, food, and medical gases.

A Lifetime of Service to CGA and the Industry

The evening concluded with the presentation of CGA’s highest honor: the H. Emerson Thomas Award for Lifetime Service to CGA.

Bob Roberts, Roberts Oxygen

Bob Roberts was recognized for 46 years of participation in CGA and 25 years of Board service, along with decades of leadership supporting industry safety, regulatory education, committee engagement, and collaboration.

Throughout his career, Bob has consistently supported CGA’s mission by dedicating both time and company resources to industry advancement. From hosting regulators and educational events to supporting committee participation and safety partnerships, his leadership has helped strengthen both CGA and the broader compressed gas industry.

His recognition served as a fitting conclusion to an evening centered around service, collaboration, and the shared responsibility of protecting people through safety leadership.

Advancing the Mission Together

The 2026 CGA Safety Awards Banquet celebrated more than award recipients. It reflected the culture that continues to define the compressed gas industry.

It is a culture where companies compete in the marketplace while collaborating on safety. A culture where technical expertise is shared to strengthen the industry as a whole. A culture where environmental responsibility and operational excellence go hand in hand. And a culture where committee participation, standards development, education, and engagement continue to move the industry forward.

Every recognition presented in Savannah reflected the same principle: safety requires leadership, investment, accountability, and continuous improvement.

As the compressed gas industry continues evolving alongside new technologies, expanding infrastructure demands, and increasingly complex operations, CGA and its members remain focused on advancing the standards, practices, and partnerships that help keep employees, customers, and communities safe every day.