Last year, we added another satisfying chapter to this story. We achieved a long-term goal set in 2001 of surpassing $2 billion in sales, strengthened our core business and medical markets, continued to target strategic growth areas, and completed more than a dozen acquisitions, including our largest, BOC’s U.S. packaged gas business.

The charts that follow reflect the financial highlights, so I want to take some time to tell you what we are doing to make your company even better.

We are focusing on strengthening the relationships we enjoy with all of our key constituents: our customers, our suppliers, our associates and our shareholders.

In this report, we recognize some of the ways we have strengthened these relationships and the benefits that have resulted for all of us, and how we intend to make these relationships even better this year and in the future.

For continuation of Letter to Shareholders, see next page.