Basking Ridge, NJ – November 9, 2011 - The Board of Directors of IOMA (International Oxygen Manufacturers Association) met in Tokyo, and elected William J. Kroll as IOMA President for 2012 on November 1, 2011.
IOMA is the worldwide trade association of companies in the industrial and medical gas business. Mr. Kroll is Chairman and CEO at MATHESON, a supplier of industrial, welding, electronics, specialty gases, and related equipment, headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA. MATHESON operates globally, and is the largest subsidiary of Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, the fifth largest supplier of compressed gases in the world.
Upon hearing the news, Mr. Kroll said, “I have a great deal of respect for IOMA and its role in the global compressed gas business. IOMA has a positive influence worldwide, and its work has impact." To be elected its President is truly an honor, and serving will be a privilege.”
Mr. Kroll had previously been elected IOMA Vice President for 2011. On October 1, 2011, he was appointed to serve the balance of the term of 2011 President, Kent Masters, who resigned the post upon leaving his position at Linde AG. Mr. Kroll’s elected term as President begins in January 2012. With his hallmark humor, Kroll quipped, “I guess the Board liked the demo. Now they get me for a whole year.”
Bill Kroll's experience in the gas business spans more than 30 years, and Kroll has penned more than 50 papers in the areas of physical and chemical vapor deposition for semiconductor technology and is a member of IEEE, SEMI, SPIE, SAE, The Electrochemical Society and MRS. He currently serves on the boards of the CGA, AeA, IOMA, Circle of Life, Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation. Kroll was inducted into the NJ High Tech Hall of Fame in 2004, was named as one of the top 25 Entrepreneurs in NJ by NJ Biz in 2006, was appointed by the Governor of NJ to his Commission on Outsourcing and Off-shoring in 2007 and in October 2007 was awarded the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Eagle Scout Award as well as being named lifetime member and Trustee of the Boy Scouts of America. Under Kroll’s leadership, Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. was named Large Company of the Year by the NJ Technology Council in 2006. In 2008 Northwestern University honored him with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
IOMA began in 1943 as an association of United States "independent" gas producers. Over time, as the industry grew and the large gas companies joined, membership changed to become truly worldwide. More than 55% of IOMA's membership today is outside the U.S. - and the Association has active participation by the very top management of all of its members around the globe.
IOMA, through its Global Committee, is coordinating and prioritizing the harmonization of industrial gas safety standards to achieve common operating practices worldwide.
The harmonization of standards began in 1998 and involves the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) in the United States and Canada; the Asia Industrial Gases Association (AIGA), the European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) in Europe, and the Japan Industrial & Medical Gases Association (JIMGA) in Japan.
IOMA's global focus, and the active involvement of the industry’s very top management, gives IOMA the unique perspective and position to try to bring about some commonality on safety standards for gases in all countries.
The technical and standards activities will remain within CGA, AIGA, EIGA, JIMGA, and other similar bodies around the world. IOMA's role is to bring top-management oversight to this process by prioritizing the work between and among the technical bodies to achieve harmonization.
IOMA’s purpose is:
To maintain a strong and effective IOMA as an organization to promote the well-being and expansion of the industrial and medical gas industry by encouraging input from, and supporting, a diverse membership which is drawn from all geographic, economic, and line-of-business segments worldwide.
To foster the worldwide development of technology for producing industrial and medical gases safely, efficiently, and in an environmentally sound manner.
To encourage industrial / medical gas applications and products which improve the environment and/or enhance life. To promote the safe use and handling of industrial and medical gases by its members, their customers, and the public by providing the leadership for, and coordinating the development of, information and standards by appropriate bodies throughout the world.
MATHESON is a single source for industrial, medical, specialty and electronic gases, gas handling equipment, high performance purification systems, engineering and gas management services, and on-site gas generation with a mission to deliver innovative solutions for global customer requirements. MATHESON is the largest subsidiary of the Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation Group, the largest Japanese supplier of industrial gases and one of the five largest suppliers of industrial, specialty, and electronics gases in the world.