Investing in our common stock involves risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below as well as the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating your investment in us. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows could be harmed materially. Additional risks, uncertainties and other factors that are not currently known to us or that we believe are not currently material may also adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. In any of these cases, you may lose all or part of your investment in us.

Risks Related to our Business

The markets we serve are subject to cyclical demand and vulnerable to economic downturn, which could harm our business and make it difficult to project long-term performance.

Demand for our products depends in large part upon the level of capital and maintenance expenditures by many of our customers and end users, in particular those customers in the global hydrocarbon and industrial gas markets. These customers’ expenditures historically have been cyclical in nature and vulnerable to economic downturns. Decreased capital and maintenance spending by these customers could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, this historically cyclical demand limits our ability to make accurate long-term predictions about the performance of our company. Even if demand starts to improve, it is difficult to predict whether any improvement represents a long-term improving trend or the extent or timing of improvement. There can be no assurance that historically improving cycles are representative of future actual demand.

While we experienced growth in demand from 2003 until mid-2008 in the global hydrocarbon and industrial gas markets, we experienced a significant decline in orders from mid-2008 until mid-2009. While there has been some recent improvement in orders for some of our businesses, we cannot predict whether business performance may be better or worse in the future.

The loss of, or significant reduction or delay in, purchases by our largest customers could reduce our revenues and profitability.

A small number of customers has accounted for a substantial portion of our historical net sales. For example, sales to our top ten customers accounted for 38%, 47% and 48% of consolidated sales in 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. We expect that a limited number of customers will continue to represent a substantial portion of our sales for the foreseeable future. While our sales to particular customers fluctuate from period to period, the global producers and distributors of hydrocarbon and industrial gases and their suppliers tend to be a consistently large source of revenue for us.

The loss of any of our major customers or a decrease or delay in orders or anticipated spending by such customers could materially reduce our revenues and profitability. Our largest customers could also engage in business combinations, which could increase their size, reduce their demand for our products as they recognize synergies or rationalize assets and increase or decrease the portion of our total sales concentration to any single customer.

Decreases in energy prices may decrease demand for some of our products and cause downward pressure on the prices we charge, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A significant amount of our sales are to customers in the energy production and supply industry. We estimate that 47% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010 was generated by end-users in the energy industry. Accordingly, demand for a significant portion of our products depends upon the level of capital expenditure by companies in the oil and gas industry, which depends, in part, on energy prices. While some applications for our products could see greater demand if prices for natural gas remain relatively low compared

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to oil prices, a sustained decline in energy prices and a resultant downturn in energy production activities could negatively affect the capital expenditures of our customers. Any significant decline in the capital expenditures of our customers, whether due to a decrease in the market price of energy or otherwise, may decrease demand for our products and cause downward pressure on the prices we charge. Accordingly, if there is a downturn in the energy production and supply industry, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Governmental energy policies could change, or expected changes could fail to materialize, which could adversely affect our business or prospects.

Energy policy can develop rapidly in the markets we serve, including the United States. Within the last few years, significant developments have taken place, primarily in international markets that we serve with respect to energy policy and related regulations. We anticipate that energy policy will continue to be an important regulatory priority globally as well as on a national, state and local level. As energy policy continues to evolve, the existing rules and incentives that impact the energy-related segments of our business may change. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict whether changes in energy policy might occur in the future and the timing of potential changes and their impact on our business. The elimination or reduction of favorable policies for our energy-related business, or the failure of expected policies that would benefit our business to be adopted, could negatively impact our revenues and profitability. For example, China’s 12 ^th Five-Year Plan promotes the use of natural gas, and our business prospects in China could be harmed if China changed that policy. Likewise, if the United States does not adopt a law such as the proposed Natural Gas Act, we would not benefit from any resultant expansion of the LNG infrastructure in the United States.

We may be unable to compete successfully in the highly competitive markets in which we operate.

Although many of our products serve niche markets, a number of our direct and indirect competitors in these markets are major corporations, some of which have substantially greater technical, financial and marketing resources than Chart, and other competitors enter these markets from time to time. Any increase in competition may cause us to lose market share or compel us to reduce prices to remain competitive, which could result in reduced sales and earnings. Companies, or their divisions, that operate in our industry include Air Products, Kobe, Linde, Nordon, Sumitomo, CVA and Taylor-Wharton. Additionally, we compete with several suppliers owned by global industrial gas producers and many smaller fabrication-only facilities around the world. Increased competition with these companies could prevent the institution of price increases or could require price reductions or increased spending on research and development, and marketing and sales, any of which could materially reduce our revenues, profitability or both. Moreover, during an industry downturn, competition in some of the product lines we serve increases as a result of over-capacity, which may result in downward pricing pressure. Further, customers who typically outsource their need for cryogenic systems to us may use their excess capacity to produce such systems themselves. We also compete in the sale of a limited number of products with certain of our major customers. If we are unable to compete successfully, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be negatively affected.

A downturn in economic and financial conditions has had and may have in the future a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The global economic and financial market crisis in 2008 and 2009 caused a general tightening in the credit markets, lower levels of liquidity, increases in the rates of default and bankruptcy, and reduced corporate profits and capital spending, all of which had a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Demand for our products depends in large part upon the level of capital and maintenance expenditures by many of our customers and end users. While general economic conditions improved throughout 2010, a downturn in economic conditions may reduce the willingness or ability of our customers and prospective customers to commit funds to purchase our products and services, and may reduce their ability to pay for our products and services after purchase. Similarly, our suppliers may not be able to supply us with needed raw materials or components on a timely basis, may increase prices or go out of business, which could result in our

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inability to meet customer demand, or fulfill our contractual obligations or could affect our gross margins. See “We depend on the availability of certain key suppliers; if we experience difficulty with a supplier, we may have difficulty finding alternative sources of supply” below. We cannot predict the timing or duration of negative market conditions. If the economy or markets in which we operate deteriorate or financial markets weaken, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Our exposure to fixed-price contracts, including exposure to fixed pricing on long-term customer contracts, could negatively impact our financial results.

A substantial portion of our sales has historically been derived from fixed-price contracts for large system projects, which may involve long-term fixed price commitments to customers which are sometimes difficult to execute. We have experienced difficulties in executing large contracts of this kind in the past, including cost overruns, storm damage, supplier failures and customer disputes. While we believe our contract management processes are strong, our staff reduction initiatives during the recent downturn increase the risk that our future execution on fixed-priced contracts could result in future difficulties.

To the extent that any of our fixed-price contracts are delayed, our subcontractors fail to perform, contract counterparties successfully assert claims against us, the original cost estimates in these or other contracts prove to be inaccurate or the contracts do not permit us to pass increased costs on to our customers, profitability from a particular contract may decrease or project losses may be incurred, which, in turn, could decrease our revenues and overall profitability. The uncertainties associated with our fixed-price contracts make it more difficult to predict our future results and exacerbate the risk that our results will not match expectations, which has happened in the past.

We depend on the availability of certain key suppliers; if we experience difficulty with a supplier, we may have difficulty finding alternative sources of supply.

The cost, quality and availability of raw materials and certain specialty metals used to manufacture our products are critical to our success. The materials and components we use to manufacture our products are sometimes custom made and may be available only from a few suppliers, and the lead times required to obtain these materials and components can often be significant. We rely on sole suppliers or a limited number of suppliers for some of these materials, including special grades of aluminum used in our brazed aluminum heat exchangers. While we have not historically encountered problems with availability, this does not mean that we will continue to have timely access to adequate supplies of essential materials and components in the future or that supplies of these materials and components will be available on satisfactory terms when needed. If our vendors for these materials and components are unable to meet our requirements, fail to make shipments in a timely manner or ship defective materials or components, we could experience a shortage or delay in supply or fail to meet our contractual requirements, which would adversely affect our results of operations and negatively impact our cash flow and profitability.

Our backlog is subject to modification or termination of orders, which could negatively impact our sales.

Our backlog is comprised of the portion of firm signed purchase orders or other written contractual commitments received from customers that we have not recognized as revenue. The dollar amount of backlog as of December 31, 2010 was $236.4 million. Our backlog can be significantly affected by the timing of orders for large products, particularly in our E&C segment, and the amount of our backlog at December 31, 2010 is not necessarily indicative of future backlog levels or the rate at which backlog will be recognized as sales. Although historically the amount of modifications and terminations of our orders has not been material compared to our total contract volume and is partially offset by cancellation penalties, customers can, and sometimes do, terminate or modify these orders. We cannot predict whether cancellations will accelerate or diminish in the future. Cancellations of purchase orders or reductions of product quantities in existing contracts could substantially and materially reduce our backlog and, consequently, our future sales. Our failure to replace canceled or reduced backlog could negatively impact our sales and results of operations.

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Health care reform or other changes in government and other third-party payor reimbursement levels and practices could negatively impact our revenues and profitability.

Our acquisitions of Covidien’s oxygen therapy business and SeQual Technologies Inc., among others, have significantly increased the size and impact on our financial results of our respiratory products business in our BioMedical segment. Many of our BioMedical segment’s customers are reimbursed for products and services by third-party payors, such as government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, private insurance plans and managed care programs in the U.S, and by similar programs and entities in the other countries in which we operate or sell our equipment. If third-party payors deny coverage, make the reimbursement process or documentation requirements more uncertain or reduce levels of reimbursement, it could negatively affect our revenues and profitability.

In March 2010, significant reforms to the healthcare system were adopted in the United States. The new law includes provisions that, among other things, reduce and/or limit Medicare reimbursement, require all individuals to have health insurance (with limited exceptions) and impose new and/or increased taxes. Specifically, the law imposes a 2.3% excise tax on U.S. sales of most medical devices beginning in 2013 which will impact certain of our BioMedical sales. Various healthcare reform proposals have also emerged at the state level. The new law and these proposals could impact the demand for our products or the prices at which we sell our products. In addition, the excise tax could increase our cost of doing business. The impact of this law and these proposals could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

As a global business, we are exposed to economic, political and other risks in different countries which could materially reduce our revenues, profitability or cash flows, or materially increase our liabilities.

Since we manufacture and sell our products worldwide, our business is subject to risks associated with doing business internationally. In 2010, 2009 and 2008, 57%, 59% and 65%, respectively, of our sales were made in international markets. Our future results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:

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Our international operations and sales also expose us to different local political and business risks and challenges. For example, we are faced with potential difficulties in staffing and managing local operations and we have to design local solutions to manage credit and legal risks of local customers and distributors. In addition, because some of our international sales are to suppliers that perform work for foreign governments, we are subject to the political risks associated with foreign government projects. For example, certain foreign governments may require suppliers for a project to obtain products solely from local manufacturers or may prohibit the use of products manufactured in certain countries.

International growth and expansion into emerging markets, such as China, Central and Eastern Europe, India, the Middle East and Latin America, may cause us difficulty due to greater regulatory barriers than in the United States, the necessity of adapting to new regulatory systems, problems related to entering new markets with different economic, social and political systems and conditions, and significant competition from the primary participants in these markets, some of which may have substantially greater resources than us. For example, unstable political conditions or civil unrest, including the recent political instability in North Africa and the Middle East and any expansion of that unrest, could negatively impact our order levels and sales in a region or our ability to collect receivables from customers or operate or execute projects in a region.

Our international operations also depend upon favorable trade relations between the United States and those foreign countries in which our customers and suppliers have operations. A protectionist trade environment in either the United States or those foreign countries in which we do business or sell products, such as a change in the current tariff structures, export compliance, government subsidies or other trade policies, may adversely affect our ability to sell our products or do business in foreign markets. Our overall success as a global business depends, in part, upon our ability to succeed in differing economic, social and political conditions. We may not succeed in developing and implementing policies and strategies to counter the foregoing factors effectively in each location where we do business and the foregoing factors may cause a reduction in our revenues, profitability or cash flows, or cause an increase in our liabilities.

Fluctuations in exchange and interest rates may affect our operating results and impact our financial condition.

Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar may increase or decrease our sales or earnings. Because our consolidated financial results are reported in U.S. dollars, if we generate sales or earnings in other currencies, the translation of those results into U.S. dollars can result in a significant increase or decrease in the amount of those sales or earnings. We also bid for certain foreign projects in U.S. dollars or euros. If the U.S. dollar or euro strengthens relative to the value of the local currency, we may be less competitive on those projects. In addition, our debt service requirements are primarily in U.S. dollars and a portion of our cash flow is generated in euros or other foreign currencies. Significant changes in the value of the foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar could impair our cash flow and financial condition.

In addition, fluctuations in currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may make it more difficult to perform period-to-period comparisons of our reported results of operations. For purposes of accounting, the assets and liabilities of our foreign operations, where the local currency is the functional currency, are translated using period-end exchange rates, and the revenues and expenses of our foreign operations are translated using average exchange rates during each period.

In addition to currency translation risks, we incur currency transaction risk whenever we or one of our subsidiaries enters into either a purchase or a sales transaction using a currency other than the functional currency of the transacting entity. Given the volatility of exchange rates, we may not be able to effectively manage our currency and/or translation risks. Volatility in currency exchange rates may decrease our revenues and profitability and impair our financial condition. We have purchased and may continue to purchase foreign currency forward buy and sell contracts to manage the risk of adverse currency fluctuations and if the contracts are inconsistent with currency trends we could experience exposure related to foreign currency fluctuations.

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We are also exposed to general interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our interest expense could increase significantly, affecting earnings and reducing cash flow available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other purposes. In addition, changes by any rating agency to our outlook or credit ratings could increase our cost of borrowing.

We may fail to successfully acquire or integrate companies that provide complementary products or technologies.

A component of our business strategy is the acquisition of businesses that complement our existing products and services. Such a strategy involves the potential risks inherent in assessing the value, strengths, weaknesses, contingent or other liabilities and potential profitability of acquisition candidates and in integrating the operations of acquired companies. In addition, any acquisitions of foreign business may increase our exposure to risks inherent in doing business outside the United States.

From time to time, we may have acquisition discussions with potential target companies both domestically and internationally. If a large acquisition opportunity arises and we proceed, a substantial portion of our cash and surplus borrowing capacity could be used for the acquisition or we may seek additional debt or equity financing.

Potential acquisition opportunities become available to us from time to time, and we engage periodically in discussions or negotiations relating to potential acquisitions, including acquisitions that may be material in size or scope to our business. Any acquisition may or may not occur and, if an acquisition does occur, it may not be successful in enhancing our business for one or more of the following reasons:

Inherent in any future acquisition is the risk of transitioning company cultures and facilities. The failure to efficiently and effectively achieve such transitions could increase our costs and decrease our profitability.

We are subject to potential insolvency or financial distress of third parties.

We are exposed to the risk that third parties to various arrangements who owe us money or goods and services, or who purchase goods and services from us, will not be able to perform their obligations or continue to place orders due to insolvency or financial distress. If third parties fail to perform their obligations under arrangements with us, we may be forced to replace the underlying commitment at current or above market prices or on other terms that are less favorable to us or we may have to write off receivables in the case of customer failures to pay. If this happens, whether as a result of the insolvency or financial distress of a third party or otherwise, we may incur losses, or our results of operations, financial position or liquidity could otherwise be adversely affected.

If we are unable to effectively control our costs while maintaining our customer relationships and core resources, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

It is critical for us to appropriately align our cost structure with prevailing market conditions, to minimize the effect of economic fluctuation on our operations, and in particular, to continue to maintain our customer relationships, core resources and manufacturing capacity while protecting profitability and cash flow. If we are

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unable to align our cost structure in response to prevailing economic conditions on a timely basis, or if implementation or failure to implement any cost structure adjustments has an adverse impact on our business or prospects, then our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be negatively affected.

If we are unable to successfully manage our planned operational expansions, it may place a significant strain on our management and administrative resources and lead to increased costs and reduced profitability.

We expect to continue to expand our operations, particularly in China, Europe and the United States in markets where we perceive the opportunity for profitable expansion. Our ability to operate our business successfully and implement our strategies depends, in part, on our ability to allocate our resources optimally in each of our facilities in order to maintain efficient operations as we expand. Ineffective management of our growth could cause manufacturing inefficiencies, increase our operating costs, place significant strain on our management and administrative resources and prevent us from implementing our business plan.

For example, we have invested or plan to invest approximately $15-20 million in new capital expenditures in 2011 related to the expected growth of selective parts of each of BioMedical, E&C and D&S segments. If we fail to implement these projects in a timely and effective manner, we may lose the opportunity to obtain some customer orders. Even if we effectively implement these projects, the orders needed to support the capital expenditure may not be obtained, may be delayed, or may be less than expected, which may result in sales or profitability at lower levels than anticipated. For example, while we invested significantly in the expansion of our E&C segment in recent years, we experienced delay in some of the orders initially anticipated to support the cold box portion of that expansion, which resulted in the underutilization of some of our capacity. In addition, potential cost overruns, delays or unanticipated problems in any capital expansion could make the expansion more costly than originally predicted or cause us to miss windows of opportunity.

Difficulties in implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning system could disrupt our business.

Since 2009 we have been implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning, or “ERP,” system worldwide. Primarily as a result of the complexities and business process changes associated with this implementation, there can be no assurance that we will not experience disruptions or inefficiencies in our business operations as a result of this new system implementation, the final phases of which are scheduled to be completed in 2011.

If we lose our senior management or other key employees, our business may be adversely affected .

Our ability to successfully operate and grow our business and implement our strategies is largely dependent on the efforts, abilities and services of our senior management and other key employees. Our future success will also depend on, among other factors, our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, such as engineers and other skilled labor, either through direct hiring or the acquisition of other businesses employing such professionals. Our products, many of which are highly engineered, represent specialized applications of cryogenic or low temperature technologies and know-how, and many of the markets we serve represent niche markets for these specialized applications. Accordingly, we rely heavily on engineers, salespersons, business unit leaders, senior management and other key employees who have experience in these specialized applications and are knowledgeable about these niche markets, our products, and our company. Additionally, we may modify our management structure from time to time or substantially reduce our overall workforce as we did in certain sectors of our business during the recent economic downturn, which may create marketing, operational and other business risks. The loss of the services of these senior managers or other key employees or the failure to attract or retain other qualified personnel could reduce the competitiveness of our business or otherwise impair our business prospects.

Fluctuations in the prices and availability of raw materials could negatively impact our financial results.

The pricing and availability of raw materials for use in our businesses can be volatile due to numerous factors beyond our control, including general, domestic and international economic conditions, labor costs,

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production levels, competition, consumer demand, import duties and tariffs and currency exchange rates. This volatility can significantly affect the availability and cost of raw materials for us, and may, therefore, increase the short-term or long-term costs of raw materials.

The commodity metals we use, including aluminum and stainless steel, have experienced significant fluctuations in price in recent years. Prices rose quickly in the period prior to the recent global economic downturn, subsequently declined during the economic downturn, and more recently have been increasing again. On average, over half of our cost of sales has historically been represented by the cost of commodities metals. We have generally been able to recover the cost increases through price increases to our customers; however, during periods of rising prices of raw materials, we may not always be able to pass increases on to our customers. Conversely, when raw material prices decline, customer demands for lower prices could result in lower sale prices and, to the extent we have existing inventory, lower margins. As a result, fluctuations in raw material prices could result in lower revenues and profitability.

Due to the nature of our business and products, we may be liable for damages based on product liability and warranty claims.

Due to the high pressures and low temperatures at which many of our products are used, the inherent risks associated with concentrated industrial and hydrocarbon gases, and the fact that some of our products are relied upon by our customers or end users in their facilities or operations, or are manufactured for relatively broad industrial, transportation or consumer use, we face an inherent risk of exposure to claims in the event that the failure, use or misuse of our products results, or is alleged to result, in death, bodily injury, property damage or economic loss. We believe that we meet or exceed existing professional specification standards recognized or required in the industries in which we operate. We are subject to claims from time to time, some of which are substantial but none of which historically have had a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations, and we may be subject to claims in the future. Although we currently maintain product liability coverage, which we believe is adequate for the continued operation of our business, such insurance may become difficult to obtain or be unobtainable in the future on terms acceptable to us, it includes customary exclusions and conditions, it may not cover certain specialized applications, such as aerospace-related applications, and it generally does not cover warranty claims. A successful product liability claim or series of claims against us, including one or more consumer claims purporting to constitute class actions or claims resulting from extraordinary loss events, in excess of or outside our insurance coverage or a significant warranty claim or series of claims against us could materially decrease our liquidity, impair our financial condition and adversely affect our results of operations.

Some of our products are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other governmental authorities.

Some of our products are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other national, supranational, federal and state governmental authorities. It can be costly and time consuming to obtain regulatory approvals to market a medical device, such as those sold by our BioMedical segment. Approvals might not be granted for new devices on a timely basis, if at all. Regulations are subject to change as a result of legislative, administrative or judicial action, which may further increase our costs or reduce sales. Our failure to maintain approvals or obtain approval for new products could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

In addition, we are subject to regulations covering manufacturing practices, product labeling and advertising and adverse-event reporting that apply after we have obtained approval to sell a product. Many of our facilities and procedures and those of our suppliers are subject to ongoing oversight, including periodic inspection by governmental authorities. Compliance with production, safety, quality control and quality assurance regulations is costly and time-consuming, and while we seek to be in full compliance, noncompliance could arise from time

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to time. If we fail to comply, our operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected, including through the imposition of fines, costly remediation or plant shutdowns as a result of noncompliance.

We carry goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets on our balance sheet, which are subject to impairment testing and could subject us to significant charges to earnings in the future if impairment occurs.

As of December 31, 2010, we had goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets of $316.2 million, which represented approximately 33.1% of our total assets. The value of these assets may increase in the future if we complete acquisitions as part of our overall business strategy. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are tested for impairment annually on October 1 ^st or more often if events or changes in circumstances indicate a potential impairment may exist. Factors that could indicate that our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets are impaired include a decline in stock price and market capitalization, lower than projected operating results and cash flows, and slower growth rates in our industry. Our stock price historically has fluctuated significantly in response to market and other factors. For example, it declined significantly from mid-2008 to early 2009 and then increased sharply in late 2010. Declines in our stock price in the future could increase the risk of goodwill impairment if the price of our stock does not recover. To test for impairment, a model to estimate the fair market value of our reporting segments has been developed. This fair market value model incorporates our estimates of future operating results and cash flows, estimates of allocations of certain assets and cash flows among reporting segments, estimates of future growth rates and our judgment regarding the applicable discount rates to use to discount those estimated operating results and cash flows. If an impairment is determined to exist, it may result in a significant non-recurring non-cash charge to earnings and lower shareholders’ equity.

We may be required to make material expenditures in order to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and climate change regulations, or incur additional liabilities under these laws and regulations.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that impose various environmental controls on us or otherwise relate to environmental protection and various health and safety matters, including the discharge of pollutants in the air and water, the handling, use, treatment, storage and clean-up of solid and hazardous materials and wastes, the investigation and remediation of soil and groundwater affected by hazardous substances and the requirement to obtain and maintain permits and licenses. These laws and regulations often impose strict, retroactive and joint and several liability for the costs of, and damages resulting from, cleaning up our, or our predecessors’, past or present facilities and third party disposal sites. Compliance with these laws generally increases the costs of transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products, as well as the costs of storing and disposing waste, and could decrease our liquidity and profitability and increase our liabilities. Health and safety and other laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate impose various requirements on us including state licensing requirements that may benefit our customers. If we are found to have violated any of these laws, we may become subject to corrective action orders and fines or penalties, and incur substantial costs, including substantial remediation costs and commercial liability to our customers. Further, we also could be subject to future liability resulting from conditions that are currently unknown to us that could be discovered in the future.

We are currently remediating or developing work plans for remediation of environmental conditions involving certain current or former facilities. For example, the discovery of contamination arising from historical industrial operations at our Clarksville, Arkansas property, which is currently being leased to a third party business, has exposed us, and in the future may continue to expose us, to remediation obligations. We have also been subject to environmental liabilities for other sites where we formerly operated or at locations where we or our predecessors did or are alleged to have operated. To date, our environmental remediation expenditures and costs for otherwise complying with environmental laws and regulations have not been material, but the uncertainties associated with the investigation and remediation of contamination and the fact that such laws or

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regulations change frequently makes predicting the cost or impact of such laws and regulations on our future operations uncertain. Stricter environmental, safety and health laws, regulations or enforcement policies could result in substantial costs and liabilities to us and could subject us to more rigorous scrutiny. Consequently, compliance with these laws could result in significant expenditures as well as other costs and liabilities that could decrease our liquidity and profitability and increase our liabilities.

There is a growing political and scientific belief that emissions of greenhouse gases (“GHG”) alter the composition of the global atmosphere in ways that are affecting the global climate. Various stakeholders, including legislators and regulators, shareholders and non-governmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. There is growing consensus that some form of U.S. regulation will be forthcoming at the federal level with respect to GHG emissions. Such regulation could result in regulatory or product standard requirements for the Company’s global businesses but because any impact is dependent on the design of the mandate or standard, the Company is unable to predict its significance at this time. Furthermore, the potential physical impacts of theorized climate change on the Company’s customers, and therefore on the Company’s operations, are speculative and highly uncertain, and would be particular to the circumstances developing in various geographical regions. These may include changes in weather patterns (including drought and rainfall levels), water availability, storm patterns and intensities, and temperature levels. These potential physical effects may adversely impact the cost, production, sales and financial performance of the Company’s operations.

Increases in labor costs, potential labor disputes and work stoppage could materially decrease our revenues and profitability.

Our financial performance is affected by the availability of qualified personnel and the cost of labor. As of January 31, 2011, we had 3,013 employees, including 1,271 salaried, 216 bargaining unit hourly and 1,526 non-bargaining unit hourly employees. Employees represented by a union are subject to one collective bargaining agreement in the United States that expires in February 2013. We have experienced one work stoppage in 2007. Although we entered into a new labor agreement with our unionized employees at this facility in 2010, if we are unable to enter into new, satisfactory labor agreements with our unionized employees when necessary in the future or other labor controversies or union organizing efforts arise, we could experience a significant disruption to our operations, lose business or experience an increase in our operating expenses, which could reduce our profit margins. Furthermore, increased U.S. federal regulation or significant modifications to existing labor regulations, could potentially increase our labor costs.

Additional liabilities related to taxes, including any new taxes imposed on us as a result of health care reform legislation, could adversely impact our financial results, financial condition and cash flow.

We are subject to tax and related obligations in the jurisdictions in which we operate or do business, including state, local, federal and foreign taxes. The taxing rules of the various jurisdictions in which we operate or do business often are complex and subject to varying interpretations. Tax authorities may challenge tax positions that we take or historically have taken, and may assess taxes where we have not made tax filings or may audit the tax filings we have made and assess additional taxes, as they have done from time to time in the past. Some of these assessments may be substantial, and also may involve the imposition of substantial penalties and interest. In addition, governments could impose new taxes on us in the future. For example, health care reform in the United States includes new taxes on manufacturers of medical devices such as the respiratory therapy equipment manufactured by our BioMedical segment. The payment of substantial additional taxes, penalties or interest resulting from tax assessments, or the imposition of any new taxes, could materially and adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.

Our pension plan is currently underfunded.

Certain U.S. hourly and salaried employees are covered by our defined benefit pension plan. The plan has been frozen since February 2006. As of December 31, 2010, the projected benefit obligation under our pension

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plan was approximately $44.7 million and the value of the assets of the plan was approximately $33.2 million, resulting in our pension plan being underfunded by approximately $11.5 million. We are also a participant in a multiemployer plan which is underfunded. If the performance of the assets in our pension plan or the multiemployer plan does not meet expectations or if other actuarial assumptions are modified, our required pension contributions for future years could be higher than we expect, which may negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

If we are unable to continue our technological innovation and successful introduction of new commercial products, our profitability could be adversely affected.

The industries we serve, including the energy, industrial gas and biomedical industries, experience ongoing technological change and product improvement. Manufacturers periodically introduce new generations of products or require new technological capacity to develop customized products or respond to industry developments or needs. Our future growth will depend on our ability to gauge the direction of the commercial and technological progress in our markets, as well as our ability to acquire new product technologies or fund and successfully develop, manufacture and market products in this constantly changing environment. We must continue to identify, develop, manufacture and market innovative products on a timely basis to replace existing products in order to maintain our profit margins and competitive position. We may not be successful in acquiring and developing new products or technologies and any of our new products may not be accepted by our customers. If we fail to keep pace with evolving technological innovations in the markets we serve, our profitability may decrease.

Failure to protect our intellectual property and know-how could reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage and reduce our sales and profitability, and the cost of protecting our intellectual property may be significant.

We rely on a combination of internal procedures, nondisclosure agreements, intellectual property rights assignment agreements, as well as licenses, patents, trademarks and copyright law to protect our intellectual property and know-how. Our intellectual property rights may not be successfully asserted in the future or may be invalidated, circumvented or challenged. For example, we frequently explore and evaluate potential relationships and projects with other parties, which often requires that we provide the potential partner with confidential technical information. While confidentiality agreements are typically put in place, there is a risk the potential partner could violate the confidentiality agreement and use our technical information for its own benefit or the benefit of others or compromise the confidentiality. In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries in which our products may be sold or manufactured do not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. For example, we are increasing our manufacturing capabilities and sales in China, where laws may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as in the United States. Failure or inability to protect our proprietary information could result in a decrease in our sales or profitability.

We have obtained and applied for some U.S. and foreign trademark and patent registrations and will continue to evaluate the registration of additional trademarks and patents, as appropriate. We cannot guarantee that any of our pending applications will be approved. Moreover, even if the applications are approved, third parties may seek to oppose or otherwise challenge them. A failure to obtain registrations in the United States or elsewhere could limit our ability to protect our trademarks and technologies and could impede our business. Further, the protection of our intellectual property may require expensive investment in protracted litigation and the investment of substantial management time and there is no assurance we ultimately would prevail or that a successful outcome would lead to an economic benefit that is greater than the investment in the litigation. The patents in our patent portfolio are scheduled to expire between 2011 and 2030.

In addition, we may be unable to prevent third parties from using our intellectual property rights and know-how without our authorization or from independently developing intellectual property that is the same as or similar to ours, particularly in those countries where the laws do not protect our intellectual property rights as fully as in the United States. We compete in a number of industries (for example, heat exchangers and cryogenic

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storage) that are small or specialized, which makes it easier for a competitor to monitor our activities and increases the risk that ideas will be stolen. The unauthorized use of our know-how by third parties could reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage we have developed, cause us to lose sales or otherwise harm our business or increase our expenses as we attempt to enforce our rights.

We may be subject to claims that our products or processes infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may cause us to pay unexpected litigation costs or damages, modify our products or processes or prevent us from selling our products.

Although it is our intention to avoid infringing or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others, third parties may nevertheless claim (and in the past have claimed) that our processes and products infringe their intellectual property and other rights. For example, our BioMedical business manufactures products for relatively broad consumer use, is actively marketing these products in multiple jurisdictions internationally and risks infringing technologies that may be protected in one or more of these international jurisdictions as the scope of our international marketing efforts expands. Our strategies of capitalizing on growing international demand as well as developing new innovative products across multiple business lines present similar infringement claim risks both internationally and in the United States as we expand the scope of our product offerings and markets. We compete with other companies for contracts in some small or specialized industries, which increases the risk that the other companies will develop overlapping technologies leading to an increased possibility that infringement claims will arise. Whether or not these claims have merit, we may be subject to costly and time-consuming legal proceedings, and this could divert our management’s attention from operating our businesses. In order to resolve such proceedings, we may need to obtain licenses from these third parties or substantially re-engineer or rename our products in order to avoid infringement. In addition, we might not be able to obtain the necessary licenses on acceptable terms, or at all, or be able to re-engineer or rename our products successfully.

Our operations could be impacted by the effects of severe weather, which could be more severe than the damage and impact that our Louisiana operations encountered from hurricanes in 2005 and 2008 .

Some of our operations, including our operations in New Iberia, Louisiana and Houston, Texas, are located in geographic regions and physical locations that are susceptible to physical damage and longer-term economic disruption from hurricanes or other severe weather. We also could make significant future capital expenditures in hurricane-susceptible or other severe weather locations from time to time. These weather events can disrupt our operations, result in damage to our properties and negatively affect the local economy in which these facilities operate. In early September 2008, for example, our New Iberia, Louisiana facility was forced to close as a result of heavy rainfall, evacuations, strong winds and power outages resulting from Hurricane Gustav. Two weeks after Hurricane Gustav, winds and flooding from Hurricane Ike damaged our New Iberia, Louisiana, Houston, Texas and The Woodlands, Texas operations and offices, and those facilities were also closed for a period of time. In 2005, our New Iberia operations encountered damage and were disrupted from the storm surge and flooding caused by Hurricane Rita. Future hurricanes or other severe weather may cause production or delivery delays as a result of the physical damage to the facilities, the unavailability of employees and temporary workers, the shortage of or delay in receiving certain raw materials or manufacturing supplies and the diminished availability or delay of transportation for customer shipments, any of which may have an adverse affect on our revenues and profitability. Additionally, the potential physical impact of theorized climate change could include more frequent and intense storms, which would heighten the risk to our operations in areas that are susceptible to hurricanes and other severe weather. Although we maintain insurance subject to certain deductibles, which may cover some of our losses, that insurance may become unavailable or prove to be inadequate.

We operate in many different jurisdictions and we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the

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purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal policies mandate compliance with these anti-corruption laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-corruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, we cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures always will protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Our continued expansion outside the U.S., including in developing countries, could increase the risk of such violations in the future. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

Increased government regulation could adversely affect our financial results, financial condition and cash flow.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) institutes a wide range of reforms, some of which may impact us. Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act contains significant corporate governance and executive compensation-related provisions that authorize or require the SEC to adopt additional rules and regulations in these areas, such as shareholder “say on pay” voting and proxy access. The impact of these provisions on our business is uncertain. The Dodd-Frank Act also provides for new statutory and regulatory requirements for derivative transactions, including foreign exchange and interest rate hedging transactions. Certain transactions will be required to be cleared on exchanges, and cash collateral will be required for those transactions. While the Dodd-Frank Act provides for a potential exception from these clearing and cash collateral requirements for commercial end-users, the exception is subject to future rule making and interpretation by regulatory authorities. We enter into foreign exchange contracts, interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts from time to time to manage our exposure to commodity price risk, foreign currency exchange risk and interest rate risk. If, in the future, we are required to provide cash collateral for our hedging transactions, it could reduce our ability to execute strategic hedges. In addition, the contractual counterparties in hedging arrangements will be required to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act’s new requirements, which could ultimately result in increased costs of these arrangements.

We are subject to regulations governing the export of our products.

Due to our significant foreign sales, our export activities are subject to regulation, including the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s regulations. While we believe we are in compliance with these regulations and maintain programs intended to achieve compliance, we may currently or may in the future be in violation of these regulations. Any violations may subject us to government scrutiny, investigation and civil and criminal penalties and may limit our ability to export our products.

As a provider of products to the U.S. government, we are subject to federal rules, regulations, audits and investigations, the violation or failure of which could adversely affect our business.

We sell certain of our products to the U.S. government and, therefore, we must comply with and are affected by laws and regulations governing purchases by the U.S. government. Government contract laws and regulations affect how we do business with our government customers and, in some instances, impose added costs on our business. For example, a violation of specific laws and regulations could result in the imposition of fines and penalties or the termination of our contracts or debarment from bidding on contracts. In some instances, these laws and regulations impose terms or rights that are more favorable to the government than those typically available to commercial parties in negotiated transactions.

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Risks Related to our Leverage

Our leverage and future debt service obligations could adversely affect our financial condition, limit our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, impact the way we operate our business, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt and prevent us from fulfilling our debt service obligations.

We are leveraged and have future debt service obligations. Our financial performance could be affected by our leverage. As of December 31, 2010, our total indebtedness was $224.9 million. In addition, at that date, we had $22.0 million of letters of credit and bank guarantees outstanding and borrowing capacity of approximately $113.0 million under the revolving portion of our senior secured credit facility, after giving effect to the letters of credit and bank guarantees outstanding. While we had $165.1 million in cash at December 31, 2010, which we believe mitigates the risk related to our leverage, there is no assurance that we will continue to be profitable in the future or that we will not use our available cash in ways other than those that reduce our leverage or mitigate the risk related to our leverage. We may also incur additional indebtedness in the future. Our level of indebtedness could have important negative consequences to us and you, including:

Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available to us under our senior secured credit facility or otherwise in an amount sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness or fund our other liquidity needs. In addition, a portion of our indebtedness bears interest at variable rates. If market interest rates increase, debt service on our variable-rate debt will rise, which would adversely affect our cash flow. We may be unable to refinance any of our debt, including our senior secured credit facility or our senior subordinated notes, on commercially reasonable terms. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to sell assets, seek additional capital or seek to restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. Our senior secured credit facility and the indenture under which our senior subordinated notes were issued restrict our

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ability to use the proceeds from asset sales. We may be unable to consummate those asset sales to raise capital or sell assets at prices that we believe are fair and proceeds that we do receive may be inadequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.

We may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate the risks that we face .

We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of our debt instruments do not fully prohibit us from doing so. The revolving credit portion of our senior secured credit facility provides commitments of up to $135.0 million, approximately $113.0 million of which would have been available for future borrowings (after giving effect to letters of credit and bank guarantees outstanding) as of December 31, 2010. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Debt Instruments and Related Covenants.” We may also further increase the size of our senior secured credit facility or refinance with higher borrowing limits. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify.

The senior secured credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes contain a number of restrictive covenants which limit our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or engage in other business activities that may be in our interest.

The senior secured credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes impose, and the terms of any future indebtedness may impose, operating and other restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. Such restrictions affect or will affect, and in many respects limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to:

The senior secured credit facility also requires us to achieve certain financial and operating results and maintain compliance with specified financial ratios. Our ability to comply with these ratios may be affected by events beyond our control.

The restrictions contained in the senior secured credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes could:

A breach of any of these covenants or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios could result in a default under our senior secured credit facility and/or the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes. If an event of default occurs under our senior secured credit facility, which includes an event of default under the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes, the lenders could elect to:

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any of which would result in an event of default under our senior subordinated notes. The lenders will also have the right in these circumstances to terminate any commitments they have to provide further financing.

If we were unable to repay or otherwise refinance these borrowings when due, our lenders could sell the collateral securing the senior secured credit facility, which constitutes substantially all of our domestic wholly-owned subsidiaries’ assets.

We are a holding company and we may depend upon cash from our subsidiaries to service our debt. If we do not receive cash from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to meet our obligations.

We are a holding company and all of our operations are conducted through our subsidiaries. Accordingly, we may be dependent upon the earnings and cash flows from our subsidiaries to provide the funds necessary to meet our debt service obligations. If we could not have access to the cash flows of our subsidiaries, we may be unable to pay the principal or interest on our debt. In addition, certain of our subsidiaries are holding companies that rely on subsidiaries of their own as a source of funds to meet any obligations that might arise.

Generally, the ability of a subsidiary to make cash available to its parent is affected by its own operating results and is subject to applicable laws and contractual restrictions contained in its debt instruments and other agreements. Moreover, there may be restrictions on payments by our subsidiaries to us under applicable laws, including laws that require companies to maintain minimum amounts of capital, to make payments to shareholders only from profits and restrictions on our ability to repatriate dividends from our foreign subsidiaries. As a result, although our subsidiaries may have cash, we may be unable to obtain that cash to satisfy our obligations and make payments to our stockholders, if any.

Risks Related to the Trading Market for Our Common Stock

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law may discourage a takeover attempt.

Provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us. Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it more difficult for stockholders to effect certain corporate actions. For example, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of unissued series of preferred stock, without any vote or action by our stockholders. Therefore, our board of directors can authorize and issue shares of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting or other rights of holders of our common stock. These rights may have the effect of delaying or deterring a change of control of our company. These provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, price volatility.

Our common stock has at times experienced substantial price volatility as a result of many factors, including the general volatility of stock market prices and volumes, changes in securities analysts’ estimates of our financial performance, variations between our actual and anticipated financial results, fluctuations in order or backlog levels, changes in accounting policies or procedures as have been required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory agencies, or uncertainty about current global economic conditions. For these reasons, among others, the price of our stock may continue to fluctuate.

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