July 17, 2007 – After being sold to a private equity firm earlier this year, BOC Edwards says it is now dropping the “BOC” part of its name, returning to the moniker of its early days nearly a century ago.

Originally founded in 1919 as Edwards High Vacuum International, the firm was bought by the BOC Group in 1968, and changed into BOC Edwards in 1997. “With the support of our new owners, CCMP Capital, we intend to invest in growing Edwards as a newly-independent privately-owned company, offering greater responsiveness and flexibility to surpass our customers’ expectations,” said Nigel Hunton, CEO, in a statement.

BOC Edwards was put up for sale after the Linde Group acquired parent BOC Group in March 2006, then surpassing Air Liquide to become the world’s largest gas supplier. In March of this year, BOC Edwards was sold to CCMP Capital for about $900 million.

In addition to its new naming kickoff, Edwards is debuting its new Atlas high-flow combustion abatement systems targeting process-related abatement problems of increased flow rates, greenhouse gas destruction, and increased waste streams from next-generation processes. The company also is tipping its new next-generation pump technology, with two new platforms scheduled for release later this year targeting harsh duty applications with a modular architecture and lower power consumption.