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Industry Definition. Before Conducting An Industry Analysis,

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Industry Definition
Before conducting an industry analysis, it is necessary to define the industries that Linde and Praxair are competing in. While both companies are generally known as industrial gas companies, this description offers little insight into the product offerings of each company and the differences between the two companies. The first industry both companies compete in is industrial gas production; each company produces hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and many other gases with industrial use cases. However, both Praxair and Linde also serve consumers directly with some products, including oxygen tanks for breathing or welding. In fact, Praxair has two retail locations in Kingston. This customer-facing portion of the business has …show more content…

Further, even capital investment alone is not sufficient, as specialized technical expertise is required to be successful in this industry. New entrants may find it difficult to attract top talent from a larger, more established firm. Finally, the regulatory burdens imposed on this industry make compliance relatively more expensive for new entrants. As a result, little attention is paid to new entrants in this industry, as firms focus instead on rivalry among existing firms.

Threat of Substitutes
The threat of substitutes in industrial gases is moderately low, but is highly dependent to the specific product. For example, hydrogen is often used in petroleum refining to remove sulfur. More recently, however, researchers have found a way to use oxygen and ionic salts to remove sulfur more efficiently, eliminating the need for hydrogen. In contrast, liquid nitrogen, often used to clean sensitive equipment, has no practical substitutes, as it quickly eliminates all bacteria and other contaminants due to its extremely cold temperature. Finally, oxygen, often used for medical purposes, has no available substitutes due to human biology. Overall, while new technologies are creating opportunities for new substitutes, most products that exist in this industry will never has practical substitutes.

Bargaining Power of Customers
The bargaining power of customers in this industry is moderate.

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