There are many regional suppliers in the UK and some who’s true owners may surprise you! Smaller independents generally have a lower cost base and as such can pass these saving onto customers compared to their larger rivals.

There are some notable suppliers in this area:

Energas

Owned by Air Liquide and supplying mainly compressed gases and LPG products.

• Currently has 16 depots in the UK servicing customers in the midlands to northern England.
• There are many agents/ stockists who work with Energas as well as Air Liquide
• Does not offer any liquid gas solutions as that is managed by the parent company

Gas Direct / Hobby Weld / Dixons/ Sig Industrial

All owned by Air Products servicing specific niches in the market from the DIY’er to larger cylinder businesses.

• Covers a wide area of the UK via agents and depots
• Specific ranges and product sizes offered by all so the cost to serve is kept low and passed onto end users.
• Gas Direct is the only one of these companies that can offer a wider range of cylinder gases and more akin to Energas.
• Does not offer any liquid gas solutions as that is managed by the parent company

Buse Gases

A relative newcomer in the UK, BUSE Gases have been trading in Germany for many decades mainly in CO2. However, they do provide the full range of industrial gases for all businesses.

• Covers mainly the midlands via agents and is supported via 3 depots across England
• Truly independent and a family-owned business.
• They do offer a liquid supply from their depots, but this is limited due to geographic locations.
• Please be wary – even though they ‘offer’ a liquid service they are not an owner/ operator of a Air Separation Unit (ASU) in the UK. As such source their liquid gas for the mixtures and liquid offer from the 3 main gas suppliers