Praxair Inc. signed a long-term contract to provide nitrogen to Toray Carbon Fibers America, a U.S. subsidiary of Toray Industries. Praxair will build, own and operate an air-separation plant that will supply Toray with nitrogen for use in manufacturing carbon fiber at its new Spartanburg County, S.C., facility. The carbon fiber will be used by aerospace, automotive, sporting goods and other manufacturing customers regionally and internationally. Praxair’s plant is expected to start up in 2017.

In other news, Praxair announced that GE Aviation and Praxair Surface Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Praxair, entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture for the development, support and application of specialized coatings. The coatings will be tailored for GE Aviation’s and CFM International’s current and future engine models, including the GE9X and LEAP engines. When created, the joint venture will expand its footprint with a new coatings plant in the southeast U.S. that will supplement the services provided to GE from Praxair’s Indianapolis facility and other global operations.