Airgas Gaspro yesterday celebrates its centennial anniversary in Hawai'i.

Airgas Gaspro opened its doors in 1909 as Hawaiian Gas Products, a small, family-owned business that made bricks, pipe and, eventually, industrial and medical gases such as oxygen and nitrogen.

Today, it has grown to nine locations — three on O'ahu, three on Hawai'i, two on Maui and one on Kaua'i — and generates annual revenues of $40 million.

"Our employees are the true heart and soul of our organization," Mark Mahler, area vice president of Airgas Gaspro, said in a statement. "We have more employees with 20 years of tenure than we do employees with less than five years, and many of our staff are members of 'legacy' families, where several generations have served as Gaspro employees."

Airgas Gaspro contributes more than 400 hours of philanthropic service annually through its work with the REHAB Foundation and the University of Hawai'i. Gaspro also offers sixth-grade science field trips to its facility designed to teach students about chemistry, allowing them to make their own root beer and flash freeze bananas, among other activities.

Airgas Gaspro manufactures industrial and medical gases including hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, and produces dry ice.

Gaspro is also a leading retailer of camping, cooking and other outdoor products and is the largest distributor of propane and propane-fueled products in Hawai'i.