Segment and Geographic Information Segment and Geographic Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Asset impairments									$ 253,560		$ 0		$ 0
Asset Impairments Charges and Other PP&E Impairment									255,116		0		0
Sales to external customers									1,040,160		1,192,952		1,177,438
Depreciation and amortization expense									45,448		43,176		40,389
Operating income (loss)	$ (238,918)	$ 15,609	$ 25,129	$ 14,957	$ 41,612	$ 40,355	$ 34,044	$ 22,146	(183,223)	[1],[2]	138,157	[3],[4]	135,997
Total assets (2)	1,201,976				1,462,063				1,201,976		1,462,063		1,461,630
Capital expenditures									47,039		62,135		72,585
Escrow Settlement									5,003
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	266,277				257,645				266,277		257,645		224,205
United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									513,691		560,846		479,067
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	153,987				163,425				153,987		163,425		146,610
CZECH REPUBLIC
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	19,742				22,511				19,742		22,511		23,623
China [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									109,978		188,047		231,143
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	79,691				57,580				79,691		57,580		38,569
Germany [Member]
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	12,246				13,495				12,246		13,495		14,618
Other Non-U.S. Countries [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									416,491		444,059		467,228
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	611				634				611		634		785
Non-U.S. Countries [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									526,469		632,106		698,371
Segments, Geographical Areas [Abstract]
Property, plant and equipment, net	112,290				94,220				112,290		94,220		77,595
Energy & Chemicals [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Asset Impairments Charges and Other PP&E Impairment									68,796
Sales to external customers									330,968		388,018		318,510
Depreciation and amortization expense									11,805		9,649		8,564
Operating income (loss)									(8,138)		79,665		59,671
Total assets (2)	251,810				322,936				251,810		322,936		277,760
Capital expenditures									4,074		24,834		34,194
Energy & Chemicals [Member] | Natural gas processing (including petrochemical) applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									180,909		208,706		175,397
Energy & Chemicals [Member] | Liquefied natural gas applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									136,049		143,870		114,567
Energy & Chemicals [Member] | Industrial gas applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									14,010		35,442		28,546
Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Asset Impairments Charges and Other PP&E Impairment									2,020
Sales to external customers									487,557		578,806		592,616
Depreciation and amortization expense									18,289		16,749		15,237
Operating income (loss)									41,732		85,213		93,560
Total assets (2)	689,112				666,451				689,112		666,451		676,484
Capital expenditures									36,835		29,583		32,039
Distribution & Storage [Member] | Liquefied natural gas applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									115,909		209,626		193,032
Distribution & Storage [Member] | Bulk industrial gas applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									203,834		204,214		241,291
Distribution & Storage [Member] | Packaged gas industrial applications [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									167,814		164,966		158,293
BioMedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Asset Impairments Charges and Other PP&E Impairment									184,300
Sales to external customers									221,635		226,128		266,312
Depreciation and amortization expense									12,039		13,842		14,618
Operating income (loss)									(164,284)		25,694		33,039
Total assets (2)	224,443				396,320				224,443		396,320		431,763
Capital expenditures									3,849		3,484		3,370
BioMedical [Member] | Respiratory therapy [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									132,321		141,273		175,233
BioMedical [Member] | Life sciences [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									64,641		65,948		61,493
BioMedical [Member] | Commercial oxygen generation [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									24,673		18,907		29,586
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales to external customers									0		0		0
Depreciation and amortization expense									3,315		2,936		1,970
Operating income (loss)									(52,533)		(52,415)		(50,273)
Total assets (2)	$ 36,611				$ 76,356				36,611		76,356		75,623
Capital expenditures									$ 2,281		$ 4,234		$ 2,982

[1] Includes asset impairment charges of $255,116 for the year ended December 31, 2015, attributed to E&C - $68,796, D&S - $2,020 , and BioMedical - $184,300.

[2] Includes impairment of goodwill and intangible assets totaling $253,560 as described in Note 3, Asset Impairments, to the consolidated financial statements.

[3] Includes recovery of $5,003 increasing operating income during the fourth quarter of 2014 from an escrow settlement for breaches of representations and warranties relating to warranty costs (which are in excess of the settlement amount) for certain product lines acquired from AirSep in 2012. We continue to pursue recovery for breaches of representations and warranties related to warranty costs for certain product lines acquired from AirSep in 2012 under our representation and warranty insurance coverage that exists from the acquisition.

[4] The BioMedical segment’s operating income included recovery of $5,003 increasing operating income for the year ended December 31, 2014 from an escrow settlement for breaches of representations and warranties relating to warranty costs (which are in excess of the settlement amount) for certain product lines acquired from AirSep in 2012.