The complete history of the development of The - The Linde Group

Rise to US market leader:
Carl von Linde founds Linde Air Products
1922 1923
Englishman Howard Carter discovers the tomb of
Pharaoh Tutankhamen in the “Valley of Kings.”
Adolf Hitler attempts the “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich.
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Production of ethylene (US Patent).
Cecil Lightfood, head of Linde Air Products (USA).
In 1900, electrical engineer Charles
Brush joined in the dispute and offered to
fight for the patent rights for Carl von Linde
in exchange for a 33 percent share in the
rights. He was finally successful in this
fight in 1903. When the rectification
patents were also disputed in the US in
1906, Carl von Linde decided to found his
own company in the States. To do this, he
needed American partners and immediately
thought of the familiar Fred Wolf,
Charles Brush and Adolphus Bush, the
country’s biggest brewer (Budweiser Beer).
He asked Cecil Lightfoot, the son of
T. B. Lightfoot, who had headed Linde
British Refrigeration Corp. in England for
over 20 years, to make the preparations
for founding the company. Although the A look inside the Linde Air Products plant in Buffalo (1910) –
younger Lightfoot found a suitable site for
building an air separation plant in Buffalo,
the first oxygen plant in the US.
Carl von Linde had systematically promoted he was unable to reach an agreement Lightfoot successfully handled the After the war, the comparative sizes of
the internationalization of his business with the potential investors.
building of the factory, which opened on the parent company and subsidiary had
even before the founding of the “Gesell- And so on December 15, 1906, Carl Thanksgiving Day, November 1907 with finally switched: While the US company had
schaft für Linde’s Eismaschinen” with the von Linde himself traveled to the US and 16 employees – it was the first oxygen a share capital of 15 million dollars, it would
sale of patent rights and the founding of went to Buffalo with Lightfoot to pur- production plant in the United States. have needed only about 200,000 dollars
subsidiary and partner companies. In the chase the land and to sign the order for Linde Air Products sold not only oxygen to purchase the German parent company.
giant market of the faraway United States building the oxygen factory.
but also acetylene and welding equipment. In 1917 Union Carbide and Carbon
of America, he had sold the patent rights However, von Linde had to do without By the outbreak of World War One, the US Corp. took over Linde Air Products, but
to his refrigeration and ice machines to his first choices of partners Bush and Wolf. company had built a dozen factories and continued to operate under the old com-
German-American Friedrich (Fred) Wolf In his negotiations, Charles Brush in supplied the most important industrial pany name. The German Linde AG thus
in Chicago in 1879.
Cleveland managed to found an American- regions in the US.
lost its rights to the name Linde in the
But before he could market his air dominated company. Still, Carl von Linde Since the founding of the American United States. It was not until effective
liquefaction plants in the United States, insisted upon bringing on Hugo Reisinger company, the Linde Company’s share of January 1, 1999 that the North American
von Linde needed to have the American (son-in-law of Adolphus Bush and German Linde Air Products continued to fall as a group companies were once again per-
patents. This became a lengthy hurdle Consul General in New York) as a partner result of several capital increases. When it mitted to use the name “Linde.” The
race, since American engineer Charles and Cecil Lightfoot as a member of became apparent in 1916 that the US Linde Group now once again owns the
Tripler already held a patent for an air management. All of this finally ended in would enter World War One, the German global rights to the “Linde” name and
liquefaction plant and for years prevented the founding of Linde Air Products. company presumably divested itself of its trademark.
the granting of a patent to von Linde.
shares.
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