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

Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft mbH:
from diesel engines to tractors and forklifts
Hugo Güldner, co-founder and namesake of
Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft mbH
The gradual takeover of Güldner Motoren-
Gesellschaft mbH in Aschaffenburg by
1929 caused a major change in the Linde
Company: It helped the engineering company
to grow into a major machine builder,
which started out in the 1960s to garner
the world market for industrial trucks,
especially forklifts.
The Linde – Güldner connection goes
back to 1904, when Carl von Linde founded
Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft mbH along
with Hugo Güldner and other partners,
and took a seat on the Supervisory Board.
In 1908 the Linde Company took on partial
ownership of this company for the
first time. When Güldner began to have
financial problems in 1925, the Linde
Company purchased additional shares.
Then, during the Great Depression of
1929, Güldner came under complete
ownership of Linde.
36
1924 1925
German chemists discover polyvinyl alcohol, the basis
for the manufacture of artificial fibers and films.
Starting in the late 1930s, tractors
became the company’s main product
group aside from engines. But in 1952 its
tractor business was in the red, a situation
that was not changed by the introduction
of air-cooled diesel engines in 1954 either.
Güldner made a technological leap into
the future in 1955 with the continuous
hydrostatic drive, which was first installed
in the “Güldner Hydrocar” transport vehicle.
In 1969, Linde ceased production of
tractors and diesel engines in order to
concentrate on the high-growth sectors
of industrial trucks and hydraulics. Over
the ensuing years, this division developed
into one of the Linde Group’s main support
pillars with strong sales and income.
N o 0658 Process for the separation
of coke oven gas by means of intense cooling.
Werner Karl Heisenberg presents his
theory of quantum mechanics.
No 0667Process and
device for the condensation of vapors
contained in air and other gases by
means of cooling.
The entry into machinery building at first had an hindering
effect. In order to improve the situation of Maschinenfabrik
Sürth, which was taken over in 1920, the Linde Company
acquired the G.H. Walb & Co. refrigerated appliance factory in
Mainz-Kostheim, which initially handled the sale of the small
refrigeration machines made by Sürth.
In 1922, Linde purchased shares in Heylandt Gesellschaft für
Apparatebau of Berlin, simultaneously acquiring the company’s
patents for low-temperature engineering and process technology
(see also page 38).
Finally, in 1929, the Linde Company also purchased all of the
shares in Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft mbH, which Carl von
Linde had co-founded in 1904. This company was later moved to
Aschaffenburg (see also page 52). That move, which was actually
motivated with social welfare in mind, would in hindsight be
seen as a major milestone, as it made possible the later entry
in tractor manufacturing – and even more importantly, Güldner
became the seed from which today’s Material Handling Business
Segment grew.
Modernization and innovation
Friedrich Linde and particularly his brother-in-law Rudolf Wucherer
made use of the difficult years of the post-war period to modernize
their gas operations and streamline their organization. At the
same time, Richard Linde in Department B (gas liquefaction and
separation) worked on the technological optimization of the Linde
process. Engineers increased the purity of the oxygen from Linde
plants from 98 to 99 percent and that of nitrogen to 99.999 percent.
At the same time they reduced the plants’ energy consumption.
They also developed a process for separating coke oven gas
to produce a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen for the synthesis
of ammonia. Linde sold one of the first plants of this type to a
Belgian customer in 1924. In the years to follow up until 1928,
the company had sold or booked orders for 47 such plants of
various sizes.