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

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Inventive spirit and innovation are still our mainsprings
A look back at the achievements of engineer/inventor Carl von
Linde and at the development of the company he helped found,
the “Gesellschaft für Linde’s Eismaschinen,“ into today’s Linde AG
means more to us than fond memories – it is also a commitment
to the future.
The abilities and characteristics exemplified by scientist and
inventor Carl von Linde during his lifetime are, today more than
ever, a model for corporate leaders who want to lead a technology
group like Linde into a long-term, successful future. His
curiosity as an inventor, his persistence in the implementation of
his ideas and theoretical concepts, as well as his ability to recognize
the requirements of his customers and fulfill their desire for
reliability and quality are all timeless factors for success.
As a pioneer in refrigeration technology, Carl von Linde not
only built a dynamic company, which, over the decades, under his
leadership developed into a leading plant engineering company,
refrigerated building operator and gas producer. His inventions also
laid the foundation for a new sector of industry for his day, one
without which today’s world would be inconceivable.
Refrigeration technology revolutionized the food industry as
well as the retail trade. The technology of low temperatures
with air liquefaction and separation of air into its component
parts oxygen, nitrogen and inert gases was the essential prerequisite
for modern metals processing, petrochemistry and
even for air and space travel, as well as for the environmentally
friendly energy source of the future, hydrogen.
Naturally, much has changed in the last 125 years – both
at Linde and in the rest of the world. The company has developed
from a small engineering company into an international
technology group.
Today, Linde is the world’s largest supplier of industrial and
medical gases. We stand for cutting-edge technology in international
facilities engineering, hold a leading position among
the most important manufacturers of forklift trucks and warehouse
equipment and are the market leaders in refrigeration technology
in Europe. With some 46,500 employees, we achieved sales of
approximately 9 billion euro in fiscal year 2003.
This impressive corporate development did not happen on its
own, and it is certainly no guarantee of future success. In order
to master the challenges in international competition and be able
to take advantage of growth opportunities, we must constantly
be testing our structures, procedures and our portfolio and continuously
optimizing them. This principal was applied by Carl von
Linde; it also characterized the successful era of Dr. Hans Meinhardt
as head of the company and is still, today, a guide for my
colleagues on the Executive Board and myself for our business
transactions.
With this in mind, we took a step, in the spring of 2004,
which had been discussed time and time again over the years:
the sale of the refrigeration division. This decision was not an
easy one for us – after all, it was a matter of the very foundation
of our company. It is nevertheless the right decision because it
brings with it opportunities for the future – for all involved. The
American Carrier Corporation and Linde Refrigeration together will
form the global market leader for refrigeration and air conditioning.
The new company will have good opportunities to realize aboveaverage
growth – even in a continuingly difficult economic climate.
At the same time, by concentrating on our two high-income
and high-growth divisions of Gas and Engineering and Material
Handling, we are freeing up additional driving forces. Our task
here is to expand our international business in a targeted manner
and further strengthen our current market position in those
segments.