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

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2 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.
Between tradition and present day: Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Reitzle in the Carl-von-Linde lecture auditorium of the Technical University of Munich. And here too we can take a page from Carl von Linde’s book of engineering principles and, like him, ask: “How can we make it better?” This question and its answers not only relate to technical achievements, but also to our organization, our efficiency and our personal dedication. We need role models in order to constantly improve. And we can find such role models in Linde AG's history, of which all of the employees who have made a decisive contribution to this success story can be proud. Technology, innovation and inventive spirit have characterized our company from the very beginning. You will be able to experience these in this richly illustrated chronicle. Technology, innovation and inventive spirit also remain Linde’s driving forces. For only in this way will we fulfill our mission to be a leading global technology company in a sustainable manner. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Reitzle President and Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG 3
Page 1: Idea n o 0001- n o 6385 125 Years o
Page 6 and 7: 4 1880 1900 1920 1940 Idea N o 0001
Page 8 and 9: 1879 Idea N o 0001 - 0060 1879 -189
Page 10 and 11: 1881 Assassination of Russian Czar
Page 12 and 13: N o 0006 Improved gland design. Fir
Page 14 and 15: Carl von Linde - gifted engineer an
Page 16 and 17: 14 N o 0023 Device for the producti
Page 18 and 19: 16 N o 0032 First man-made ice rink
Page 20 and 21: 18 1888 N o 0037 Process and device
Page 22 and 23: Dr.-Ing. E.h. Friedrich Schipper (1
Page 24 and 25: Idea N o 0061 - 0769 1891 -1934 Fro
Page 26 and 27: 24 1896 1897 The first modern Olymp
Page 28 and 29: 1900 1901 1902 First dirigible flig
Page 30 and 31: 28 1905 1906 1907 The Simplon Tunne
Page 32 and 33: Dr. phil. Friedrich Linde (1870-196
Page 34 and 35: 32 Untermaubach oxygen plant (west
Page 36 and 37: 1919 1920 1921 Treaty of Versailles
Page 38 and 39: Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft mbH:
Page 40 and 41: The Linde Company was surrounded fr
Page 42 and 43: 1934 Idea N o 0770 - 2289 1935 - 19
Page 44 and 45: 42 N o 0875 Process for the melting
Page 46 and 47: 1941 1942 Japanese attack on Pearl
Page 48 and 49: Dr.-Ing. Richard Linde at the age o
Page 50 and 51: 48 1949 1950 Federal Republic of Ge
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1956 1957 First telephone cable bet
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1960 1961
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N o 1588 The use of continuous hydr
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58 N o 2064 Special fixation of the
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1971 1972 German Chancellor Willy B
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Idea N o 2290 - 6385 1975 - 2004 Be
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64 • The business segments should
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66 1980 Beginning of the Iran-Iraq
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68 1982 Falkland War between Argent
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70 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes G
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72 1988 The USSR and the USA agree
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Innovative Linde plant technology o
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76 1993 N o 4851 Linde process of n
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78 In 1980, at Meinhardt’s reques
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80 1998 1999 Gerhard Schröder (SPD
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Gerhard Full (born in 1936) Gerhard
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Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Reitzle (born in
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125 Years of Linde AG Milestones 18
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88 Imprint Publisher Linde AG Abrah
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The complete history of the development of The - The Linde Group

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