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

1958 1959
General Charles de Gaulle becomes
President of France.
Revolution in Cuba under Fidel Castro.
construction of a new factory for household refrigerators in
Mainz-Kostheim. In 1964, after lengthy discussions, the Executive
Board finally decided to merge the subsidiaries in Sürth and
Mainz-Kostheim with the Sürth Group (Linde Refrigeration).
The “white goods” division, meaning refrigerators and chest
freezers for home use, could not be rehabilitated. In 1965 Linde
finally spun off the refrigerator business into an independent
company, which then underwent a majority takeover by AEG
in 1967.
Tractor and engine manufacturing
After a very promising start in the post-war period with strong
demand for tractors, Department D (Werksgruppe Güldner, formerly
Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft) also encountered turbulence.
Although it had to increase capacity in 1951 due to a
growing market share, tractor sales already stagnated the following
year. In 1953 Department D reported its first drop in
sales. From this point on until production was ended in the late
1960s, tractor manufacturing was plagued with problems.
Neither the new air-cooled diesel engines, which were
introduced in 1954, nor the modern production plant opened in
Nilkheim, near Aschaffenburg, in 1956 produced a turnaround.
Even during the economic miracle, agriculture was never a
booming sector and there were too many manufacturers in
a very small market.
In order to reduce dependence on agricultural machinery,
the management sought “new products,” according to the 1957
annual report. The next year, Werksgruppe Güldner took over the
hydraulics division of “Gusswerk Paul Saalmann & Söhne OHG” in
Velbert. Together with the hydrostatic drive, a Linde development,
N o 1503
Shovel loader with telescoping
mast (Hubtrac).
Advertisement for the Güldner Motoren-Gesellschaft in Aschaffenburg.
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