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

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1980
Beginning of the Iran-Iraq War.
Linde Refrigeration supplied all refrigerated display cases for the
Pinguin Supermarket in Siegen, Germany in 1973.
The upheaval in Eastern Europe opened up new future
opportunities for Commercial Refrigeration: Beginning in 1992,
Linde used the cost advantages of the Czech Republic and, with
a partner, founded Linde Frigera spol. s.r.o. for the production
of plug-in refrigerated and frozen display cases.
In Warsaw, Poland in 1996, Linde set up a sales company
in order to gain a share of the demand from Western retailers
by building up their presence in Poland.
Focus on Europe
Starting in 1997, Linde concentrated more strongly again on the
Western European countries. In England, the Wiesbaden corporation
rose to become the market leader in commercial refrigeration
with the purchase of Radford Retail Systems Ltd. Linde AG
also strengthened its market position through a majority takeover
of the Chief Group, a leading sales company for commercial
refrigerated display cases in France, Great Britain, Belgium and
the Netherlands in 1998.
In Southern Europe, Linde consolidated its position in
commercial refrigerated display cases with the purchase of
the remaining shares of Frigel Apostolou S. A. (1997) and
the remaining 20 percent of the Italian Criosbanc S. p. A.
Linde secured the Swiss commercial refrigeration market
for itself in 1996 by taking over Frigorex AG in Lucerne from
Gebrüder Sulzer AG; Linde also acquired the remaining shares
in ZEHAG Kälte + Klima AG as well as EQUIPE FROID S. A.,
La Conversion, which the company had been invested in
since 1991.
A further competitive edge was obtained when Linde quickly
converted to CFC-free – and thus environmentally friendly –
refrigeration units.
Overseas, Linde set up joint ventures in Thailand and the
Philippines; in Brazil, the Commercial Refrigeration division
acquired 75 percent of Seral do Brasil S. A., a leading supplier
of refrigerated display cases, non-refrigerated equipment and
checkout systems.