Linde plc (‘Linde’), an industrial gas company, operates as a technological innovator in the industrial gases industry worldwide.
Linde’s primary products in its industrial gases business are atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases) and process gases (hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene, etc.). The company also designs and builds equipment that produces industrial gases and offers customers a wide range of gas pr...
Linde plc (‘Linde’), an industrial gas company, operates as a technological innovator in the industrial gases industry worldwide.
Linde’s primary products in its industrial gases business are atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases) and process gases (hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene, etc.). The company also designs and builds equipment that produces industrial gases and offers customers a wide range of gas production and processing services, such as olefin plants, natural gas plants, air separation plants, hydrogen and synthesis gas plants, and other types of plants.
Linde serves a diverse group of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics.
Industrial Gases Products and Manufacturing Processes
Using ambient air as feedstock, Linde produces oxygen, nitrogen, and argon through several air separation processes, of which cryogenic air separation is the most prevalent. Linde is the market leader in the field of non-cryogenic air separation technologies for the production of industrial gases. As part of this process, Linde also produces rare gases, such as krypton, neon, and xenon. As a pioneer and leader in industrial gases, Linde is continuously developing a wide range of proprietary and patented applications and technologies to produce, store, distribute, and increase usage of its gases.
Raw carbon dioxide is processed and purified in Linde’s plants to produce commercial and food-grade carbon dioxide.
Industrial Gases Distribution
There are three basic distribution methods for industrial gases: on-site or tonnage; merchant or bulk liquid; and packaged or cylinder gases.
On-site: Customers that require the largest volumes of product (typically oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen) and that have a relatively constant demand pattern are supplied by cryogenic and process gas on-site plants. Linde constructs plants on or adjacent to these customers’ sites and supplies the product directly to customers by pipeline. On-site product supply contracts generally are total requirement contracts, with terms typically ranging from 10-20 years and containing minimum purchase requirements and price escalation provisions. Many of the cryogenic on-site plants also produce liquid products for the merchant market. Air separation technologies also allow on-site delivery to customers with smaller volume requirements.
Merchant: The merchant business is generally associated with distributable liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide. The deliveries generally are made from Linde’s plants by tanker trucks to storage containers at the customer's site, which are usually owned and maintained by Linde and leased to the customer.
Packaged Gases: Customers requiring small volumes are supplied products in metal containers called cylinders, under medium to high pressure. Packaged gases include atmospheric gases, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, acetylene, and related products. Linde also produces and distributes in cylinders a wide range of specialty gases and mixtures. Packaged gases are generally sold under one to three-year supply contracts and through purchase orders.
Engineering
Linde’s Engineering business has a global presence, with its focus on market segments, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. The company utilizes its extensive process engineering expertise in the planning, design, and construction of highly efficient plants for the production and processing of gases. With its state-of-the-art sustainable technologies, Engineering also helps customers avoid, capture, and utilize carbon dioxide emissions. Its technology portfolio covers the entire value chain for production, liquefaction, storage, distribution, and application of hydrogen, which supports the transition to clean energy. Its digital services and solutions increase plant efficiency and performance.
Linde's plants are used in a wide variety of fields: in the petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertilizer plants, to recover air gases, to produce synthesis gases, to treat natural gas, and to produce noble gases. The Engineering business either supplies plant components directly to the customer or to the industrial gas business of Linde, which operates the plants under a long-term gases supply contract.
International
Linde is a global enterprise with approximately 65% of its 2024 sales outside of the United States. The company also has majority or wholly owned subsidiaries that operate in approximately 45 European, Middle Eastern, and African countries (including Germany, the United Kingdom (U.K.), France, Sweden, and the Republic of South Africa); approximately 20 Asian and South Pacific countries (including China, Australia, India, and South Korea); and approximately 20 countries in North and South America (including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil).
The company also has equity method investments operating in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Linde’s non-U.S. business is subject to risks customarily encountered in non-U.S. operations, including fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, import and export controls, and other economic, political, and regulatory policies of local governments.
Patents and Trademarks
Linde owns a large number of trademarks, of which the ‘Linde’ trademark is the most significant.
History
The company was founded in 1879. It was incorporated in 2017. It was formerly known as Praxair, Inc. and changed its name to Linde plc in 2018.