The integrated BOC Gases and Linde Gas organizations in North America will be branded as Linde, effective immediately. Linde AG acquired the BOC Group, PLC in September 2006 to form The Linde Group, which consists of over 100 companies in more than 70 countries. In North America, Linde has sales in excess of $2 billion.

The Linde Group has entered into a long-term supply agreement with the Austrian steel producer voestalpine to deliver industrial gases to the company’s Linz, Austria, production site. The contract involves construction of an additional on-site air separation plant, which is due to come on-stream in January 2010 and will supply voestalpine with up to 30,000 cubic meters per hour of both gaseous oxygen and nitrogen.