The Gases Division of The Linde Group has announced it will increase its prices for technical gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon and hydrogen in Germany from 1st February 2008, with the extent of the price adjustments varying depending on gas type and product category such as cylinder or bulk gases.
The price actions come as a result of substantially increased costs of energy-consuming gases production and other environmental price surges like petroleum, natural gas and electricity. Strong demand from manufacturing has also meant that the production facilities of the Linde Gases Division are operating at close to full capacity, often involving longer-distance transporting than usual.
Demand for argon gas has grown considerably across Europe during 2007, driven in part by the emerging market of solar panel manufacture. As 2008 approaches and the company expects to see a further increase in demand, Linde will maximise its argon gas production beyond the most energy-efficient optimum and has already determined new investments for future argon gas production which will start-up in the next 3 years.
Despite continuous efforts to improve processes, this cannot fully compensate these cost increases and the price adjustments will at least enable Linde to ensure an excellent product and service offer in the long run.
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