by Suman Gupta
Mumbai, 7th July 2022: Linde India Limited, one of the leading industrial gases manufacturers, inaugurated its first-ever women-operated Packaged Gas Plant (PGP) in Trichy on 6th July 2022. Present at the launch were Mr. John Panikar, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, representing Linde Plc, and, Mr. Abhijit Banerjee, Managing Director, Linde India.
Commenting on the launch Mr. John Panikar, said; “We at Linde realize the importance and necessity for Diversity and Inclusion in the workforce and are rising to the occasion. The Trichy plant shows our resolve for the same. This plant is a woman operated packaged gas plant that will serve the medical and industrial gases demand in and around Trichy. It is a first for Linde globally.”
The Trichy Packaged Gases Plant started operations in 2007 with Oxygen filling, with a target to serve local hospitals. Currently, the plant serves the medical demand in and around Trichy within a 50 km radius, and industrial markets across Central and South Tamil Nadu.
The Trichy Packaged Gases Plant is as much about the Packaged Gases as it is about topics that resonate across India and far beyond its borders. At the launch, Mr. Abhijit Banerjee, said “We felt that it was a great opportunity to do something different. Because people believe that manufacturing requires brute muscle and hard lifting, core manufacturing has historically been seen as a male bastion. However, the industry has advanced”.
As per a Bloomberg report, 90% of Women in India are shut out of the workforce. In the manufacturing industry, women’s representation is abysmal. To help redress the imbalance, Linde’s plant at Trichy is committed to hiring women, and to promoting capable women to production leadership positions.
About Linde India Limited:Linde India Limited is a subsidiary of Linde Plc. Linde Plc. was created in October 2018 by merger of Praxair Inc. and Linde AG. Collectively, Linde Plc. is one of the leading industrial gases companies of the world. Combining Linde Plc’s advanced technology, our deep understanding of our customers’ businesses and strong local expertise in gases and engineering, we are able to provide tailor-made solutions that help our customers to increase efficiency, productivity and flexibility in their operations, while reducing energy costs and safeguarding the environment. We manage and operate more than 30 production facilities and filling stations across the country. We supply more than 20,000 gases and mixtures as well as and provide a range of related services including the construction and installation of plants, equipment, pipelines, and associated engineering services catering to the needs of a wide variety of industries. Linde has one of the largest sales and distribution network in the country giving us a wide geographic reach and placing us close to our customers in any part of India.
