Linde North America’s Alabama plant receives Responsible Care® Certification

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Murray Hill and New Providence, New Jersey, U.S., January 10, 2011Linde in North America has received certification of its Cherokee, Alabama, carbon dioxide plant under the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care® program.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company. The ACC is an association of producers, manufacturers and suppliers of chemical products. Linde has been a member of the ACC since 1951.

Greg Raymond, Nashville area manager, said, “The certification represents a measurement of the Cherokee plant operations against the stringent Responsible Care specifications, which are highly regarded in our industry. The fact that the audit had no negative findings and no recommendations for improvement is recognition of the level of our employees’ commitment to the Linde management system and the many hours of work that were put into preparation for Responsible Care Certification. Our certification clearly defines Linde's commitment to excellence to all existing and future customers and our community.”

Responsible Care is a globally recognized management system aimed at helping companies improve performance in areas such as safety, health, environment and security. Certification is mandatory for all ACC member companies, which must undergo headquarter and facility audits by an independent, accredited auditor to verify that they have a structure and system in place that manages and measures performance. Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) is Linde’s independent auditor.

Since 2008, 21 Linde plants in North America have been certified under the program. The Cherokee plant is the last of four Linde plant audited in 2011 as a condition of membership in ACC.

The Cherokee plant has been operating for more than 31 years and produces CO2 for use in industries such as food, beverage, water treatment and chemical manufacturing. It purifies and liquefies 340 tons a day of CO2, captured from ammonia production that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere. Linde trucks the liquid product to customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. The plant employs 22 people.

Tim Wren, head of safety, health, environment and quality for Linde North America, said, “I congratulate the entire team at our Cherokee plant, who worked very hard for this certification. Recognition of the Cherokee plant demonstrates the employees’ total involvement in Linde’s commitment to sustaining the practices specified in the Responsible Care management system.”

The Responsible Care management system offers an integrated, structured approach for driving continual improvement in seven key areas: community awareness and emergency response; security; distribution; employee health and safety; pollution prevention; process safety; and product stewardship.

Implementing the Responsible Care system is a multi-step process. Companies must first plan – identify, assess and evaluate potential hazards and risks associated with their products, processes and operations – and establish goals and objectives to address any significant hazards or risks. Next, they must do what they have planned, checking their progress along the way to measure performance and take necessary corrective actions. Communicating with employees and other stakeholders, including neighbors and customers, along the way also is essential.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 12.9 billion (USD 17.9 billion). The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

For more information, visit Linde North America online at http://www.lindeus.com.


Contact:
Amy Ficon
Linde Corporate Communications
Phone 908-771-1491 Fax 908-771-1460
Amy.Ficon@linde.com

 

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