November 13, 2014 marked the groundbreaking ceremony for the new office complex of Linde Process Plants. This office complex is an expansion of the existing Linde Proces Plant and manufacturing facility at the Port of Catoosa. The new offices are a $2.4 million expansion of the existing site. Located across from the fabrication facility, the new Linde Process Plant office building will be two stories and comprising 13,000 square-feet of office space, and will include safe rooms.
This growth project includes the expansion of a trial fitting area and a new office building. The expansion is being undertaken to meet current increase in demand, but it is large enough to accommodate the future growth of Linde Processing. The facilities have an expected June 2015 completion date.
In addition to increased commercial capacity, this expansion enables Linde to add 20 more employees to its 140-member workforce by the end of this year, and another 50 more employees by the end of 2015. Job positions at Linde include welders, assemblers, and fitters, and the plant will increase the number of shifts from two to three. Currently, Linde has nearly 400 employees across Tulsa County.
According to company president Steve Bertone, “We have a tremendous growth due not only to the industry but also the dedication of our employees.” Linde’s growth over the past 15 years has tripled. Bertone adds that, “We are pleased to be at the forefront of plant modernization, and these upgrades will yield even more opportunities to develop and streamline our processes.”
Linde Process Plants serves the gas processing industry. Linde is an integrated process plant that refines and processes natural gas, petrochemicals helium, and hydrogen liquifiers. The company belongs to the Linde Group, an international industrial gas processing and engineering firm that is headquartered in Munich, Germany.
Linde is known for its quality control process of trial fitting. Before shipping the completed modules to their customers, Linde Process Plants conduct trial fitting to ensure that all models have been fabricated correctly. Having workers relocate to the expanded site will expand this trial fitting process, which increases operational efficiency and plant productivity.
Linde is only one 66 companies headquartered in Catoosa. The Tulsa Port of Catoosa, a 2,500 industrial complex, offers sites for lease to the manufacturing industries. The Catoosa Business Park, which is conveniently located just adjacent to the Port, offers property for sale. In total, the site employes nearly 4,000 workers and is a major employer in the Tulsa area.