Linde India, 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 John Panikar, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, representing Linde Plc and, Abhijit Banerjee, Managing Director, Linde India.

Commenting on the launch 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 women lead 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 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.