Feb. 5, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Air Products has a a long history of providing the industrial gases that power space flight, a business that brings in revenue and is a point of pride for the Lehigh County-based company.
Competitor Linde is in that business too and is expanding. Linde Chief Executive Sanjiv Lamba said during a conference call today, “I’m looking forward to having $1 billion business here,” in reference to the gases such as liquid oxygen and hydrogen that provide fuel for rockets going into space.
The current Linde was formed by a merger of the former Linde with Praxair in 2018. Linde is the world’s largest maker of industrial gases.
Linde announced expansions in Florida and Texas last year to provide rocket fuel. Commercial rocket launches are sent up in those two states. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Blue Origin, started by Jeff Bezos, have launched private space missions.
Air Products has been working with NASA since 1967, and recently announced another contract to provide the American space program with liquid hydrogen.
Shares of Linde trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LIN. The closing price Thursday was $459.69, down 2.9%. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings today.
Shares of Upper Macungie Township-based Air Products (NYSE:APD) closed at $283.50. Linde has a market capitalization of $215.6 billion, more than three times Air Products’ $63.1 billion.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is a Lehigh Valley resident, founder of Shift4 (NYSE:FOUR) and two-time astronaut on SpaceX commercial flights.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 