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<p align="justify">Linde Plc. is a multinational chemical company based in Surrey, United Kingdom. It supplies industrial gases to various industries. The company&#8217;s roots can be traced back to 1879 in Germany when Carl Linde found a gas company (Linde, 2021). The Linde Plc. was formed by the merger of Linde AG and Praxair in 2018 (Linde, 2021). It is considered to be a world leader in industrial gas and related services. It provides services to various industries, including electronics manufacturers, healthcare, and the chemical industry. In healthcare, it offers holistic solutions covering pharmaceutical gases, medical devices, and services to customers throughout the care continuum from hospital to home (Linde, 2021). It provides services to large-scale industries such as chemical, metal, pharmaceuticals, automobile makers, refining, and energy. It offers services to electronics makers such as semiconductor, flat panel &; photovoltaic makers all over the world. Porter&#8217;s five forces model is a valuable tool to identify threats and opportunities faced by Linde in the industrial gases industry in the world.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Competitive Rivalry in the Market</h2>
<p align="justify">The industrial gas industry is concentrated, and few companies control the significant market share. It boosts the competition within the industry to be the market leader. The industry is growing steadily at the moment. It provides opportunities for companies to compete for a better share. The main rival of Linde is Air Products &; Chemicals and Air Liquide. These three are considered as the industry runner. The French-origin multinational Air Liquide generated consolidated sales of $24.796 billion in 2019 (Fortune, 2019). Air Products &; Chemicals is an American-based rival. It reported annual revenue of $ $8.918 billion (Fortune, 2021). Linde posted a net profit of $2.242 billion with a revenue of $27.051 billion (Fortune, 2021). The competition within the industry is increasing. Linde is considered as the market. The overall industry is expected to grow by around 4% by 2021.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Threat of Substitutes</h2>
<p align="justify">Substitute products offer customers different choices and allow them options within the industry and beyond it to products that may fulfill a similar need (Luenendonk, 2019). The threat of substitution is low; it is because of the two main reasons. The industry scale Linde operates is concentrated, and there are few alternative products available at the moment. Quality of the product and switching cost is another main reason. The alternative products are way too expensive, and their operational price is too high with a low profit margin. The quality of the product and switching to a new product is a barrier for a substitute. The overall threat of substitutes is low in the industrial gas industry.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Threat of New Entrants</h2>
<p align="justify">The industrial gas industry is regulated strictly by the regulator around the world. Industry must fulfill the government policies and licensing requirements before production. The higher capital investment in production and innovation makes it difficult for startups. The scale of the economy also creates a hindrance. It makes it harder for startups to sustain themselves in the market. Linde holds a significant share in the market based on its revenue (Statista, 2018). It has a strong footprint in Europe, MENA Region, South, and North America. Linde spends billions of dollars in research and development on innovative new products. The company is working on the world&#8217;s first plant to produce green hydrogen (Radowitz, 2021). The threat of the latest entrant in industrial gas is relatively low.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Buyers</h2>
<p align="justify">The buyers of industrial gases are usually integrated industries such as oil and refining, healthcare, electronics maker, and the chemical industry. The Bargaining Power of Buyers is high if the buyers are large; they can switch easily to another supplier who may be in numbers (Slater &; Olson, 2002). The industry is very saturated, and there are unlimited buyers of industrial gases in the market. Product quality and differentiation can attract the buyer. Air Liquide provides products to nearly every industry globally, which provides its edge in contract negotiating. All the factors mentioned above are the reason for low buying power in the industry.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Bargaining Power of Suppliers</h2>
<p align="justify">The supplier in the industry is the one who provides the production equipment for the industry. The industry is concentrated, but multiple suppliers are available. The exploration and production equipment is expensive. The sector in which equipment is linked with the quality of the product and malfunction in it can cost huge losses (Porter, 1979). The supplier, in this case, became the backbone of the industry. The companies need their services for regular maintenance and up-gradation after purchasing the equipment. Companies may want to switch to another supplier because the market is full of the alternative supplier. They can&#8217;t due to the cost of switching is too high, and it takes precious time. The majority of suppliers are future integrated with the companies. Suppliers want to keep their financial future secure. These suppliers provide services across the industry. The supplier, in that case, holds moderate power in negotiating the deal.</p>
<h2 align="justify">References</h2>
<p align="left">Fortune. (2019) Air Liquide. Available at: https://fortune.com/global500/2019/air-liquide/<br />
Fortune. (2021) Air Products &; Chemicals. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/air-products-chemicals/fortune500/<br />
Fortune. (2021) Linde. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/linde/global500/<br />
Linde. (2021) Corporate Heritage. Available at: https://www.linde.com/about-linde/corporate-heritage<br />
Linde. (2021) Healthcare. Available at: https://www.linde-gas.com/en/industries/healthcare/index.html<br />
Luenendonk. M. (2019). Threat Of Substitutes &#8211; Porter’s Five Forces Model. Available at: https://www.cleverism.com/threat-of-substitutes-porters-five-forces-model/<br />
Porter., E. M (1979). How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Available at: https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy<br />
Radowitz. B. (2021). Linde to build ‘world’s largest electrolyser’ to produce green hydrogen. Available at: https://www.rechargenews.com/transition/linde-to-build-world-s-largest-electrolyser-to-produce-green-hydrogen/2-1-944080<br />
Slater, Stanley &; Olson, Eric. (2002). A fresh look at industry and market analysis. Business Horizons. 45. 15-22. 10.1016/S0007-6813(02)80005-2.<br />
Statista. (2018). Leading industrial gas companies worldwide in 2018 based on sales. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/933444/global-industrial-gas-companies-based-on-sales/</p>
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