From all indications, the world's second largest lift truck supplier, The Linde Group, is looking to divest that business. And the reason, according to Mark Rossler, general product manager for Linde Material Handling North America, is the company's interest in becoming a much larger natural gas provider than it is today.

German-based Linde Group has aggressively submitted bids to purchase BOC, a natural gas provider, over the past few years. To finance the takeover, Linde Group would sell its materials handling division, Rossler says.

Total lift truck sales for the company in 2004 were $4.49 billion. Linde's other business sectors include engineering and natural gas. The company has already divested its refrigeration business unit.

The company's most recent bid to purchase BOC in late January was rejected. However, "the focus at Linde for the last two years has been on engineering and industrial gas," Rossler notes. "It does not surprise me that the Linde-BOC issue is on the table again."