The BOC Group plc

BOC is the largest provider of industrial, medical and special gases in the UK and Ireland.

In the UK and Ireland BOC has been producing atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon for over 120 years. Its portfolio today includes thousands of different gases and mixtures, as well as related equipment and services.

• Procurement in BOC is evolving. This area provides both current and potential suppliers with important and helpful information about doing business with BOC.
• This is by no means a complete list.  Each commodity area may well have its own specific requirements.  However, this area covers a number of the more general aspects.  
• As procurement in BOC changes, so too will this area.  We welcome feedback: what aspects have you found useful and what has assisted you well?
• At BOC, we are seeking to review our spend and establish high quality agreements with companies who can deliver quality products and services in a cost-effective manner.  
• Where we identify such suppliers, we will endeavour to consolidate suitable spend with them, so that both parties benefit from enhanced value.  
• Where spend is small, the processes for managing it will be efficient and effective.

BOC is proud to be part of the local communities in which it is based, from which it draws its staff and which it serves with its products. We are engaged with the wider world both at a corporate level and as individuals.

BOC's activities cover a wide involvement with community and environmental matters.

• BOC has been producing industrial gases for over 120 years. Over that time it developed into a major global business. In September 2006, it joined with another major industrial gases business, Linde, to form The Linde Group.
• The two 'parent' businesses of the new organisation have similar but complementary histories.
• In 1879, Linde was established in Wiesbaden in Germany.
• In 1880, Arthur and Leon Brin take out the first patent on a process for separating oxygen and later, in 1886, founded Brin's Oxygen Company. In 1906, this became the British Oxygen Company. It was in 1969 that this was shortened - due to the international nature of the business - to just 'BOC'.
• Meanwhile, Carl von Linde obtained a patent for air liquefaction in 1895, five years later winning a Grand Prix at the Paris World Fair for an air liquefier.
• Both companies became major international providers of industrial gases and services over the course of the 20th century.
• In 2002, BOC and Linde announced a strategic partnership in air separation and synthetic gas plants. This close working relationship led to the formation of a single entity, The Linde Group, in 2006.