Linde Corp. will hire hundreds

Thanks to the booming gas industry in Pennsylvania’s northern tier, Pittston-based construction company Linde Corp. plans to make hundreds of new hires in the next 18 months, spokesman Kevin Lynn said Friday.

Within three years, the company might double in size to 250 employees, he said.

Linde hired 73 new workers since Jan. 1 to help build a gathering pipeline in Susquehanna County for midstream-pipeline company Laser Marcellus Gathering LLC. Lynn said Linde has built a good relationship with Laser, leading to contract extensions. Linde now has five years’ worth of contract work lined up.

“It’s like baby steps,” Lynn said. “They’ll give you a couple of miles, and if it works, they’ll give you a couple more miles, and that’s what happened with Laser; they got to a certain comfort level and gave (Linde) a lot of work.”

Lynn said Linde is looking to hire a local work force to work year-round, primarily in Susquehanna and Bradford counties.

“We don’t want an environment where people are out of work for months at a time,” Lynn said. “(Linde’s) idea is to keep people employed and busy throughout the year.”

The company is seeking to hire pipe benders, welders, heavy equipment operators, middle and upper level management and general laborers. Positions include family health care policies and 401k packages. Pay is commensurate with experience.

Jobseekers can apply online at www.lindeco.com.

Lynn said the company is willing to hire union members and work with unions to fill jobs, as long as workers can accommodate the job stipulations, including a workday averaging 10 hours and weekend shifts.

Linde, founded in 1965, specializes in laying gathering pipelines, which connect wells to major transmission lines, for gas drillers. The company also uses horizontal directional drilling techniques to lay pipeline below roads and wetlands, in addition to providing general heavy-construction services to a variety of industries.