BOC To Build New Multimillion-Dollar Air Separation Unit In Christchurch

6 May 2026: Leading gas and engineering company BOC, a Linde company, has today announced it will build a new multimillion-dollar air separation unit (ASU) in Christchurch to secure long-term industrial and medical gas supply across New Zealand.

The new facility will have capacity to produce up to 30 tonnes of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Nitrogen (LIN) combined per day and complements BOC’s ASU facility in Glenbrook on the North Island that currently produces most of the country’s medical oxygen.

BOC’s most significant investment in New Zealand in over a decade signals its long-term commitment to enhance national supply chain resilience and emergency preparedness, and support regional economic development and healthcare security in the South Island.

Director of Linde New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Cory Spence, said the new ASU investment demonstrates BOC’s confidence in New Zealand’s economic outlook, regulatory environment and customer commitment, while reducing reliance on long-distance transportation.

“BOC is thrilled to be making this new investment in our South Island operations to secure supply of essential industrial gases used in healthcare, food production and industrial applications in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands,” Mr Spence said.

“It also strengthens our capability to support emerging high-tech and aerospace industries in the region with locally produced high-purity gases critical for advanced manufacturing and launch capability.

“Diversifying production across Glenbrook and Christchurch will also eliminate up to 1,000 inter-island tanker shipments annually, reducing transport emissions and risk associated with long-distance supply chains.

“During construction, we will create local jobs and invest in the Canterbury economy through civil works, mechanical and electrical installation, local contractors, logistics and ongoing maintenance services.”

Minister for the South Island James Meager has welcomed the investment.

“This multi-million-dollar investment is a major vote of confidence in Christchurch and the wider South Island economy. It will strengthen the supply of essential gases that underpin healthcare and manufacturing, while also creating jobs during construction and supporting future growth in advanced industries. As a Government, these are the exact sort of private investments we celebrate and want to see more of.”

Construction and engineering of the ASU will be delivered by Linde Engineering, in partnership with BOC. It will be located at BOC’s existing production site in Sockburn, Christchurch, a major storage, redistribution, and logistics hub on the South Island.

A quarter of BOC’s workforce on the South Island is based at this site. With bulk, cryogenic and cylinder filling operations, it supplies gases for diverse customer needs across industrial, medical, specialty, food grade and aviation gases.

Construction is scheduled to commence in 2026 with the ASU expected to be operational in 2027.

About BOC:

BOC New Zealand, a Linde company, supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2025 sales of US$34 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonise and protect our planet.

Linde serves a variety of end markets such as chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde’s industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications, enabling space exploration and launch technologies, delivering ultra-high-purity and specialty gases for semiconductor manufacturing, providing life-saving medical oxygen and enabling clean hydrogen production and carbon capture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer growth, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

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