SWEDISH ORIGINS – GLOBAL PRESENCE All industries use cooling, heating, flow and separation in their daily operation. Alfa Laval’s engineering solutions have been an integral part of these operations for over 125 years.
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lfa Laval specialises in valves and other industrial processing equipment, and there are three main product lines: separation (centrifuges), fluid handling (pumps and valves), and heat transfer (heat exchangers). Its equipment and services are designed to help optimise processes such as heating, cooling, separating and transporting products such as beverages/food, biofuels, chemicals, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Gustav de Laval, who invented the centrifugal separator, founded the company in 1883 and the Alfa Laval AB group’s head-
quarters are still located in Sweden. The group holds more than 300 patents, and invests approximately 2.5 per cent of sales in research and development, resulting in over 35 new products each year. Customers are found in approximately 100 countries, and include BASF, Bayer, Heineken, Shell and Tetra Laval among others. The company has 28 large production units (15 in Europe, eight in Asia and four in the USA), and 70 service centres. Its 11 400 employees are working in Sweden, Denmark, India, China, the USA and France. Industry Europe 127
