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Alfa Laval AB is a Swedish multinational industrial group specializing in separation, heat transfer, and fluid handling technologies. They manufacture and sell heat exchangers, separators, pumps, valves, and other equipment and solutions to a variety of industries around the world. Alfa Laval is headquartered in Lund, Sweden and is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm.

Origins and early expansion
Alfa Laval was founded as AB Separator by Swedish inventor Gustaf de Laval and engineer Oscar Lamm in Stockholm in 1883. The De Laval Cream Separator Co., an American subsidiary, was founded the same year.

The company’s origin was de Laval’s invention of a continuous milk separator, which he and Lamm had first patented in 1878. Prior to this, dairy producers manually skimmed cream from milk, which was laborious and time-consuming. Capable of handling up to 130 litres per hour, de Laval’s separator made this process easier and more efficient.

In 1888, AB Separator also began selling pumps to transport skimmed milk from the separator. In 1890, AB Separator introduced the first continuous separator with disc stacks featuring conical metal discs called Alfa Discs, which increased the separation capacity.

AB Separator was a privately held company until 1901, when it was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The company continued to expand internationally in the early 1900s, opening subsidiaries in Denmark, South Africa, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Yugoslavia and Ireland by 1936.

In 1938, AB Separator began manufacturing its first plate heat exchangers. These were produced in Lund, Sweden, which would become the company’s headquarters.

Name and ownership changes
In 1963, AB Separator changed its name to Alfa-Laval AB, combining the name of the company’s founder with a reference to the Alfa Disc technology in its separators.

In 1991, the company returned to private ownership after it was acquired by the Swedish packaging group Tetra Pak. It was then renamed Alfa Laval AB and made into an independent industrial group within the newly formed Tetra Laval Group.

Tetra Laval sold a majority stake of Alfa Laval to the Swedish private equity group Industri Kapital in 2000, who purchased the company with the intention of listing it publicly within a five-year period. Alfa Laval returned to the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2002. As of 2019, Tetra Laval has retained a 29.1% minority stake in the company. The company has steadily continued global expansion, and as of 2021, it claims a sales presence in more than 100 countries, with an aftermarket offering in more than 160 countries.

Company structure and end-markets
In 2016, Alfa Laval announced a restructuring programme as a result of a strategic review, with a new organizational structure to better reflect market conditions. The new structure since 2017 consists of three industry-based sales divisions: Energy, Food & Water, and Marine. The company also has a special organization responsible for Global Sales & Service. The Operations organization oversees global sourcing, manufacturing and distribution/logistics activities.

Energy division
Alfa Laval’s Energy division works with end-markets in oil & gas drilling and production, oil & gas processing & transportation, oil refineries, and the petrochemicals industry. Other areas include HVAC applications, district heating and district cooling, power generation, engine cooling, pulp, paper, and mining and minerals. Product areas include plate heat exchanger and energy separation technologies.

Food & Water division
Alfa Laval’s Food & Water division works with end-markets in food manufacturing, dairy, pharmaceuticals, ethanol, starch, sugar, municipal wastewater and industrial wastewater treatment, proteins, biotech, vegetable oils, and breweries. Product areas include high speed separators, food systems, food heat transfer, decanters, and hygienic fluid handling technologies.

Marine division
Alfa Laval’s Marine division works with end-markets in shipbuilding, offshore oil and gas, and diesel & gas-engine power. The division also develops technological solutions to help marine customers comply with environmental regulations. Product areas include marine separation and heat transfer equipment, boilers and gas systems, and pumping systems.

In 2014, Alfa Laval acquired marine pump manufacturer Framo AS. It was Alfa Laval’s largest acquisition to that point, and further expanded the company’s offering of marine equipment.

Core technologies and market position
Alfa Laval provides specialized engineering solutions and equipment based around three core technology areas. These are heat transfer, separation and fluid handling.

Heat transfer
Within heat transfer, Alfa Laval’s technologies include boilers, heaters, burners, air-cooled heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, scraped-surface heat exchangers, and tubular heat exchangers. The company has been manufacturing plate heat exchangers since 1938, and their offering today includes gasketed plate-and-frame, brazed and fusion-bonded, and welded-type plate heat exchangers.

As of 2020, Alfa Laval has the leading market position within heat transfer technologies, with a 30-35% of the global market share. Competitors in these markets include Danfoss, HEATMASTER, Hisaka, and Kelvion.

Separation
Starting with Gustav de Laval’s continuous milk separator in the 1880s, Alfa Laval has manufactured separation technologies for its entire history. Over time, the company has expanded into providing separators to a wide range of other industries, including the marine industry, which they have supported since 1917. In 1983, Alfa Laval entered the biotechnology industry by offering separators that can isolate genetic samples. Alfa Laval’s separation technologies include disc stack separators, decanter centrifuges, filters, strainers, and membranes.

As of 2020, Alfa Laval has the leading market position within separation technologies, with a 25-30% of the global market share. Separator competitors include GEA Group, Mitsubishi Kakoki Kasha, and major decanter competitors include Flottweg and GEA Group.

Fluid handling
Alfa Laval has a long history of development within fluid handling technologies, producing pumps since the 1880s and valves since the 1970s. Today they also manufacture a range of mixing and tank cleaning equipment.

As of 2020, Alfa Laval has the leading market position within fluid handling technologies, with a 10-15% of the global market share. Competitors in these markets include Bardiani valves, Dockweiler Edelstahl and Fristam.

Sustainability partnerships
Much of Alfa Laval’s current development is focused on environmental solutions. This includes technologies for improving energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions, meeting marine environmental regulations, and providing cleaner water. The company is also a participant in a number of global partnerships for improving sustainability.

In 2018, Alfa Laval became a part-owner in Malta, Inc., for which they also supply heat transfer technologies. Incubated at X Development (formerly Google X), Malta Inc. is developing a new thermal energy storage solution that will enable the shift to renewable energy sources.

In 2020, Alfa Laval became a supporting partner to the Exponential Roadmap Initiative’s “1.5°C Business Playbook”, part of an ambition to accelerate efforts to become carbon neutral within ten years. The initiative is a global cooperation to reduce carbon emissions, with a number of companies and organizations as partners

In 2021, Alfa Laval became a partner to LiquidWind, a Power-to-X consortium developing electro-fuel facilities to produce renewable clean fuels. Other members of the consortium include Haldor Topsøe, Siemens Energy AG, and Carbon Clean.

In 2021, Alfa Laval also joined a partnership with Blue World Technologies, DFDS, Maersk Drilling, and Hafnia to test methanol fuel cell systems for marine power. The goal of the partnership is to contribute to the industry's transition towards decarbonatization.

Also in 2021, Alfa Laval and Wallenius Marine formed a joint venture called AlfaWall Oceanbird. The partnership aims to supply wind propulsion solutions for the shipping industry, in order to reduce emissions.

At COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, Alfa Laval announced being an anchor member in the Long Duration Energy (LDES) Council. The LDES Council's mission is to replace the use of fossil fuels to meet peak demand with zero-carbon long duration energy storage

CEOs

 * 1883–1886 – Oscar Lamm
 * 1887–1915 – John Bernström
 * 1915–1922 – Erik Bernström
 * 1922–1946 – Axel Wästfelt
 * 1946–1960 – Harry G. Faulkner
 * 1960–1980 – Hans Stahle
 * 1980–1989 – Harry Faulkner
 * 1989–1991 – Lars Kylberg
 * 1991–1992 – Lars Halldén
 * 1992–1994 – Gunnar Brock
 * 1995–1998 – Leif Rogersson
 * 1997–2004 – Sigge Haraldsson
 * 2004–2016 – Lars Renström
 * 2016–Present – Tom Erixon

Chairman of the Board

 * 1932–1962 – Raoul Nordling
 * 1980–1989 – Hans Stahle
 * 1991–1998 – Bertil Hagman
 * 2000–2003 – Thomas Oldér
 * 2003–2020 – Anders Narvinger
 * 2020–Present – Dennis Jönsson