Alfa Laval to attend ACHEMA 2006

LUND, Sweden, Feb. 27, 2006 -- Swedish multi-national engineering group Alfa Laval -- a global solutions provider in centrifugal separation, heat transfer and fluid handling -- today announces its participation in the ACHEMA exhibition to be held in May 15-19 in Frankfurt, Germany.

The show will premiere a number of new products and solutions for the Chemical Industry, Biotech & Pharmaceuticals and Environmental Protection. Alfa Laval's exhibition theme will be "Innovative moments". This is the company's way of highlighting the unsung hero's behind today's industrial processes.

The exhibition booth will feature new, innovative products and services to meet today's challenges -- to cut costs, energy savings, increase productivity, decrease maintenance and comply with environmental legislation.

News on display at ACHEMA
Since the previous ACHEMA, Alfa Laval has released a number of new products and solutions. Among these, the development of fusion-bonded plate heat exchangers in the AlfaNova range. Other solutions include the patented HyNetics^® mixing technology and Toftejorg tank cleaning equipment. The tailor-made AlfaCond condenser made its debut at the 2001 exhibition. Since then a complete range has been developed and the latest additions will be on display.

The T50 is one of the world's largest gasketed plate heat exchangers for central cooling in large process plants. Packinox is a new space and cost saving alternative to shell and tube units in the refinery & petrochemical industry.

Further advancements have also been made in the fields of ethanol and bio fuels, where heat exchangers, high speed separators and decanters have been added to the product portfolio. The BDPX810 Separator is an ideal answer to the rapidly growing demands of the bio-diesel industry.

Fusion-bonded heat exchangers
AlfaNova is a 100% gasket-free heat exchanger that can handle pressures up to 30 barg and temperatures up to 550°C. The gasket-free PHE can handle tough refinery applications, including hydrocarbon and biofuel processing.

When an application demands a gasket-free solution, depending on media or temperature, then fusion-bonded plate heat exchangers are a perfect choice. AlfaNova has properties similar to all-welded plate heat exchangers, and it complements them perfectly. However, for a wide range of duties, the fusion-bonded PHE is the best and most cost-efficient solution on the market today.

Besides meeting demanding industrial duties, the new technology also opens doors to applications where neither copper nor nickel can be used for health or environmental reasons -- highly relevant, for example, in food and pharmaceutical industry applications.

Patented mixing technology
Recently the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Alfa Laval the third of several patents for "Systems for Mixing Liquid Solution and Methods of Manufacture". The newly patented mixing technology relates to the specialized equipment, disposables and instrumentation developed for the single-use mixing system known in the Industry as Alfa Laval HyNetics. This family of sizes extends from 30 liters to 10,000 liters with a turndown of 30% of full volume.

All surfaces in contact with the product are single-use, which means they can be disposed of after each batch and replaced with a new system. This means that the HyNetics system:

-- Eliminates the need for cleaning or sterilization between batches.
-- Greatly reduces cycle times.
-- Increases productivity.
-- Eliminates the likelihood of cross-contamination.

The HyNetics range of standard mixing systems is designed to meet the strictest cGMP and regulatory requirements within the life sciences industry. Special options are available to configure the systems to meet specific requirements.

Tank cleaning equipment
Since the acquisition of Toftejorg Alfa Laval has developed an even wider selection of tank cleaning equipment for optimized plant hygiene and efficiency. At ACHEMA the company will present the latest developments in tank cleaning based on its vast knowledge bank. The SaniJet 25 cleaning device is the first ever dynamic tank cleaning machine to receive an EHEDG certificate. The design and material selection comply with cGMP guidelines and with FDA requirements.

The new tank cleaning machine is designed for use in ultra-hygienic industries that follow European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group Guidelines (EHEDG), such as dairy, food and brewery processes, and biotech and pharmaceutical applications.

Non stop performance -- a commitment to service
Another highlight of the Alfa Laval stand will be the Parts & Service offer to the Chemical, Biotech and Pharmaceutical industries. The Nonstop Performance concept has been further enhanced since the last ACHEMA exhibition and covers a wide range of value-added service solutions. At the show, the emphasis will be on performance agreements based on a life-cycle concept that covers everything from supplying the smallest spare part to being a long term performance partner. One part of the concept to be presented includes monitoring the state of heat exchangers, separators and decanters from a remote location or on-site, based on condition-monitoring technology.

Alfa Laval will be located in Hall 4.0, stand H2-J8. It will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. in the Brillianz Conference Room, Hall 4.2, on May 16.

It also will host a number of lectures:
• Tuesday, 16 May, at 3.30 p.m., Hall 4C, Room Allianz, "Closing the loops in the pulp and paper industry with membrane technology." F. Lipnizki, Alfa Laval Copenhagen A/S, J. Gennetier, Alfa Laval Lund AB

• Wednesday, 17 May, at 10.30 a.m., CMF, Room Conclusio 2, "AlfaCond plate condenser revolutionizes condensation of vacuum vapour in the process industry." T. Kovacs, Alfa Laval Lund AB

• Wednesday, 17 May, at 11.30 a.m., CMF, Room Conclusio 2, "A novel type of all-stainless steel plate heat exchangers." O. Persson, Alfa Laval Lund AB

• Friday, 19 May, at 2.00 p.m., CMF, Room 3, "Plate evaporator revolutionizes the sodium hydroxide concentration process in the chlorine-alkali industry." T. Kovacs, Alfa Laval Lund AB

Alfa Laval (www.alfalaval.com) is a global provider of specialized products and engineering solutions based on its key technologies of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling. The company's equipment, systems and services are dedicated to assisting customers in optimizing the performance of their processes. The solutions help them to heat, cool, separate and transport products in industries that produce food and beverages, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, starch, sugar and ethanol. Alfa Laval's products are also used in power plants, aboard ships, in the mechanical engineering industry, in the mining industry and for wastewater treatment, as well as for comfort climate and refrigeration applications. With 9,400 employees, the company had annual sales in 2005 of SEK 16.5 billion [EUR 1.8 billion or US$2.09 billion].

Also see:
-- "Alfa Laval receives an order from a major paper mill in India"
-- "Alfa Laval delivers 13 processing lines to vegetable, tropical oils plant"

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