New products to fulfill new needs
An innovative 125-year old
Alfa Laval’s brand has been associated with innovation for the past 125 years. The first separator was an immediate success, however development continued, resulting in a new, improved version with capacity to handle 130 liters of milk an hour. Thanks to ongoing research and development, today there are separators that can be used for everything from the production of traditional dairy products to dewatering of digested sludge in sewage works.
Continued focus on research and development
Today’s research and development continues along that same path by focusing on technical solutions of the future for both the markets of today and tomorrow. An ongoing and consistent focus on research and development has been crucial in building, strengthening and developing the company’s global market leadership. Total research and development expenses in 2008 amounted to SEK 718 (643) million, or 2.6 (2.6) percent of the Group’s total sales. That is an increase of 78 percent since 2004.
All segments cooperate in the development of new products. The company has more than 200 patents on proprietary products.
Customer-driven product development
The basis for the Group’s research and development is a long-term approach to basic research and applied development, focusing on heat transfer, separation and fluid handling. The goal is to be able to meet customers’ continually changing demands and requirements with new, updated and improved products. It also involves staying one step ahead and developing products and solutions for the future. In many instances, the changes are relatively small, but they can result in significant improvements for the customer. In other instances, Alfa Laval will partake in a customer’s pilot project where new equipment is tested, developed and adapted.
Specialized product centers
Alfa Laval’s product centers cooperate with both customer segments and Operations in order to determine customer requirements and desires, transforming those into the development of new products. Cooperation means combining the customer segment’s knowledge of customer requirements with expertise regarding their processes and transforming that into obtainable concepts. The end result is products that fulfill new needs and which reach the market within the promised timeframe. The overall goal is to secure Alfa Laval’s leading position by being the first to market with innovations and to attain product profitability in the shortest possible time.
Alfa Laval has specific centers for all main products, including compact heat exchangers, separators, decanters, fluid handling, welded heat exchangers, air heat exchangers, and membranes.
Focus on higher share of new products
During 2007, Alfa Laval established new goals for product development. One goal is to reduce the amount of time from idea to achieving sales targets by 25 percent by 2009, and the other is to increase the share of sales from new products by 50 percent. For 2008, the plan also called for a 30 percent increase in the number of new products.
These goals capture Alfa Laval’s desire to develop the right product, for the right market, at the right time. Internal development of products is the most important way to improve and develop the product range. Nevertheless, rapid access to a market can also be attained through an acquisition or alliance.
During 2008, Alfa Laval acheived the goal of increasing the number of products by 30 percent compared with 2007. The company is also on target for meeting the sales volume goal, by the end of 2009, for new products and the amount of time it takes to achieve commercial targets.
Examples of products launched in 2008
Heat transfer
New, efficient freshwater generator
Alfa Laval AQUA is a new heat exchanger for freshwater production. It requires only half as much seawater as traditional versions to produce the same amount of fresh water. This greater efficiency means that a vessel’s pumps work less, reducing fuel consumption along with carbon-dioxide emissions and costs.
High-capacity evaporator
The product range of evaporators was supplemented during the year with the AlfaVap 650, which provides more plates in several different materials. It has a high capacity and can also be used in a host of different industries including distillery, food, caustic, starch, sugar and more.
Brazed plate heat exchanger
The CB60 is an entirely new brazed cost-efficient plate heat exchanger, with the same compact dimensions as the previous CB52. Despite having the same size, it uses less material in production, while the surface for heat transfer is larger. Ideal for heat pump installations.
AlfaDisc
A portfolio of compact, welded heat exchangers for use in processes that require equipment that can handle high pressure. They do not have gaskets and are aimed at a host of different industries.
Separation
HSS
Module-based platform
A module-based platform for separators was developed during the year. The modules can be combined to create various products. During the initial stage, Alfa Laval completed and delivered separators for the production of biodiesel. The advantage of modularization is that it is possible to quickly modify a product to a new process, optimizing the product to be able to meet future demand.
Hermetic centrifuge
Some new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer and rheumatism are based on a fermentation process that involves mammalian cells. Alfa Laval has developed a customized hermetic centrifuge – Culturefuge 400 – whose gentle treatment of cells contributes to optimized performance.
Decanters
360-mm decanter platform
The introduction of a new decanter that can be used within a broad spectrum of food processing and environmentally related applications. The new decanter offers higher performance along with lower energy consumption than its predecessor. An innovative and maintenance-friendly design ensures both efficient operation and maintenance.
Fluid Handling
Optilobe
A new platform for rotary lobe pumps for general applications in sanitary environments. It has an efficient, standardized design that fulfills the requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration, for example.
Solid C UltraPure
An efficient centrifugal pump in several different sizes that fulfills the requirements of the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industries. It can withstand the chemical exposure of the processes and can be cleaned and sterilized in place.