Events and Exhibitions
A 100 YEARS OF ALFA LAVAL
By Ntsako Khosa
To celebrate 100 years in South Africa, heating equipment supplier, Alfa Laval
brought together distributors and clients to share in the memorable event.
H
Some of the equipment that Alfa Laval supplies was on display at
the centenary celebrations.
The company reviewed its rich history and shared efforts for a
future success.
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RACA Journal I May 2020
osted over two days at the Birchwood Hotel in
February, Alfa Laval took guests through some of the
milestones experienced over the years since its inception
137 years ago in Sweden.
Alfa Laval was originally started by Gustaf de Laval with the
development of a cream separator. He has 92 Swedish patents
and is a founder of 37 companies.
In the 1800s, Alfa Laval saw its entry in the South African
dairy industry after reports revealed that a creamery based
in the East Rand, supplier by Alfa Laval could deliver more
than 159kgs of butter to Cape Town in a single week by using
continuous separation equipment from Alfa Laval. Interest and
sales grew from there and the company officially registered
locally in January 1920.
Between 1920 and 1950 the product range was extended to
include separators for cream, milk, heat exchangers, pumps,
homogenisers and more. During this period the focus was
predominantly in the food sector.
Today, the company can boldly call themselves specialists
in services including heat transfer, separations, and fluid
handling. According to Alfa Laval, the technology remains
the same but has spread into the marine, industrial and
various processing industries. The company prides itself
in being a modern company where the development of
new projects happens in fields of higher energy efficiency,
protecting the environment and increased hygiene in food and
pharmaceutical processing. “All this is good for better living
conditions for all people locally and internationally,” it says.
Regional sales director, Marshall Naidoo shared that
the event was an indescribable honour to welcome guests
to commemorate the centenary celebrations. “We exist
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