Alfa Laval and Sartorius sign alliance agreement for innovation in beer filtration

Alfa Laval and Sartorius sign alliance agreement for innovation in beer filtration Alfa Laval, a world leader in centrifugal separation, heat transfer and fluid handling, has signed an alliance agreement with the German-based Sartorius Group. Sartorius is a market leader in biotechnology, filtration in the beverage industry, and mechatronics. The agreement creates a strong global position for the two companies within the beer filtration sector and provides for further development of a crossflow filtration system for beer, which is an innovative alternative to conventional kieselguhr filtration. The agreement also includes license and distribution rights for Alfa Laval in relation to Sartorius' sterile filtration technology for beer. Sartorius and Alfa Laval have been cooperating for several years. This has resulted in the first process-scale crossflow filtration system, which was launched at the Brau Beviale 2002 trade fair in Nuremberg. This innovative system attracted considerable attention since it provides the same filtration performance as kieselguhr but without the drawbacks of this method. Therefore, an important part of the agreement is the further joint development of this technology. Until now, kieselguhr has been the established method for filtration or clarification of beer. Kieselguhr, also known as diatomaceous earth, is a filter aid that has known problems. For instance, kieselguhr has a negative impact on the environment, causes health hazards and entails waste disposal difficulties. The new crossflow system specially designed for beer filtration eliminates all the problems associated with diatomaceous earth, because the system uses porous membranes produced by Sartorius instead. In addition, the system ensures continuous and efficient operation, excellent beer quality and minimum product loss. As part of the agreement, Alfa Laval will also join Sartorius in globally commercializing the Sartorius Cold Sterilization Technology for beer. This technology has already enjoyed major success in Asia, particularly in China and Japan. Cold sterilization is a membrane-based filtration method for sterilizing beer without any heat impact. This method results in a high final product quality and in significant energy savings. "We are extremely pleased to cooperate with Sartorius on this important development," said Willy Donckers, Managing Director, Food Technology at Alfa Laval. "Sartorius has a lot of experience in crossflow filtration in areas such as the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, and the food and beverage industry." "Sartorius and Alfa Laval capabilities are complementary to one other," stated Dr. Eric Janssens, President of the Biotechnology Division of Sartorius. "We have chosen Alfa Laval as a partner for beer filtration because of its presence and strong brand name in the brewing industry, and because of its know-how and competence in brewery processing." Editor's notes: Alfa Laval is a leading 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 heat, cool, separate and transport products in industries that produce foods 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 heating, cooling and refrigeration applications. Alfa Laval's worldwide organization works closely with customers in nearly 100 countries to help them stay ahead in the global arena. Alfa Laval is listed on the Stockholm Exchange and, in 2001, posted annual sales of approximately SEK 16 billion (approx. 1.8 billion euros). The company has some 9,200 employees. For further information, please visit the Alfa Laval website at www.alfalaval.com Sartorius, headquartered in Goettingen, Germany, ranks among the international market and technology leaders in the fields of biotechnology, mechatronics and environmental technology. Sartorius' major customers are in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries as well as in many research and educational fields of the public sector. Sartorius supplies an extensive range of product solutions for research and quality assurance laboratories as well as for process-scale manufacture, covering a broad spectrum of applications. Sartorius has its own sales and service organizations on every continent and local representatives in more than 110 countries. The company has some 4,000 employees on the payroll. In 2001, annual sales reached approximately 450 million euros. Sartorius is listed on the major German stock exchanges. For more information, please visit the Sartorius website at www.sartorius.com For further information, please contact: Peter Torstensson Sabine Niebch Alfa Laval Group Sartorius AG Vice President, Communications Press & Public Relations Tel: +46 46 36 72 31 Tel: +49.551.308-3702 Mobil: +46 709 33 72 31 Fax: +49.551.308.3572 peter.torstensson@alfalaval.com sabine.niebch@sartorius.com Patrick Roggemans Alexander Modrok Alfa Laval Sartorius AG Brewery Technology Manager Market Manager Brewing Industry Tel. +32 2 728 39 13 Tel. +49 551 308 3700 patrick.roggemans@alfalaval.com alexander.modrok@sartorius.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/02/13/20030213BIT00510/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/02/13/20030213BIT00510/wkr0002.pdf