STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Alfa Laval has decided to further optimize its global manufacturing structure. The high speed separator manufacturing unit in Madrid, Spain, will be phased out and closed. The Life Science assembly unit in Toronto, Canada, will be closed down by the end of June 2005.
The company will set up a unit for high speed separators in China, with the objective to gain competitive advantages by getting closer to the Asian/Pacific market, where North East Asia has developed to be the leading market for the ship building industry. The new set-up in China will be an assembly unit and the core components to the high speed separators will be produced in an existing unit in Sweden.
Alfa Laval has also decided to outsource the manufacturing of modules and skids for the life science market. The offer to the global Life Sience market will continue to be products, systems, engineering and validation services, including biotech process system and module design, and program management.
The above-mentioned initiatives will have a total non-recurring effect on Alfa Laval's consolidated income statement of MSEK 125 in the 1st quarter of 2005.
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 to heat, cool, separate and transport products in industries that produce food and beverage, 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. 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 2004, posted annual sales of about SEK 15 billion (approx. 1.7 billion euros). The company has some 9,500 employees.
For further information, please visit the Alfa Laval website at www.alfalaval.com
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