Alfa Laval’s purpose-built brazed plate heat exchanger (BHE) factory in San Bonifacio, Italy was inaugurated by Alfa Laval’s Group Management and Board of Directors in September, during their annual Strategy Days Conference. These new facilities, an important part of the Alfa Laval Industry 4.0 strategy, combine cutting-edge innovation with record manufacturing capacity.

Today’s answer to tomorrow’s energy transition challenges

The new San Bonifacio factory will play an important role in helping Alfa Laval fulfil our commitment to a clean-energy future. It’s a tough goal that cannot be achieved unless Alfa Laval helps our customers grow their businesses and transition away from fossil fuels, at the same time as those customers help their own customers — and the planet — do the same.

The doors to greener energy are open. So is our invitation to Alfa Laval customers.

The need for energy-saving thermal equipment is growing fast, thanks to increasing demand for efficient, sustainable solutions in the heat pump, air conditioning, and refrigeration sectors. Alfa Laval is ready to meet that demand, with a sharpened focus on developing hydrogen-based technologies for these global industries.

Along the way, we’re creating more productive collaborations. “The promise of the new San Bonifacio site is that we will continue to advance thermal innovation and deliver new levels of customer experience,” says Fredrik Ekström, President, Business Unit Brazed & Fusion Bonded Heat Exchangers. “Our new facilities will offer so much. Not only are we building capacity, we are also building our cooperation with customers. The factory is already larger and more fully automated than its predecessor in Alonte, and the site has ample room and investment approval for further growth.”

New facilities offer new possibilities—so we can manufacture a better future, today

Alfa Laval knows that today’s customers look for suppliers who are focused on improving energy efficiency throughout the entire production chain, not just in the finished product. That’s why we’ve made our San Bonifacio plant into a showcase of possibility. In addition to new loading bays and forklift-free internal logistics, it also boasts vastly increased capacity, and a digitalized warehouse management system to oversee the flow of materials and goods.

As Alfa Laval’s most modern and sustainable facility, it includes an on-site training centre and the ability to generate 1 MW of power from the solar panels on its roof. It also features an ultramodern laboratory focused on developing renewable/sustainable technologies for the future, as well as other leading-edge products, including flammable and low-global-warming-potential (low-GWP) refrigerants, which can help the heat exchange, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries transition away from high GWP refrigerants. The success of this plant will provide a blueprint for continued development. “We aim to become a reference centre for creating a sustainable society, working together with new talents, new universities, new companies, and new partners to develop innovative technologies that can boost the global transition to clean energy,” says Matteo Munari, Head of Technology Development.

With our customers in mind, Alfa Laval brings the future of manufacturing to today’s challenges

“By automating many of our processes and logistics, and by digitalizing in-factory communication, we have made our workflows smoother and more reliable,” says Massimo Balestrini, Vice President of Operations and Product Group President for BHE/FHE & WHE. “The increased speed, safety, and quality of this smart factory will benefit everyone. We warmly welcome all our customers to join us for a tour. Together, we can evolve tomorrow’s product range, boost the global transition to clean energy — and solve the challenges facing the world along the way.”