Alfa Laval deepens it's commitment to the global food industry with new Food & Pharma Division

Alfa Laval’s recently formed Food & Pharma Division signals a step change in ambition – not least within food. It creates an organization with sharpened focus and greater innovation muscle, making the food industry's most capable and future-ready partner even stronger.

For more than 140 years, Alfa Laval has separated, heated, cooled, and handled the products and ingredients that nourish people worldwide. The transformation of its Food & Water Division into the Food & Pharma Division highlights a stronger focus on pharmaceutical production. But it also marks an important new chapter in relation to food. 

The strategic reorganization, built around distinct route-to-market paths, enhances customer alignment while bringing R&D investment to a historic level. Food – extending from dairy, beverages, edible oils, and meat and fish processing to the frontiers of alternative proteins and fermentation-based production – is the clear and dominant core.  

“Food is our foundation and the most significant driver for future growth,” says Sammy Hulpiau, President, Alfa Laval Food & Pharma Division. “With our new framework, we can leverage strengths more effectively, creating opportunities for food and beverage producers and growing at pace alongside them. Together, we can meet the challenges of a dynamic food landscape and create tomorrow’s more resilient food infrastructure.” 

An end-to-end partner across the food value chain 

Alfa Laval's offering combines breadth with depth across separation, heat transfer and fluid handling. Recent product additions include hygienic WideGap heat exchangers for fibrous fluids and Foodec Oil Plus decanters for fat extraction. Many innovations, such as PureFerm separators or the Alfa Laval Fermentation System, enable entirely new methods of food production. 

With so many solutions, Alfa Laval experts can apply multiple technological approaches to a given process challenge. Customers have a partner who can engage with flexibility, offering alternative ways to meet their needs. The new divisional structure, with its more direct channels for specific knowledge and resources, delivers that expertise efficiently. 

“Customers value our understanding of their processes and directions,” says Christian Thomsen, Business Unit President Process Engineering Solutions, Alfa Laval Food & Pharma Division. “We help them optimize today’s operations by maximizing uptime, improving yields and cutting consumption of water and energy. But we also support their growth into new areas, whether by converting side streams into revenue or by introducing new production methods. With our revised structure, we can do those things even better.” 

Ready to meet the needs of a changing food industry 

The forces reshaping food production are powerful. Global population is projected to exceed 10 billion by 2060, driving sustained demand growth. Resource constraints require greater efficiency in the use of water and energy. As geopolitical pressures alter supply chains and amplify the call for regional food security, consumer preferences are diversifying.  

All this means food producers must be faster, more flexible and more innovative – not just in what they produce, but also in how they produce it. With the new organization and substantial new investments in innovation, Alfa Laval is poised to help customers succeed. The company is working on two levels: continuously improving the processes that drive today’s production, while also developing capabilities for next-generation food.  

“As a whole, the food industry must optimize what it does today while pioneering what it needs to achieve tomorrow,” says Sammy Hulpiau. “But individual producers must find their own balance point, and Alfa Laval can assist on both fronts. Our new structure is a robust platform for all customers, allowing us to meet existing challenges without taking our eyes off the horizon.” 

Innovation infrastructure to take food forward 

The commitment to innovation – whether for current or coming needs – is physical as well as structural. Alfa Laval’s Application & Innovation Centre in Kolding, Denmark, and its technology laboratory in Flemingsberg, Sweden, have long supported idea testing and solution development with customers. In spring 2027, they will be joined by Alfa Laval’s Food Application & Innovation Centre – a 1,200 m² collaboration hub in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.  

"Alfa Laval’s Food Application & Innovation Centre is a clear signal of our dedication to customers and other food stakeholders. Together, at the new centre and beyond, we will shape the evolution of food and lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s food supply," says Christian Thomsen.