The Hindu Business Line : Alfa Laval eyes India, China to source material

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Tommy Karlsson, Vice-President, Operations, in charge of global purchasing, said about 80 per cent of its material comes from Western Europe and North America, with the remaining from the rest of the world.

Mr Karlsson said the company was looking to source material worth $70 million from India and China, in the first phase of operation over the next couple of years. Russia will also join the race later, he said.

Mr Karlsson said Alfa Laval AB was looking at machine components and materials in the areas of forging, castingand fabrication.

He said the intention was to reduce material sourcing from Western Europe and North America and source more from China and India, and thus increase contribution from the rest of the world by 15-20 per cent.

Asked how much of the $70-million would come into India, he said there was no such demarcation. But "we are bringing in a competitive spirit between the two countries and it would depend on their performance."

Mr Karlsson said as far as quality was concerned, both the countries were equally competitive.

Mr Karlsson said Alfa Laval Sweden has signed an agreement with the US-based Dover Corporation to acquire Tranter PHE. The $100-million company has about 450 employees on its rolls and has three manufacturing units - one each in the US, Sweden and India (close to Pune).

According to information, Alfa Laval has agreed to pay approximately SEK 1.1 billion ($150 million) in cash.

Tranter PHE is a premium brand in design and production of plate, frame heat transfer products and welded heat transfer products for a wide range of applications. It will continue to be an independent market channel and offer its own product range under the Tranter brand through its own distribution network. Tranter PHE will also maintain its own R&D and manufacturing units.

Sales of Tranter PHE are divided equally between North America, Europe and the rest of the world, and the main product group is gasketed plate heat exchangers. The key application areas are heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, processing, and the marine and food industries.

International Purchasing Fair begins

THE International Purchasing Fair began on Wednesday with participation from 15 countries, 136 companies apart from 266 individuals.

The two-day fair is organised by Alfa Laval to showcase its technology to suppliers and initiate new business opportunities.

The fair is also being held to increase product sourcing from India.

Five of Alfa Laval's six commodity groups - metals, machining, forming and fabrication, electrical instrumentation and flow items - are being represented at the fair. Regional purchasing offices in China, India, Eastern Europe and Mexico as well as local site teams are part of the Alfa Laval network.

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