Alfa Laval announced on Tuesday the inauguration of its new plate heat exchanger (PHE) assembly centre in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

The new assembly centre will provide quicker availability of products that have previously had a longer manufacturing lead time for Alfa Laval’s customers across the energy and HVAC sectors in the region, the company said in a press statement.

Sweden-headquartered Alfa Laval is a global manufacturer and supplier of heat transfer, centrifugal separation, and fluid handling products and solutions.

“The total [annual] capacity of the new facility is 500 units while the current market requirement is 200 units,” the company disclosed in an emailed statement to Zawya Projects, adding that the capacity built out is for increased demand linked to Saudi Vision 2030 and to supply the region. 

According to the press statement, previously, assembled PHE units were transported to Saudi Arabia from overseas, which came with an associated carbon footprint. Localising the assembly process would contribute to the reduction of this environmental impact, with components pre-shipped by sea, avoiding the need for airfreight with its higher associated CO2 emissions.

The statement said following the launch of the assembly facility, the company plans to expand its manufacturing operations in the Kingdom for local use and export.

While Alfa Laval didn’t disclose the investment in the Jubail facility in its emailed statement, the company said it is “again investing another multimillion dollars, reaffirming its commitment to the region.”

In November 2022, the company said it has been awarded a contract to deliver compact heat exchangers to the world’s largest green hydrogen plant being built at the NEOM giga-project in the Kingdom.

Sergio Hicke, Cluster President – India, Middle East and SE Africa at Alfa Laval said the new PHE assembly centre “is a win- win for both operational excellence and eco-conscious industry practices,” reflecting the company’s commitments towards continuously improvement of products and solutions and a sustainable future. 

Saudi Arabia has set a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. Alfa Laval is committed to reaching net zero on its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by Dennis Daniel)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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