Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2011)

8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

What is background and your management philosophy?

I was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Alfa Laval Inc. in January 2011. In this role, I am re- sponsible for leading Alfa Laval in the USA to drive profitable growth in its markets, leveraging the com- pany’s key technologies of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling.

I like to keep my management philosophy quite simple, and something I recently read sums up my philosophy well: “Achievement is overrated. There are those who sit comfortably on their laurels, then there are those who get uncomfortable when they achieve a milestone. For them, standing on achievements is like looking at nowhere. For them, every milestone is a work in progress to move beyond. To do more. To be better.

Again and again.” – Author unknown

Our greatest challenges are what make us work harder and climb higher. The greatest success also holds les- sons to be learned to adjust and make the next success even more rewarding to all.

Alfa Laval has been quite active in recent years:

Can you give our readers a brief overview as to the

Alfa Laval philosophy in building the company to serve the marine industry?

The Alfa Laval Marine and Diesel Equipment team is driven to develop cost-effective, easy-to-use technology that allows ship owners and ship operators to remain competitive and profitable. Through focusing on the es- sentials in these processes for more than a century – Alfa

Laval has steadily made solutions more reliable, more economical and with less environmental impact. We call this way of thinking, “Marine Essentials.”

We’ve developed technologies to meet the needs of ship- builders and ship owners; each has reflected a single aim: optimal cost and process efficiencies while sup- porting a sustainable environment. To be specific, we address the fuel oil, process fluids and the seawater it- self.

Oil treatment/purification: We separate the heavy particles and dirt and also the water – from the fuel oil.

Our equipment is designed to further extend the fuel, the equipment and also parts and service consumption.

The new S-separator, for instance, provides even greater separation efficiency due to – among other enhance- ments — a major increase in separation area and a func- tion that detects and adjusts to the nature of the oil. The increase in separation area, disc modifications and other improvements allow for up to 20% more flow with re- tained separation performance. Ship operators can now handle the same amount of oil with a smaller separator.

The P-separator compliments the S-separator to create a dual approach to fuel and lubrication oil treatment. The

P-separator shares the S-separator’s economical and low-maintenance features, however the P-separator is intended for well-defined oils with fewer variations.

The customer chooses the option that best matches their oil and application needs and automation requirements.

Water: We supply a range of fresh water generators for the conversion of seawater into freshwater by vacuum distillation to supply high quality freshwater for do- mestic and process utilization. Both onboard and land based units are available and may be used in waste heat recovery applications. Both are highly sea water resist- ant because of the titanium plates selected for the heat transfer surface.

Ballast Water Treatment: PureBallast is our chemi- cal-free system for ballast water treatment, addressing one of today’s most critical environmental issues: the introduction of invasive marine species into new envi- ronments via ballast water. The PureBallast system works much the same way during ballasting and debal- lasting procedures. Water is treated by at least one Wal- lenius AOT (Advanced Oxidation Technology) unit, which contains titanium dioxide catalysts that, when contacted by light, generate hydroxyl radicals. These radicals break down the cell membrane of microorgan- isms – without the use of chemicals or the creation of harmful residuals. After its short, “few milliseconds” life, each radical becomes a water molecule. This process was described as a “from nature to nature.” We have 120 units sold and 30 in operation.

PureBallast involves no environmental or operational compromises. It produces radicals that neutralize or- ganisms in ballast water. In pilot tests, onboard trials and during IMO certification, PureBallast has demon- strated the necessary biological efficiency. Since the system is also compact and flexible, it can be installed even in cramped engine room conditions or in areas that are otherwise difficult to utilize.

PureBallast has received full Ballast Water Type Ap- proval from DNV, on behalf of Norwegian authorities.

The certificate, which was issued on June 27th, 2008, confirms that PureBallast complies in full with pending ballast water treatment legislation from the International

Maritime Organization (IMO).

Tank Cleaning: We offer tank cleaning units designed to keep the insides of tanks and storage holds clean by creating an optimized helical or criss-cross spray pat- tern to reach the whole tank in a fraction of the time.

Crankcase gas emissions: An estimated 3500 m3 of lube oil ends in the world's oceans every year by allow- ing crankcase gas containing oil mist from marine diesel engines to pass into the atmosphere un-cleaned.

PureVent cleans the crankcase gas in high-capacity in- stallations. The separated oil can even be re-circulated for use as lubricant. Cleaning efficiency is as high as 99.99% for a capacity of 40 m3/hour and 98.5% at 150 m3/hour.

What do you see as the company's strengths?

Our number one strength – without doubt – is our peo- ple. We strive to deliver expertise and experience to the customer. In addition, we have products that have pro- moted a sustainable environment for over 125 years.

From the beginning, Alfa Laval’s products have been designed for minimizing waste and optimizing effi- ciency. There is reward in selling a product that you know will be optimal for both the customer and the en- vironment. An ongoing and consistent focus on product research and development has been crucial in building, strengthening and developing the company’s global market leadership. We have a program in place that we call “Time To Market,” targeting reducing the time it takes to get our newest innovations to the customer to optimize their costs and processes.

What changes in the marine market have most dramatically affected the business of Alfa Laval?

The three changes that stand out the most for us are: 1. The demand in shipbuilding has declined 2. Globalization 3. Environmental awareness

How did the recent global economic downturn affect your business?

Although global economic growth experienced a dip during the past year, Alfa Laval expects that structural changes in the global environment will continue to drive long-term demand for the company’s products: Grow- ing energy needs, new environmental requirements and ongoing globalization are the driving forces expected to play the most crucial role.

How is Alfa Laval investing today?

Alfa Laval’s investment strategy is 1) organic growth, especially with new products and technologies and 2) acquisitions. This means that Alfa Laval will undertake acquisitions and alliances that: • strengthen our existing key technologies • add new key products • complement the existing business in terms of geog- raphy or in the form of additional ways to market.

Where do you see opportunities for growth?

As I mentioned previously, we see many opportunities for structural growth. The three dramatic marine changes mentioned earlier are also the three areas that stand out as having the greatest growth potential: The

FIVE MINUTES WITH JOHN ATANASIO, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ALFA LAVAL INC. PROFILE

John Atanasio President & CEO, Alfa Laval Inc.