IN BRIEF/NEWS
In Brief UÊ Ü}Ê£äÊÞi>ÀÃÊvÊV«iÀ>Ì]ÊAlfa Laval and Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) have decided to extend their partnership for another five years. Under the extended agreement, which takes effect from January 2014, Alfa Laval will continue to be a preferred SSB distribution partner that provides trap and sterile filtration solutions worldwide to the brewing industry. SSB membrane filters are key elements in Alfa Laval’s modular beer sterile filtration systems. “Thanks to the highly effective, longlife Sartorius membrane filters, we can continue to meet the brewing industry’s increasing demand for safe and costefficient beer sterile filtration systems for premium quality beer,” said Kim Dalum, general manager of Alfa Laval’s brewery market unit. Reinhard Vogt, a member of the SSB executive committee, added: “We will leverage the experience we have gained by combining Alfa Laval’s competencies in engineering and turnkey delivery of complete brewery systems and SSB’s expertise in filtration and microbiology.” www.alfalaval.com and www.sartorius. com UÊ Cabot Norit Activated Carbon is raising prices globally on all grades of activated carbon. The price increases will range from 5–15%, depending on the specific activated carbon product, and will be effective for all shipments made on or after 1 October 2013, or as customer contracts allow. Cabot says the increase is required to support its continued investment in product and application development, to fund new investments in technology and process improvements, and to keep pace with increasing costs for raw materials and packaging. www.cabotcorp.com UÊ DESMI Ocean Guard A/S has terminated its current exclusive license agreement with DESMI Pumping Technology A/S, with effect from 6 December 2013. The exclusive license agreement covers sales, marketing and manufacturing of DESMI Ocean Guard’s OxyClean and RayClean ballast water treatment systems. DESMI Ocean Guard was established in 2009 by AP Moller – Maersk A/S, DESMI A/S and UltraAqua A/S. www.desmioceanguard.com 4
Filtration Industry Analyst
Ahlstrom lowers 2013 outlook
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ilter media manufacturer Ahlstrom Corp has revised down its full-year guidance for net sales and operating profit because of lower than expected sales volumes as demand has continued to be soft in the company’s key markets in Europe and North America. Maintenance-related downtime at Ahlstrom’s Osnabrück plant in Germany and adverse currency fluctuations have also negatively affected the company’s net sales and operating profit development. Ahlstrom is now forecasting net sales from continuing operations of E960 million–1040 million in 2013, with operating profit excluding non-recurring items from continuing operations at around 0–2% of net sales. The company had previously expected net sales from continuing operations to be E980 million–1140 million, and operating profit excluding non-recurring items from continuing operations at 2–5% of net sales in 2013. UÊi>Ü
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ÃÌÀÊÃÊ«>}Ê to increase its filtration materials prices worldwide by up to 10% in the fourth quarter of 2013. The level and timing of the increase will depend on the markets served, the raw material content of the product and the agreements in place. The price increases are being made to compensate for the continued rise in raw material costs such as specialty pulps, chemicals and energy as well as adverse currency fluctuations. Ahlstrom says that prices of specialty fibres including mercerized pulp, cotton and glass, as well as energy and chemicals have continued to rise steadily over recent months. For further information, visit www.ahlstrom.com
Porvair ahead of management expectations
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orvair plc is continuing to trade well, with revenues in the first nine months of 2013 up
13% on a year ago and profit before tax ahead of management expectations. In the nine months to 31 August 2013, revenues in the Microfiltration division were 24% higher than last year, helped by significant activity on the POSCO, Reliance Industries and UK government contracts. During the third quarter, Porvair’s Reliance Industries contract was increased for a second time (see Filtration Industry Analyst, August 2013). Other markets like aerospace have been growing steadily, and Seal Analytical has continued to trade well, with strong order levels. Chand Eisenmann Metallurgical, which Porvair acquired in June 2013, has traded satisfactorily and has made its first contribution to group profits (see Filtration Industry Analyst, June 2013). After a quieter first six months, trading in Porvair’s Metals Filtration division has improved in the third quarter. Revenue expectations for the full year have increased and are now expected to be broadly in line with last year. Recent Metals Filtration wins include an agreement to continue to supply all of Alcoa Inc’s cast house filtration requirements globally for the next three years. The new Metals Filtration manufacturing plant in Wuhan, China is almost complete and is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter. For further information, visit www.porvair.com
Pervatech secures funding for expansion
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ervatech BV, a Dutch producer of membranes, membrane modules and separation systems for pervaporation and vapour permeation applications, has secured the necessary financial support to fund the company’s planned expansion. The company’s investment plan includes a redesign of its current product portfolio, a scale up of its production capacity and the relocation to a new facility. Work on the new building has started and the relocation is scheduled to take place by the end of this year. The new facility will give Pervatech the much needed room to produce a new
September 2013