Complete solutions provider Alfa Laval helps home and personal care company boost growth by 21%

When consumers use home and personal care products from Kompak’s production lines, they are largely unaware of the myriad processes involved in bringing these products to market. For Kompak, bringing sustainability to the production lines at its Etten-Leur plant is one of its overarching objectives. Dutch process solutions provider Raton partnered with Alfa Laval to engineer sustainable solutions for the new plant, which conserve water, save energy and reduce waste.

“Kompak, their customers and their customers’ customers are demanding more sustainable home and personal care solutions,” says Dominique van de Wiel, managing director at Raton. “Kompak therefore wanted a new factory that had the smallest possible impact on the environment throughout the entire chain – from raw material to packaged product.” Raton ensured that the Etten-Leur plant met Kompak’s sustainability requirements with energy-efficient equipment, which also contributes to water conservation and reduced waste.

Alfa Laval: Complete solutions provider for home and personal care

When asked why Raton chose to partner with Alfa Laval, van de Wiel explains, “Alfa Laval’s depth of engineering experience and broad product range gave us full flexibility to create a reliable, state-of-the-art solution tailored to Kompak’s exact processing requirements.” Raton’s long-standing business relationship with Alfa Laval, according to van de Wiel, enables his company to deliver top-notch process solutions, uphold the highest quality standards and protect its solid reputation.

“We’re in the trust business,” van de Wiel continues.“We put our trust in Alfa Laval quality, innovative solutions and unmatched service and support so that our customers can put their trust in us.”

Solutions for the state-of-the-art Kompak factory

Installation of 5 Alfa Laval LKH centrifugal pumps

 Alfa Laval LKH centrifugal pumps transport cold water, hot CIP water and ozone water to the mixing tanks and storage tanks. These pumps meet the requirements for high efficiency, low power consumption, low NPSH and very high sanitary standards. With fewer spare parts and easy-to-access front-loading seals, the pumps also offer quick, low-cost maintenance.

Newly developed pigging system

Another noteworthy innovation: A pigging system using Alfa Laval components. The system consists of Alfa Laval OptiLobe rotary pumps, LKB butterfly valves, IndiTop valve position indicators and fittings. It provides Kompak with the simple, reliable and flexible system to get the most out of raw materials while reducing waste by recovering product at the end of a production run. By eliminating product loss along the 100 m line from the storage tanks to the filling station, Kompak was able to boost its overall yield. “Alfa Laval lent its fluid handling expertise and engineering know-how to develop the pigging system,” van de Wiel says.

Reliable partnership increases profitability

 “We recognize that choosing Alfa Laval as our partner may not always provide our customers with the least expensive installation upfront but we know from experience that the investment in Alfa Laval quality and performance pays off,” says van de Wiel. Working with Alfa Laval, all told, ultimately adds up to lower total cost of ownership by securing equipment supply and know-how at reasonable costs, getting the most out of raw materials, cutting operating and maintenance costs and reducing waste and emissions.

Comprehensive solutions yield 21% growth

Quick payoff is evident at the Etten-Leur plant, according to Jan Spiering, general manager at Kompak. “We have reaped the benefits of the major investment we made in our new plant in Etten-Leur that resulted in growth of no less than 21%,” says Spiering. The Raton-Alfa Laval collaboration as complete solutions providers on the Etten-Leur plant has, no doubt, contributed to Kompak’s growth.