Alfa Laval remote support leads to a service agreement with a biopharma producer

Providing relief in a time of crisis

When your product is dependent on timely harvesting, it is critical that the harvesting equipment is kept fully operational. An Alfa Laval service agreement can cover not only regular, preventive maintenance by specialized engineers. It can also provide invaluable safety when unforeseen problems arise. Speedy access to service engineers, even at inconvenient hours, can make the difference between successful production and costly product loss.

A biopharmaceutical business in eastern China, specializing in vaccine production, used an Alfa Laval disc stack separator to harvest their product. With no service agreement in place, the disc stack separator had not been regularly maintained. During a holiday, as a team was about to perform harvesting, there was a leakage of lubrication oil and when the customer wanted to open the separator bowl, the bowl would not open.

Remote guidance without delay

With a very valuable harvest at stake, and with no way of solving the issue themselves, the operation team contacted Alfa Laval. The response was swift and efficient. Luckily, Alfa Laval had an available service engineer on that day, who could access the technical database and do remote troubleshooting.

After examining the disc stack separator via video and discussing the issue with the customer, the Alfa Laval engineer reached a diagnosis. An improper clearing method had caused the lubrication oil to leak, while delayed maintenance had resulted in aged O-rings inside the bowl, causing it to lock up. An hour later the disc stack centrifuge was back in working order. Relieved, the team could go ahead with the harvesting and the valuable product was recovered in time.

The biopharmaceutical company realized that luck had been on their side this time. Not wanting to rely on luck in the future, they chose to set up a service agreement with Alfa Laval. The agreement ensured that the centrifuge would be periodically maintained by trained engineers. Securing smooth production over time and avoiding similar business-threatening situations.