GEA Filtration Expands |
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GEA has expanded and reorganized its filtration division in Europe to provide an even better service to its customers through more defined market segmentation. The changes took place late last year and are already changing the way in which GEA approaches the filtration industry.
GEA Filtration supplies Microfiltration, Ultrafiltration, Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis equipment to customers throughout industry. However, until recently, its centre for this expertise was in the US with European cover provided by GEA Liquid Processing Scandinavia A/S in Skanderborg, Denmark. The change is to expand the Skanderborg facility significantly, establish a new filtration division in Ettlingen, Germany at GEA Wiegand GmbH, and to change the market segmentation within the group to address each customer's needs directly. GEA Filtration in Hudson, WI, USA, will remain the worldwide centre of excellence for all cross-flow membrane filtration activities. The company has segmented its market responsibilities in Europe to concentrate activities in the Food, Beverage, Chemical and Process Waste Water sectors on Wiegand, Germany; the operation in Skanderborg will focus on Dairy, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Brewing. This increased specialisation will allow each office to provide specific expertise and develop a much greater library of knowledge to help customers. A new fleet of mobile pilot plants will also be available to help customer through product development and process selection. In addition, the two application centers of GEA Filtration in Ettlingen and Skanderborg will increasingly focus on after sales services for system validation, upgrades and optimized membrane replacement. Niels E. Olsen, the newly appointed Division Manager for the company in Europe said in a recent interview that he wanted customers to view GEA Filtration as a neutral partner to help them choose the correct processing techniques and select the right filtration membranes for each application. "That is why we are not just a membrane element supplier," he said, "we need to give our customers clear, unbiased guidance for a complete solution." He also commented that the range of techniques available elsewhere within GEA allowed his technicians to advise complimentary as well as competitive technologies (such as Thermal Separation or Mechanical Separation) when considered appropriate. GEA Filtration now has a unique market position being Europe's only supplier to have expertise across all market sectors, based on the broadest selection of membrane supplier partners in the industry. This has a tremendous advantage as there are many applications where sectors overlap. In the dairy industry, for example, some components from milk can be used in the pharmaceutical industry. The structural change has been precipitated largely by the recent reduction in costs of membrane filtration elements - caused by economies of scale and new manufacturing techniques - that has made membrane filtration economic in areas that were previously serviced by thermal or mechanical separation procedures. "Both technologies have their place," explained Niels, "but the opportunities for membrane filtration have expanded dramatically in recent years." He went on to explain that, for example, applications with low viscosities were more appropriate for filtration, high viscosity products might still be best processed with thermal separation techniques. Likewise, new requirements in functional foods and biopharmaceuticals call for membrane filtration techniques for targeted protein fractionations. GEA leads the market in developing concentration, separation and drying systems throughout all industrial sectors. This increased focus on membrane filtration reinforces its position and enhances the synergies obtained between the individual technologies and business units within the company.
Niels E. Olsen |
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