Danfoss implements planned generational shift in ownership

NORDBORG, Denmark, 23 March 2022: Former Danfoss CEO, Jørgen Mads Clausen has informed the Board of Directors that he will resign as Chairman of the Board of Danfoss A/S with effect from the Annual General Meeting to be held on March 25, 2022. Making the announcement through a Press release, Danfoss said Clausen will remain a member of the Board of Directors until the Annual General Meeting on March 25, when his current term expires.

According to Danfoss, the Board has nominated current Vice Chairman, Jens Bjerg Sørensen to succeed Clausen as Chairman of the Board after the Annual General Meeting.

Clausen said: “Danfoss is now a stronger, bigger and more global company, but also one with a clear goal of contributing to the green transition and combatting climate change with our energy-efficient products and solutions. This is a result of our business strategy, which is now being updated with an ambitious sustainability strategy. It has been a pleasure to safeguard my parents’ life work for the benefit of Southern Jutland, Denmark and the world. Now it’s time for the next generation to take the lead. The timing is right for me.”

According to Danfoss, Clausen was CEO of the company from 1996 to 2008 and Chairman of the Board since the 2009 Annual General Meeting. Despite stepping down from the Board, he intends to maintain his strong commitment to Danfoss, the company said. This follows the tradition that started with Bitten Clausen, who was one of the world’s first female board chairs from 1966 to 1971 and, later, Danfoss’ Vice Chair until 1989, the company added.

Clausen said: “I will continue to be available to the company and represent the family to employees and business associates. But both my siblings and my wife and I are delighted that the third generation of the family is showing their commitment to Danfoss by taking on greater responsibility. At the same time, we couldn’t ask for a better chairman than Jens Bjerg Sørensen. Jens has the right skills, experience and understanding of Danfoss and our culture. He can take Danfoss to new levels, together with the rest of the Board, management and our employees.”

Sørensen said: “I am honored to be nominated as the new Chairman of the Board. Danfoss has an impressive history. The foundation based long-term ownership and the family’s strong values are one of the main reasons why Danfoss now has a decisive influence on whether the world succeeds in the green transition. Danfoss is financially stronger than ever and has developed significantly during Jørgen’s time as Chairman. As Vice Chairman, I have followed the close collaboration between Jørgen and Danfoss’ CEO, Kim Fausing, which I consider crucial to Danfoss’ success. I intend to maintain this together with the new Board of Directors.”

Valmet to supply a boiler plant for district heat production

ESPOO, Finland, 21 January 2021: Valmet will supply a boiler plant for district heat production to Seinäjoen Energia Oy’s Kapernaum heat plant in Seinäjoki, Finland, the company said through a Press release. The new boiler will enable the plant to increase the use of renewable fuels in its district heat production, it added.

Owned by the city of Seinäjoki, Seinäjoen Energia provides its customers with services in electricity, district heating and water supply, Valmet said. The company has approximately 4,500 district heat customers with an annual heat need of over 500 GWh, Valmet added.

The order is included in Valmet’s orders, received in the fourth quarter 2020, the company said, adding that the boiler plant will be handed over to the customer in autumn 2022.

Vesa Hätilä, Managing Director, Seinäjoen Energia, said: “We are pleased to start this project. It is a significant step forward in producing cleaner district heat. We will be able to ensure reliable and competitively priced heat for our customers in the future, too.”

Added Kai Janhunen, Vice President, Energy Business Unit, Valmet: “This project features notable environmental values and a great significance for the district heat produced in Seinäjoki. Valmet’s delivery combines strong technical knowhow with high-quality and swift project management. We appreciate Seinäjoen Energia’s trust in Valmet.”

Valmet said it will build the new boiler plant from the foundation upwards all the way from the fuel feed silo to the stack. The core of the delivery is Valmet BFB Boiler, which utilises bubbling fluidised bed technology and runs on a wide range of biomasses. Additionally, Valmet’s delivery includes an electrostatic precipitator, a flue gas condensation unit and a Valmet DNA Automation System for the entire plant, among others.

The fuel capacity of the boiler plant, Valmet said, is 49.5 megawatts (MW). Its maximal district heat capacity, it added, is 56.5 MW_th with the flue gas condensation unit.

GEA wins at RAC Cooling Industry Awards

 

DUESSELDORF, Germany, 18 December 2020: GEA won in the ‘Contractor of the Year 2020’ category at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards, on December 9. In addition, GEA received a “highly commended” rating in the ‘Building Energy Project of the Year’ category, during a pandemic-induced virtual ceremony, organised and conducted by the British Refrigeration & Air Conditioning magazine (RAC), the company said through a Press release.

According to GEA, the award recognises companies that have made a special commitment to environmentally friendly and innovative solutions in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. 

GEA bagged the ‘Contractor of the Year’ award for implementing the Quorn Foods project, which the company said involved installing a new compressor to improve performance – in parallel with replacing a faulty refrigeration system during a planned shutdown at the food manufacturer’s plant at its site in North Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. The customer, as well as the judges of the RAC Cooling Industry Awards, were delighted with the solution it provided, GEA claimed. By investing in a GEA Grasso Conversion Kit (GGCK), Quorn Foods benefited from a larger compressor that replaced ageing equipment and increased cooling capacity by an additional seven per cent, GEA said. This not only improved the site’s efficiency, but also resulted in energy savings and a reduced carbon footprint, GEA claimed. GEA said it also upgraded the existing control system with a new OMNI Retrofit Panel control (GORP). The control and management system ensures optimal operation of the plant, it added.

Throughout the installation, the GEA Refrigeration Technologies team worked under great time pressure, with only 10 days available for all the work, GEA said, adding that it successfully completed the project in just five days and, as a result, Quorn Foods was able to restart production without interrupting the plant’s workflow.

GEA said the RAC Cooling Industry Awards judges praised its strong commitment at the awards. “GEA demonstrated great foresight and found a cost-effective solution for the customer within the given timeframe through its great expertise and decades of experience in refrigeration,” GEA quoted the judges as saying. “Furthermore, GEA also took the opportunity to improve the flexibility of the plant’s operation and realized energy savings.”

GEA said the jury of the Awards also praised its project for the Scottish premium ice cream manufacturer, Mackie’s, offering GEA a “Highly Commended” recognition for executing the project.

The Mackie’s project saw GEA replace the existing freezer at the ice cream maker’s Aberdeenshire plant with a design using an ammonia and CO2 low-carbon, energy-efficient cooling system to work alongside an absorption chiller. It was the first large-scale ice cream production plant in Scotland to combine biomass heat and absorption cooling, GEA said. The solution, it added, helped Mackie’s achieve its plan and ambitious target of CO2 reductions of 90% and energy cost savings of 70-80%