With the adaptability and knowledge at the heart of efforts to tackle this growing and evolving global water challenge
Teamwork and joined-up thinking across industries and disciplines is the only way to tackle one of the biggest challenges currently facing the world – building resilience into local and global water systems. That is the view of Alfa Laval expert Gert Ternström, who in his role as Head of Global Sales Evaporation, is facing into this multi-faceted issue in just about every part of his working life.
DATE 2025-10-27
And it is precisely because there are so many moving parts in this complex challenge that flexibility and communication are key, as there is simply no one-size-fits-all solution.
As populations grow and living standards increase, more water is inevitably used, but with climate change, that puts increasing and dangerously unsustainable stress in areas where there is already historic water scarcity.
“This is not going away, but at Alfa Laval we love a challenge, and while I am sad that we have this issue, I am excited about the difference that we can make,” says Gert. “In many ways, this is a new emerging challenge, and we are all learning more as we go along and evolving and developing our solutions as we do so.”
With more than 23 years of service with Alfa Laval, the last seven of them in the world of Evaporation, Gert is well placed to bring his experience and expertise - not to mention infectious enthusiasm - to tackle this growing challenge. Over his career, he has seen a long-term and steep rise in the increasing focus on water across the globe, although it is a complex and multi-dimensional landscape.
The issue is influenced not least by various geographical, financial and regulatory factors – and even the question of what ‘type’ of water is required when seeking to effectively recycle and re-use this most precious of resources.
Gert says: “There are very different drivers that have led to the situation we have today, but all are very real. Across industries, interest is growing dramatically in how to manage water. The one reason that is becoming more and more frequent – and urgent – is the fundamental issue of companies saying that they can’t get the water that they need to continue to operate. That is where Alfa Laval is being called in to provide urgent solutions.”
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Enabling water reuse
Working in Evaporation, Gert’s primary focus is on formulating solutions in the area of product concentration and retention and reuse of the water removed from the product and waste, through technology such as reverse osmosis. This ensures that water is retained in the local water cycle. It also means that there is a cost and carbon saving in the transport of a lighter and smaller volume of product.
“We find ways to squeeze the water out and then ensure it is suitable for reuse,” says Gert. “This is when we must ensure that our solution is designed for the food producer’s needs for the quality of the water – does it need to be potable or just suitable for cleaning purposes. This is key to finding an efficient and environmentally sound approach.”
Navigating complexity
So, whether it is a company in Slovakia looking to reduce the effluent water it sends into the local systems, or a North American potato chip maker trying to recover more water from its starch and salt liquids, Gert and his team are at the heart of formulating business-critical solutions.
These are especially prized in hotter regions such as Southern Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and South America. “This is where food producers are really looking to maximize water reuse and where most of our projects are, and our solutions come into play with membranes, evaporation systems and even more polishing after that,” says Gert.
For one manufacturer of specialized sweeteners in Spain, Alfa Laval’s evaporation systems will enable them to save and reuse enough water so that they will be able to qualify for vital state subsidies.
And for a South American protein company, which is seeing a whole city grow around its once rural production plant. By design of a new investment, the evaporation systems will enable it to reduce the effluent being trucked out by up to seven times the original volume. This will save a tremendous amount in transport costs and provide water for reuse in the processing.
Golden capabilities
Gert’s extensive experience across different business units at Alfa Laval means he has built up the sort of cross-discipline network, internally and externally, which he sees as vital in formulating bespoke solutions.
“We all need to work together and bring together our different expertise,” he says. “It takes a combination of solutions to make a difference. Some of those are not fully formed or readily available today, but by sharing knowledge with customers and other companies, we will get there.”
“Nothing comes from nothing,” says Gert, and water recovery is an energy-intensive operation. But the electrification of the processes, moving on from an age of fossil fuel boilers and steam, and the CO2 saved in transport impacts, is seeing the positive impact of water-saving operations being maximized at every opportunity.
He identifies the breadth of skillsets, knowledge and experience within Alfa Laval as putting it in a unique position to play a central role in the global drive to save on water.
“We have put water stewardship at the heart of our activities, and at Alfa Laval, we have a fantastic presence and long legacy of delivering a variety of industrial solutions,” says Gert. “With our heritage and our people, we have the strength to build highly tailored solutions for our customers.
“The way we operate means that we will work more and more with external partners and other organizations outside of Alfa Laval, and growing our portfolio will be a natural consequence of this. This is a long-term trend. We have a good base offer today, and we go out and find solutions. We are building complex engineered solutions using Alfa Laval’s core equipment and embracing both areas of opportunity – setting up new process lines or retrofitting existing plants.”
On the horizon
Looking into the future, Gert can only see the need for innovative and tailored solutions for water recovery and reuse growing, prompting Alfa Laval to develop new ground-breaking technology and boost its existing equipment.
“There will be more diversity in our solutions as industries come up with different requirements,” he says. “There will be a greater focus on exactly what type of water different kinds of food and beverage producers want/need? – how high the quality needs to be, depending on how it will be reused – and the equipment will be fine-tuned to meet these specific requirements.”
As the focus on water intensifies, Gert expects more and more businesses to come to Alfa Laval to find out how their water stewardship ambitions can be met, with existing customers regularly checking that they have the very best set-ups for their needs.
“You have traditional wastewater companies and traditional industry solution providers, and this challenge is coming somewhere in the middle,” he says. “A whole new world is opening up, people are looking for trusted partners in this field, and Alfa Laval is ready to seize the opportunity and make a difference.”