/INS. Unplanned downtime remains one of the biggest hidden costs in food, beverage, dairy, pharma and other hygienic industries. Yet many manufacturers still rely on scheduled inspections or react only when equipment failure occurs.

Kolding, Denmark, September 2026

A case story from one of the UK’s largest soft drink manufacturers, Britvic, demonstrates how AI-powered and industry intelligent condition monitoring can help production teams detect failures before they happen, preventing lost production, reducing resource waste and improving operational efficiency.

Using Alfa Laval’s condition monitoring solution, the company identified an imminent pump issue that otherwise would have gone unnoticed until failure occurred. Acting on a single notification, the maintenance team repaired the defect pump during a planned production stop and avoided six hours of unplanned downtime as well as 288,000 bottles of lost product and 2,000 litres of cleaning water.

“Just this one notification paid for our entire investment in the condition monitoring solution”, said Chris Heslop, Engineering Specialist at Britvic’s Rugby facility.

The value of early warning

At Britvic’s Rugby plant, hundreds of pumps support round-the-clock production across multiple beverage lines. Any unexpected pump failure can lead to costly interruptions, loss of product and additional cleaning cycles.

Within months of implementation, the condition monitoring system detected abnormal operation on a critical pump and alerted operators before failure occurred. The maintenance team was then able to complete the repair in just 45 minutes within a planned production stop, avoiding six hours of unplanned downtime.

"In today's manufacturing environment, uptime and sustainability are increasingly linked," says Torsten Pedersen, Commercial Head Condition Monitoring, Alfa Laval Fluid Handling. “Our customers are looking for solutions that improve productivity and operational efficiency, and this is exactly where condition monitoring creates value.”

Turning machine data into actionable insights

Clariot^TM is Alfa Laval’s AI-based condition monitoring solution developed specifically for hygienic process industries. The solution continuously monitors pumps and other rotating equipment, providing 24/7 analysis, diagnostics and alerts that enable maintenance teams to address issues in time.

Built on Alfa Laval’s experience from more than 3,000 condition monitoring installations worldwide, Clariot combines intelligent sensors, advanced AI-based analytics and secure connectivity in a complete monitoring platform that can detect issues related to process conditions, installation issues and mechanical wear.

“We firmly believe that condition monitoring and predictive maintenance is becoming standard practice in modern manufacturing”, says Torsten Pedersen. “The value is no longer theoretical, and cases like this clearly demonstrate the positive business impact.”

Clariot^TM operates independently of business-critical systems. Compatible with most pump brands, the solution can be scaled across production lines, factories and global operations.

Link to story: Condition monitoring prevented the product loss of 288,000 bottles at Britvic facility | Alfa Laval

 

For further information, please contact:

Torsten Pedersen
Commercial Head
Condition Monitoring
torsten.pedersen@alfalaval.com

This is Alfa Laval

The ability to make the most of what we have is more important than ever. Together with our customers, we’re innovating the industries that society depends on and creating lasting positive impact. We’re set on helping billions of people to get the energy, food, and clean water they need.  And, at the same time, we’re decarbonizing the marine fleet that’s the backbone of global trade.

We pioneer technologies and solutions that free our customers to unlock the true potential of resources. As our customers’ businesses grow stronger, the goal of a truly sustainable world edges closer. The company is committed to optimizing processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets. Together, we’re pioneering positive impact.

Alfa Laval was founded 140 years ago, has customers in 100 countries, employs more than 23,670 people, and annual sales were SEK 69.6 billion (6.6 BEUR) in 2025. The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.   

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