Jun 29 2012
Swedish clean tech company Sorubin, the leader in ‘new generation’ energy efficient aeration products for water treatment, has attracted the most well-known profile in Scandinavian water industry, Kjell Axelsson, as an investor and new Board Member.
The award-winning Swedish clean tech company Sorubin has in the past year rapidly gained market acceptance for its highly energy-efficient aerator Microluft, with orders from e.g. the world's largest food and beverage company Nestlé. Microluft has the potential to reduce electricity consumption by up to 90 percent for the industries and municipal wastewater treatment plants that choose this solution as part of their water treatment processes.
Fast-growing Sorubin’s fresh and innovative offering of aeration products, with a focus on ingenious ways to help the customers save energy and money, has been very well received on the global market for water treatment. The company has received several green and innovation awards in 2011, including the Greentech Top 3 prize as one of Sweden’s three hottest CleanTech startups.
The legendary Scandinavian entrepreneur and businessman in the water industry, Mr. Kjell Axelsson, has invested in Sorubin to become the second largest shareholder in Sorubin after the company’s founder and CEO Stefan Sandström. Kjell Axelsson will also become a new Board Member after the next annual general meeting which is planned for August this year.
”I am very happy to welcome Swedish super entrepreneur and businessman Kjell Axelsson to Sorubin”, said Stefan Sandström, CEO of Sorubin. “We simply cannot have a more solid partner and Board Member than him. Kjell Axelsson's contributions to Sweden’s water industry are unprecedented. I look forward to building Sorubin and expanding on the global market with his experience and expertise as a big help.”
Built SEK 800 million water group
Martin Axelsson founded Läckeby Rör in 1935. Kjell Axelsson took over from his father in 1967 and built Läckeby Water and Purac to become the world leaders in water and wastewater treatment and biogas production. The Läckeby Water Group today has approximately 230 employees and revenues of around SEK 800 million per year. The company remained under the Axelsson family's ownership until 2008 when KF Invest bought 81 percent of the company.
Kjell Axelsson has for decades been owner, President and Vice President of Läckeby Water Group and he is still Director of the company. He has been deeply involved in the development of Swedish and international water technology and is often called "Mr. Water" in Sweden. Kjell Axelsson also was formerly chairman of VARIM, the Swedish water treatment industry trade association, and he is a Director for almost ten boards.
“Sorubin’s greatest strength is the simplicity of the Microluft system”, said Kjell Axelsson. “I definitely see a market for Microluft. I can easily see Microluft becoming the dominant aeration system in the world, primarily for industries with water treatment needs and later also for municipal customers. The challenge is simply to convince the market, to establish a strong market acceptance.”
Microluft is a ‘next generation’ bottom mounted aerator that entrains atmospheric air to the bottom of dams and ponds by creating a vortex in a pipe. At the bottom, the air reaches the specially designed impeller that disperses the air as very fine bubbles into the surrounding water. The high yielding oxygen transfer rate per energy unit is many times higher than for incumbent aerator technologies. This means that the Microluft is highly energy efficient. Microluft has the potential to reduce energy consumption by up to 90 percent.