Alfa Laval: visual storytelling and sustainability in print

Here is a business magazine that has been published by Swedish industrial group Alfa Laval for decades. For issue #37, Alfa Laval turned to Tale for help in establishing a new editorial concept for Here and managing content production. The new magazine needed to support the company’s updated brand as well as appeal to a global audience of customers in more than 100 countries and Alfa Laval’s 17,000 employees.

Visual storytelling

Tale worked closely with Alfa Laval to develop a new editorial concept for Here. The new Here wouldn’t simply explain what products do; it would feature engaging and informative narratives from a range of industries that place Alfa Laval’s people and innovations in a broader context.

The editorial concept highlights people at least as much as processes and products, demonstrating how employees combined with cutting-edge technologies can help push the limits of what’s possible.

The new Here also puts greater emphasis on visual storytelling, focusing on the people who find solutions and do the little extra and through their passion and dedication. The concept helped strengthen the association of the Alfa Laval brand with sustainability by linking the magazine’s content to the UN’s sustainability goals and how Alfa Laval’s efforts address them.

A ’magazine within the magazine’

The new Here editorial concept provided a framework for an efficient production process. Tale oversaw the production of more than a dozen stories as well as supporting fact-boxes and infographics. The result was an 80-page print magazine, including a 12-page, renewable energy-themed “mini-magazine within the magazine” designed to highlight the topic by setting it apart from the other content.

In addition to the flagship English version, Here is translated into ten additional languages, with a total print run of 70,000 copies. The stories have since been published on the Alfa Laval website to facilitate digital distribution.

Here #37 demonstrates how working together to develop a strong concept can give rise to compelling stories that successfully convey Alfa Laval’s brand, vision, and values.