Lyras is reinforced by a new CEO with deep insight into the product and market
Lyras, whose technology saves large quantities of energy and water compared to traditional pasteurization, has appointed its CCO CEO. Founder, main shareholder and former CEO Rasmus Mortensen is looking forward to continuing the collaboration.
Internationally award-winning Lyras appoints Mark Kalhøj Andersen as new CEO. Until now, he has been CCO of the company, whose energy-saving replacement for pasteurization and filtration is attracting global interest from the world’s food and biotech industries.
“Mark Kalhøj Andersen has a profound insight into both Lyras’ markets and product. He has a deep technical understanding of raslysation. He has previously been employed in a strong tech development company and been part of scaling a company from a few million to just under a billion in five years. Adding to that, he has excelled in his time as Lyras’ CCO, where he has improved our sales activities as well as operational and administrative efficiency. He possesses the entire toolbox, from development to operations and sales to scaling. His unique combination of technical knowledge and business insight positions him perfectly to guide Lyras through our ongoing growth and development phases,” says Mads Storgaard Mehlsen, chairman of the board at Lyras.
In his previous position as Lyras’ CCO, Mark Kalhøj Andersen has played a decisive role in establishing the company’s global sales and marketing strategy. His areas of responsibility have spanned from establishing international sales offices in e.g. The Netherlands, France and Spain, for the development of distributor networks and cooperation with engineering and OEM partners.
“It is a great honor to be given the responsibility of driving Lyras further towards strategic growth and innovation. I step into the role of CEO with great humility and expect a steep learning curve, but I have a strong group of owners and board as well as a fantastic organization which I am sure will support me in the process. I will especially prioritize organizational development by gathering and engaging employees across the organization. In addition, I will continue to focus on commercial scaling of our sales platform,” says Mark Kalhøj Andersen.
Lyras’ founder, Rasmus Mortensen, is also excited:
“It is with peace of mind that I now pass on the baton to Mark. His loyalty to Lyras’ values and growth strategy is a driving force that I value highly in his professional handling of our common goal of growing Lyras quickly. In addition to finding a new CEO with the right skills, it has also been important for me to find a person with the right vision and solid integrity. I now look forward to my new role as Chief Vision Officer (CVO), where I can continue to work towards achieving Lyras’ vision and goals by identifying future opportunities and working with customers.”
Mark Kalhøj Andersen has previously been, among other things, technical director at DESMI Ocean Guard A/S. Here he drove the expansion of the organization’s technical capacity and promoted both international development and results. He has a Master of Science in chemistry degree with a specialization in environmental engineering from Aalborg University, supplemented by an HD degree in organization and management with a specialization in marketing, also from Aalborg University.
International award-winning technology
Lyras has developed the technology raslysation, which effectively inactivates microorganisms in drinks and other opaque liquids using UV light. With raslysation, between 60 and 90 percent energy and 60 to 80 percent water is saved compared to traditional pasteurization. So far, the technology has been installed at Arla Foods, FrieslandCampina, Novonesis and at several other production sites within Europe, Australia and the US.
The technology has received a large number of Danish and international awards, most recently a medal from the German agricultural organization DLG and top ranking on the British media TechRound’s Sustainability60 list.
For further information, please contact: Ruben Riksted, Marketing Manager, Lyras, +45 29 81 22 21 and [email protected]
Download photos of Mark Kalhøj Andersen and Lyras’ technology with this link
Facts about Lyras and raslysation
The company Lyras has developed the internationally award-winning technology raslysation, which saves between 60 and 90 percent energy and 60 to 80 percent water compared to traditional pasteurization.
If a dairy producing 40 tons of whey per hour switches from traditional pasteurization to raslysation, it will emit approx. 850 metric tons of CO2 less per year (based on the EU average). This corresponds to the energy consumption of driving around the world 164 times in a regular petrol car, so there is also a lot of money to be saved.
Lyras’ goal is to implement raslysation in the food industry all over the world and thus contribute to reducing the total CO2 emissions and to significantly increasing food safety globally.
Lyras is located in Aalborg. The company is evolving rapidly and has grown to 50 employees in a few years.
Higher yield and full microbial control
Raslysation uses a UV light source equipped with a light filter that concentrates a certain type of wavelength. The liquid is directed past the light in a controlled movement so that everything is illuminated. This effectively inactivates all unwanted microorganisms. At the same time, more of the original flavor as well as vitamins and proteins are preserved.
In addition to saving water and energy, raslysation provides higher product yields and maintains full microbial control with lower operating costs. When the technology is used to replace depth filtration, a higher yield and increased degree of automation in the production process is ensured.
