A Look Behind the Scenes: The Coperion K-Tron Test Center in Niederlenz, Switzerland

Our comprehensively equipped test centers for bulk material handling, extrusion systems, and feeding technology have an important, supportive role in many areas. Integrated into our research and development processes, they offer our customers the security of testing our products under real-life conditions before making an investment.

Today, we take a look behind the scenes of our Test Center at the Coperion K-Tron site in Niederlenz, Switzerland. There, we spoke with Marco Hadrys, a long-time Test Center Manager and expert in the proper design of feeding and conveying systems.

Question: What testing possibilities do the Test Center in Niederlenz offer? Which technologies are available?

Marco: The Test Center in Niederlenz conducts tests in the areas of feeding (continuous and batch) and pneumatic conveying (vacuum). About 80% of the tests that are carried out in the lab determine feeding accuracy and the remaining 20% are pneumatic conveying tests and special setups.

Calibrated scales are used, which validate the feeding accuracy achieved, in continuous as well as in batch mode. In addition to feeding accuracy, it is also important to ensure a uniform material flow in the feeder, as this is crucial for a continuous process.

Question: Which industries are tests carried out in the Test Center? Are there special requirements to consider for individual industries?

Marco: Tests are carried out for the industries of plastics, chemicals, food, pet food, pharmaceuticals and minerals. In trials for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, several safety precautions must be made to protect employees, since many of the bulk materials used in these manufacturing processes include hazardous substances. For the food and pharmaceutical industries, environmental conditions play an important role; often air temperature and humidity must be regulated for these trials because bulk materials can be very sensitive. In general, care must always be taken when storing bulk materials. To nip the risk of fire in the bud, the materials should always be stored in a cool and dry place. And, of course, personal protective equipment is essential for every test.

Question: What do you see as the benefit for our customers?

Marco: Trials with the customer's bulk material are helpful to test and confirm the exact design of the equipment configuration (feeder, pneumatic refill, etc.) being purchased. After a customer trial, we can assure the customer that we can achieve the desired accuracy with the selected equipment. This means the customer can rest easy that the equipment purchased will meet their needs.

If a customer has problems with existing equipment, we have the possibility to reproduce the customer’s setup in the Test Center and test it with their bulk material to troubleshoot the issues they are experiencing and find a solution.

Furthermore, customers can see the equipment live on-site and test it themselves. Personal contact between the test lab staff, the sales department, and the customer promotes better dialogue and often leads to the discovery of additional problems or difficulties that might otherwise have been overlooked.

Coperion K-Tron also benefits from trials run in the Test Center. Setting up and running trials is part of a continuous learning process and at the same time gives us confidence in the products we sell. This ensures that the customer is satisfied and avoids the costly replacement of a device.

The testing of new developments is another responsibility of the Test Center. The test results, together with the accumulated know-how of the team, are important contributions to the product development process.

Question: Every experiment has its own challenges. Have you recently conducted a trial that was particularly interesting for you?

Marco: We recently conducted a customer trial with a pharmaceutical powder. The aim was to find out whether we would be able to pneumatically convey the powder and continuously feed it within the required accuracy range. Since the powder reacts extremely badly to moisture, special equipment had to be rented, which allowed us to control the ambient conditions of the entire test laboratory. This also allowed us to determine the influence of excessive humidity on the entire process. After extensive preparation work (protocols, clarifications and installations), the trial ran smoothly, and the customer was delighted with the results.

Question: What impact did the Corona pandemic have on everyday life in the Test Center?

Marco: Surprisingly, the Corona pandemic had little or no impact on the number of tests in the Test Center; the same number of customer trials were conducted as in previous years. The difference was mainly due to the fact that much fewer customers were able to attend the tests in person. Only Swiss customers were able to participate during trials; virtually no customers came from abroad due to the strict travel requirements.

As in many other business areas, it was necessary to switch to new technologies here. Thus, the customer's exact requirements were discussed in advance in a Microsoft Teams meeting. After the appropriate trials were conducted, another Microsoft Teams meeting was called to discuss the results and plan any retrials.

Question: What challenges have you experienced in recent months?

Marco: Recently it seems customer requirements are increasing. Above all, managing environmental conditions is becoming more and more challenging. More trials are being conducted where the air temperature or humidity is critical and therefore needs to be regulated, such as the pharmaceutical trial mentioned above. Previously this was only 1-2 times per year but with this possible increase in these types of tests, we must slowly consider adapting the test lab setup in the future to meet these requirements.

There are also more and more test trials with hazardous substances, for example in battery applications. This massively increases the time and effort required, as more care must be taken with such products (handling, storage, disposal, etc. of the bulk material as well as protective measures for the personnel).

Question: Most Coperion K-Tron customers are outside of Switzerland. What challenges result when receiving/shipping material?

Marco: Since Switzerland is not part of the EU, we have to pay attention to the applicable rules when importing/exporting bulk materials, otherwise there may be problems with customs. Our import department has created a document for this purpose, which gives customers clear instructions for importing their materials into Switzerland as smoothly as possible.