Welcome to the GEA Niro Drying Test and Development Center

Welcome to the GEA Niro Drying Test Station. We hope your visit proves worthwhile and we look forward to working with you. We also hope you enjoy your stay in the Baltimore/Washington area. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable.

Our Goal

The GEA Niro Drying Test Station is a service to our customers. Our goal is to understand your processing needs so we can supply equipment to successfully process your feed. The focus is finding the right equipment and parameters to meet your needs.

Confidentiality

GEA Process Engineering recognizes that information regarding your formulations, specifications and product goals may be confidential. GEA Process Engineering employees do not discuss tests with other customers. Please respect the fact that information pertaining to our processing technology is also to be kept confidential. No photography is allowed in the Test Station.

Work Hours

Normal working hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. GEA Process Engineering tries to accommodate customers' requests for overtime operation. Most customers would understandably prefer to run extended hours but GEA Process Engineering cannot always oblige. Test station personnel frequently come in early to start utility systems and often work late if it helps a test. Also, safety rules prohibit test operators from wearing GEA Process Engineering issued uniforms outside the company. This is to prevent homes from becoming contaminated with hazardous materials. This requirement means we must allow operators changing and clean up time out of their normal workday. In addition, safety rules do not allow GEA Process Engineering personnel to leave operating equipment unattended (e.g. overnight) and prohibit anyone working alone in the test station.

Safety and Environmental Responsibilities

Safety and environmental responsibility are GEA Process Engineering's highest priorities. We request your help to meet these responsibilities.

• Upon arrival, sign in at the receptionist desk. A GEA Process Engineering employee will meet you and accompany you to the rest area.
• You will be given a visitor badge and magnetic card that allows you to enter the test area. Please wear the badge and return the badge and card to the receptionist at the end of each day. Notify a GEA Process Engineering employee if you leave the building.
• Drinks in closed containers are allowed in the visitors' conference rooms. Food and drinks are prohibited in the test station.
• Steel toe shoes, hard hats and OSHA approved safety glasses are required in all pilot plant rooms. Safety glasses, hard hats and earplugs are available or you may bring your own.
• If your test material requires a respirator you must bring your own and furnish proof of current respirator training. We stock cartridges for North brand respirators and you are welcome to use them. If these do not fit your respirator you must bring your own cartridges.
• Do not touch or operate the test equipment. If you see a problem or wish to change operating conditions please notify the Test Engineer. Please do not give instructions to the test operator.
• Please notify GEA Process Engineering employee immediately if you notice any condition that is unsafe or not in compliance with environmental regulations.
• Please notify the Test Engineer of any special precautions required for the safe handling or disposal of your materials.
• If your materials are "hazardous materials" under DOT rules, please provide the proper shipping name, hazard class and packing group.
• No visitor photography is allowed in the GEA Process Engineering Inc facility. If you would like a photograph please make your requests known to the test engineer. If photographs can be taken without compromising safety or GEA proprietary information, a GEA employee will take the desired photographs and send them to you.
• Cell phones are permitted only in the conference rooms.
• Visitors should only enter rooms associated with their test. This means the actual room(s) where the test is being conducted, the lab and the conference room assigned to the visitor. This is necessary to assure your safety and to protect the confidentiality of all our customer's information

Laboratory Services

The following tests are routinely performed in the Chemical Test Station Laboratory:

Particle Size analysis

• Horiba LA 950 version 2 powderjet dry analysis
• Alien-Bradley Sonic Sifter-screens

Percent Moisture

• Mettler HR73 Halogen Moisture Analyzer
• Sartorius MA30 Moisture Analyzers
• Regular and Vacuum Ovens

Other

• Mettler DL 18 Karl Fisher Titrator (Please specify chemical requirements)
• Densities (bulk and tap)
• Specific Gravity
• Orion Research pH meter
• Special requests for wet chemistry analysis, Horiba LA 950 version 2 wet analysis and other laboratory tests require advance notice and written procedures.

Maps of building layout are placed in strategic locations of all fire extinguishers. Take a minute to look for the maps, and determine the closet exit.

Thank you for visiting the GEA Process Engineering Test Center. Please visit our website at www.niroinc.com