Success in maiden trial at US Test Center

June 26, 2007

The first test of a MicraSpray spray drying solution has just been successfully completed at Anhydro's North American Test Center in Elkridge, Maryland. Dave Augustine and Martin Mogavero teamed up in a dialogue with the customer about the application and requirements before working together to organize the trial.

Building relations through dialog

Setting up the trial involved identifying and configuring the necessary components and utilities. The good relations that were established during the dialog with the customer made a major contribution to the effectiveness of the work in progress as mutual confidence and trust were built up.

"In actual fact, we were in constant dialog with experts from the customer during this process in order to be sure that we were attentive to every single key parameter," said Martin Mogavero. "It was both exciting and inspiring for us, and I believe, for them as well."

Thorough preparation

While Martin and Dave had already run preliminary trials with positive results themselves, there was still an element of tension as the big day dawned.

"We were pretty sure we had got everything right," said Dave Augustine, "but the ultimate test was going to be the customer's reaction to our efforts."

The dryer performed well, producing favorable results in terms of powder properties, moisture content and particle control.

According to Martin Mogavero, the customer seemed to be impressed. "One critical factor was our confidence in being able to promise of a clear path forward with predictable repeatability at production scale. The reputation of Anhydro combined with the favorable test result mean that we expect to be making further progress towards an order very soon."

First in a long line

This was the first of a long line of tests that will be running at the new facility. With the production of the new small scale plant due in November Anhydro North America is sure to be having a lot more testing on the agenda in the rest of 2007.