Buhler, Aveka sign cooperation agreement.

Buhler and Aveka have teamed up to operate a new shared development and demonstration laboratory in North America for wet grinding and dispersion applications, which will offer North American customers active in the fields of wet grinding and dispersion technology a high level of competent on-site support.

Buhler will make the complete product portfolio of the Grinding & Dispersion business unit available for test activities, including its new PML-2 universal laboratory platform and its latest MicroMedia micro-grinding-media technology for nanogrinding applications.

Aveka will utilize this cooperation to make its extensive capabilities in particle measurement techniques, process engineering and contract manufacturing accessible to Buhler customers.

The shared engineering laboratory operated by the two companies was set up on the Aveka premises in Woodbury, MN, and was ready for service in March 2008. In a separate building section, a complete infrastructure will be available, including-among other things--facilities for material logistics, meeting rooms and analytical labs.

In addition to the existing applications in printing inks, coatings and products for the electronics industry, one of the main goals is to develop new markets for inkjet and nanodispersion materials.