41119_Niro jubilaeumsbog_blok_uk - GEA Niro

KN are the initials of a very important person in the history
of Niro Atomizer. His name was Kaj Nielsen. In 1962, at only
age 36, engineer Kaj Nielsen, M.Sc., D. Tech., left the Danish
Soy Cake Factory to join Niro Atomizer as head of research
and development. His intended role was to replace Johan
Ernst Nyrop as technical anchorman. And he played that role
quite decisively. Johan Ernst Nyrop left an indelible stamp
on the companies he established. Nyrop Dehydrator got his
exact name, while A/S Niro got a name that obviously was
derived from the English pronunciation of the name.
By Christian Schwartzbach
It was probably Nyrop’s intention that the company reestablished
in 1933 be named A/S Niro. But a dispute with the
German Krupp Group got in the way. Krupp used the name
Niro as the brand for its line of stainless steel products. The
outcome was that the company was named A/S Niro Atomizer,
and it proved to be a durable name. Even in the year of its
75th anniversary, the old name is still remembered by many
people.
The durable atomizer wheel
Even though Johan Ernst Nyrop’s creativity continued for
many years, it never resulted in a single invention or component
for a spray drying plant carrying his name. With
only one exception, the same can be said for other creative
Niro Atomizer employees. The exception is the KN-wheel,
and it belongs to the period after Nyrop’s death. While
Johan Ernst Nyrop was quite conservative and with few
exceptions stuck to the design of the plants he had chosen
from the start, Kaj Nielsen was more open-minded and
initiated a number of new developments.
The area where Kaj Nielsen made his mark, and which still
carries his name, was spray drying of liquids containing
sharp, firm particles, which expose the rotating atomizer
wheel to great wear and abrasion. This doesn’t apply to
traditional products like milk, blood, eggs, feedstuff and
soap; but in the beginning of the 1940s and ‘50s, products
like ceramics, kaolin and tile clay became more prevalent.
This was a new challenge for Nyrop, which resulted in the
development of the first truly durable atomizer wheel,
which was patented in 1956 with Nyrop as co-inventor.
Kaj Nielsen, inventor of the durable
atomizer wheel, the KN-wheel.