The Kestner Testing Centre is located at our site in Montigny le Bretonneux. It is the GEA Group’s Centre of Excellence in chemical/metallurgical evaporation.

The Centre occupies a 1,000 m2 space that includes a laboratory and plant room.



We provide you with 6 plants:

  • 2 stainless steel evaporators/crystallisers 
  • 1 stainless steel and glass crystalliser 
  • 1 evaporator/crystalliser in special anticorrosive material for processing acids

Our plants have a capacity of 10 to 25 kg/hr for evaporation and 15 kg/hr for crystallisation. They can operate in falling film, forced circulation, thermosiphon and climbing film modes.

For several years, our Testing Centre has made it possible for us to develop new products in close collaboration with our industrial partners.

The Innovation Programme at GEA Process Engineering France also receives support from the GEA Group’s other Testing Centres.

We rely on support from the Niro A/S Research Centres in Denmark, GEA Wiegand in Germany, Niro Soavi in Italy and Aéromatic-Fielder in Switzerland.

These Research Centres have a highly-qualified staff and a variety of pilot and auxiliary equipment units that provide you with a number of services:

  • Pilot tests for various processes 
  • Feasibility studies 
  • Product analyses