The Atrex idea revolutionised industrial mixing – and its methods are many

Newly graduated engineer Hannu Virtanen received his mission. In traditional industrial mixing, a blade mixes the mixture in the tank. Virtanen’s idea was to develop a completely new type of machine based on reaction technology, in which two counter-rotating rotors grind and mix the mixture. 

Attrition refers to the breakdown of solids, and rex means king. By combining these two words, the name of this new product was born – Atrex.  When the company producing Atrex was founded, in 1995, it was named Megatrex. 

“Another significant difference with Atrex, compared to traditional mixing, was its continuous operation,” explains Hannu Virtanen, founder and CEO of Megatrex. “Traditional mixing is done a batch at a time.” 

The goal was to make mixtures more homogenous and speed up the entire process. Since the first project’s mixture was concrete, another aim was to increase the strength of the concrete. Traditional mixing methods were tested in parallel at the start of development but didn’t meet the objectives. The team then focused in on Atrex and its technical innovation. 

“We realised one thing immediately – the need for testing and pilot equipment. Without testing, in-cooperation with the customer, we probably wouldn’t have sold any equipment,” says Hannu Virtanen. This testing principle is still imprinted on Megatrex’s DNA, and their pilot plant operates continuously. 

Atrex can be said to have revolutionised industrial mixing with a completely new idea. The first Atrex machine was sold the same year Megatrex was founded – to the Talc De Luzenac quarry in Toulouse, France, for talc dispersion.  Today hundreds of Atrexes have been sold. The device has evolved enormously over that time, and its range of applications has expanded. 

The paper industry brings Atrex aboard 

“By the early 2000s, the paper industry had been Atrex’s primary target group for 15 years,” says Virtanen. The industry had begun to wake up to the problem that paper coating machines were producing huge amounts of waste streams. Then an idea was born: link Atrex to the process and use it to grind the waste streams into an easily recyclable pulp. 

“We were ahead of our time. This was quite an environmental feat. Per one paper machine, the daily waste mass of 11,000 tonnes was reduced to 400 kg – all thanks to Atrex. Recycling and environmental perspectives were not on the agenda back then, but fortunately we were starting to come around.” 

All the world’s largest paper producers have been customers of Megatrex. This history is invaluable – having been active in the sector for several decades, it’s a clear demonstration of the quality and reliability of Atrex on an industrial scale. The machine is efficient and runs year-round with little maintenance. The mineral industry, which uses Atrex to produce coating pigments for the paper industry, has also played a key role in this history.  

Further development and new applications 

As the use of paper has steadily declined over the last ten years, the company has sought new industries. Wherever grinding, mixing, dispersing or chemical activation is needed, Atrex can be just the solution. Even today, in line with the company’s core ideology, development and testing of new solutions and industries in cooperation with customers is ongoing. New environmentally friendly products – among others – that use Atrex in their manufacturing process may be on the horizon. 

While the basic technical design of Atrex has remained the same, the product has constantly evolved alongside customer requirements. A big change was the new transmission introduced with the launch of the G-series in 2005, heralding a move from a belt drive to a gear drive. Another was the circumferential velocity of the rotors, which has more than doubled since the early days. This has increased the machine’s efficiency and opened new doors for Atrex applications.  

“You’ve always got to be a step ahead,” sums up Virtanen. “Nothing is immediately deemed impossible. First you test with an open mind, and there’s always room for customisation.” 

Atrex is an entirely Finnish product. Machining is carried out by Finnish partners, but Megatrex also has the capability to manufacture all critical parts in-house. Megatrex handles development, design, testing, assembly, sales and marketing itself. Test batch samples are analysed by a nearby university. For many of its technical solutions, Atrex is a proprietary product. 

Grinding • Mixing • Dispersing • Chemical activation