Tekniker establishes itself as a world benchmark in the field of tribology

The Tekniker technology centre, member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), will have a strong presence in the field of tribology as a result of the last meeting held by the International Tribology Council (ITC) which is an organisation that brings together tribology companies, groups and associations from all over the world. More specifically, the technology centre has formally become member of the organisation and Dr. Amaya Igartua, one of Tekniker’s leading researchers, now holds the position of Deputy Chair representing Spain.

This new appointment will allow Tekniker to strengthen its international position as a reference technology centre in the field of tribology and will enable the Basque organisation to collaborate more dynamically and continuously with leading institutions at a national and international level.

Tekniker, therefore will be actively involved in board meetings and will participate in discussions that will focus, among other issues, on validating the most recent trends and challenges to be addressed in this field.

In her capacity as the newly appointed Deputy Chair representing Spain, researcher Amaya Igartua will sit on the ITC Management Committee and join the International Committee whose task is to organise the World Tribology Congress that will take place in 2021. She will also promote training courses and activities for Spain.

28 years of experience

“It is a great honour to be appointed to this position after having devoted my entire professional career to tribology. This is obviously also very important for Tekniker “as it strengthens our position on an international level and will bring us to the forefront as a reference technological centre”, says the newly appointed Igartua supported by 28 years of experience in the field of tribology.

Dr. Igartua joined Tekniker’s tribology unit in 1991 and held the position of its director for 10 years (2007-2017). Since 1995, she has attended numerous international tribology gatherings representing Spain and, together with other European researchers, has helped to establish the VTI virtual tribology centre and the EUREKA wear and coatings network. In recent years, moreover, she has participated in meetings held by the International Tribology Council and collaborated with leading experts in this field.

In 2017, she was appointed co-secretary to EUMAT (the European Platform for Advanced Engineering Materials and Technologies) and is currently collaborating with the European Commission to define a research project for the next Framework Programme called Horizon Europe. She also supported the creation of the European i-Tribomat Project funded by the European Commission to establish a virtual tribological characterisation laboratory to service all European companies.

With extensive experience in tribology

It was back in 1982 when Tekniker first began to work in this area and eventually moved into other areas such as lubrication, material friction and wear, lubricant analytics, component failure diagnostics and later developed multi-functional surfaces and coatings to extend operating cycles for elements that come into contact with each other.

In addition, the centre also owns more than 25 tribometers used to reproduce wear mechanisms in the laboratory setting for diverse elements such as bearings, gears, brakes, engine or wind turbine components, solar or photovoltaic parts, moulds, prostheses, flooring materials, etc.

Tekniker, moreover, has established two technology-based companies in this field: Lubrication Management (to monitor oil in use), a laboratory that currently forms part of Bureau Veritas and ATTEN2 (sensors used to measure oil degradation), in which Iberdrola also has a stake.

But in addition to forming part of this international organisation, the Basque technology centre (together with the Jost Institute for Tribotechnology) has hosted the biannual LUMBAT Conference on industrial lubrication, tribology and condition monitoring and will continue to do so with the support of Bureau Veritas as from next year. Tekniker is also a member of IBERTRIB’s organising committee. IBERTRIB is a biannual conference whose goal is to become a meeting point for Spanish & Portuguese speaking countries in Latin America.

Concerning the International Tribology Council

It is an organisation that encompasses many tribology companies, groups and associations all over the world that performs diverse tasks aimed at, for instance, maintaining close contacts between the science of tribology and companies and groups working in different parts of the world. Another task is related to guaranteeing that international conferences are held according to previously agreed intervals. It also provides advice on tribology-related issues in those countries where there are no organisations dedicated to this science and gives support in matters related to science, technology and training in tribology.

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