Since 1995, Henkel has been innovating its roller technology and has introduced specialty products like Correction Roller Pens and ergonomic designs for its 2 types of roller products: correction and gluing. And, in 2002, we switched from paper-based to film-based rollers for even better performance!
Even though the 2 types of rollers have different functions, they are all produced basically the same way at our unique production facility in Hanover, Germany.
... that must be passed through before a roller is produced. These processes are happening at the same time throughout the production facility.
Here, empty roller housings or shells are stamped with a Pritt logo before they are taken to the assembly machine. Henkel uses a special foil stamping process to mark each roller.
... very large rolls of transparent film are being coated. The same film is used for all 2 types of products, but a different coating is used depending on if the product is correction or gluing.
Notice how large the roll is compared to the man in the picture!
Henkel uses a sophisticated computer to control and monitor the coating process.
Each jumbo roll is 2500 meters long and can produce up to 30.000 tiny rolls that go inside the roller.
... every batch of coated film is produced, the rolls are quality checked to ensure that they meet the high Henkel standards. Once the film is checked, it is given a batch code number which is marked on every jumbo roll of coated film. This same batch number appears on every tiny roll inside every roller. These quality controls allow us to trace the product throughout its life and provide additional analysis if necessary.
... of coated film that will be used to make the 2 types of rollers. The colors aren't just pretty, they are important. The white rolls are for correction, the light pink and light yellow are for permanent and removable glue rollers.
These jumbo rolls are then cut down to medium-sized rolls that can now be easily slit into the tiny roller size.
... the medium-sized rolls are prepared to be slit into the tiny rolls called "pancakes". First, the roll must be properly prepared to be fed into the slitting machine. Then the roll is slit into narrow widths ranging from 4,2 mm to 8,4 mm.
After these slits are made, the product is rewound onto the red spools that you see above. These pancakes can now be transported to the assembly area.
... to begin the roller assembly process. Although the rollers are small, there are many parts that are needed to make a complete roller.
In addition to the housings, there are small inner parts that make the roller work smoothly and correctly. These must be fed into the assembly line along with the very important pancakes.
Here you see a worker loading the inner parts and the pancakes into the assembling machine.
The empty roller housings are transported up a conveyor belt to the main assembly area. At the same time, the pancakes are also travelling along the assembly line to meet their final destination inside the housing. An automated arm picks up a pancake and places it inside the housing and positions it ready for immediate use. Although the machine is 100% automated, a worker monitors the process to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
The fully assembled rollers line up and are picked up by an automatic "hand" and removed from the assemby line. This machine assembles up to 2000 Compact Rollers per hour.
The rollers are now ready to be packaged.
Rollers are traditionally packaged in blister cards or boxes. Here, Correction Rollers are placed in an automated packaging machine where they travel down a line and are inserted into folded cartons.
Workers take the packaged rollers off the production line and place them into a larger box for shipment to customers.
That's it! Henkel Rollers are produced in a variety of colors and styles for all your correcting and gluing needs.
How is a Pritt Stick made? Find out here. Or visit the Henkel Pritt Stick factory in Düsseldorf, Germany!
