Why Böttcher?The Böttcher Advantage
Böttcher has the expertise, the innovation and the superior service to get – and keep- you rolling. A global company with 291 years of experience in the development and manufacture of “world-class” materials for the printing industry and beyond, Böttcher is a name that signifies service, quality and performance.
A leader in roller technology, Böttcher makes each roller from a “gourmet” formula produced exclusively in Germany, that ensures identical quality and material characteristics wherever the product is used.
Böttcher understands that in today’s streamlined, ideally uninterrupted printing process, rollers, blankets and cleaning solvents need to form a functional unit. A complete and compatible product system from our laboratories assures a consistent and controlled production process and superior print quality. That’s the Böttcher Systems Advantage!
Böttcher Print Systems is the world’s number one roller supplier and a leading supplier of blankets, sleeves, fountain solutions, washes and maintenance products.
Beyond the graphics arts industry, BöttcherTec rollers are at the heart of many processes for industries ranging from wood to plastics. Roller hardness, temperature resistance and surface finish are all tailored to suit the specific requirements of your industry.
Active in more than 80 countries, Böttcher is constantly developing and testing new products in order to provide superior quality and performance.
Our History
Founded in 1725 in Germany, Böttcher, is one of few companies around the world to have endured and thrived for nearly three centuries.
Felix Böttcher started producing gelatin rollers in a factory in Leipzig in 1878, which, in the 1930s, were transitioned to rubber rollers. War in the 1940s led Böttcher’s factories to be destroyed, and the Leipzig properties were confiscated. New facilities were constructed in Cologne, West Germany, in 1948.
In 1974, Böttcher went international, expanding to Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Böttcher America, headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, was started in 1983. At about the same time, KB Roller Tech, a joint venture formed between Böttcher and Kinyosha, was formed to manufacture rollers for copiers.
The 90s brought the return of the Leipzig plant after the unification of Germany. Through growth and acquisitions, Böttcher expanded into Canada, Spain, France, Austria, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. In 1997, Böttcher America added a second manufacturing facility in Tipton, Indiana followed by a third facility that specializes in chemical blending in 2009.
Böttcher has a longstanding tradition of quality and innovation, especially in the graphic arts industry. Today Böttcher is the world’s number one roller supplier and a leading supplier of blankets, sleeves, fountain solutions, washes and maintenance products. Years of testing, research and innovation have made Böttcher an industry expert and a brand that inspires loyalty. The company has established OEM partnerships with major press manufacturers and has expanded to include digital printing, flexographic printing and rotogravure in addition to other industrial applications.
Although the company’s core production remains in Germany, Böttcher now operates in 34 countries around the world. Over the course of its nearly 300-year history, Böttcher has drawn strength from both embracing tradition and supporting a culture of innovation, rising to new challenges with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Böttcher Quality
Results speak for themselves. Böttcher is always developing new products that solve problems in the pressroom, and rollers that run longer, truer and that withstand the beating they go through during millions of impressions. This is the secret of the Böttcher advantage.
In a four-story lab in Germany, dedicated scientists advance both the theoretical and applied body of knowledge in chemistry, materials science and “rotational transfer technology,” a field in its own right. They develop improved roller and blanket technology and manufacturing processes for the printing industry, but also for textiles, plastics, steel and other markets of the future.
Böttcher scientists are experts on the geometry of the roller system. They work to improve their understanding of the physics of rollers in operation, including factors such as pressure distribution, screw-down forces and torques. They conduct performance tests on new rollers, testing for tearing and hardness, rebound resilience, measurements of specific weight and swelling and abrasion. They conduct and evaluate field tests and simulations to measure the performance of rollers in service.
Böttcher scientists and chemists work closely with press OEMs to develop products to keep up with the advances in press technology. They work jointly and share findings with chemists and materials specialists from all over the world, often traveling to other major research centers and universities.
Böttcher research is driven by a long-term commitment. Some of the compounds they are experimenting with today will not be ready for commercial production for five to ten years. At the same time, they spend time listening to pressmen to help solve their current problems and to improve current products.
Overall, the goal is to develop rubber and polyurethane compounds with ever greater performance characteristics to make Böttcher rollers run longer, cooler, with less distortion, and greater resistance to heat and harsh solvents. They also explore high-tech compounds of silicone.
The tremendous resources that Böttcher invests in research and development is what makes Böttcher the leader in roller technology and an undisputed choice for quality printing blankets and pressroom chemistry.
Manufacturing Expertise
Ninety scientists and chemists – most of them PhDs – work in the Böttcher lab in Cologne, Germany. One of their main goals is to develop rubber and polyurethane compounds with ever greater performance characteristics to make Böttcher rollers run longer, cooler, with less distortion and greater resistance to heat and harsh solvents.
Every Böttcher roller is made from a “gourmet” formula produced exclusively in Germany, for process control. The rubber is shipped to Böttcher manufacturing plants throughout the world.
Years of industrial practice is applied to the mixing, casting, calendaring, vulcanizing, grinding, calibrating and testing of the roller components to yield the Böttcher roller. Lasers scan the final roller to check the dimensions. This is one reason why Böttcher rollers deliver consistent printing results, because the rollers are “true”.
Böttcher rollers are made to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications and arrive press ready. The award-winning compounds that cover the rollers are glaze-free, which means the thick, velvety nap will deliver the proper mix of ink and water and give great printing results. They shrink less, so you waste less time adjusting and resetting. And they print uniformly, with fewer fadeouts, stripes or bands, for millions of impressions, which saves you money in the long run. The Böttcher technical advantage was recognized with two GATF InterTech Technology Awards – the first one given in 1993 for our Steady Set-Glaze Free roller compound and the second in 2005 for our dual-purpose Chameleon roller compound.
Committed to being the leader in roller technology and an undisputed choice for printing blankets and pressroom chemistry, Böttcher invests tremendous resources in research and development. The constant technological advances are what help Böttcher to consistently outperform the competition.
Global Reach
Böttcher develops in part by transferring its own knowledge and highly developed service to the international markets, and, in response, learning from our international customers. Böttcher operates in 34 countries around the world and its account executives offer world-wide support to more than 80,000 customers in over 80 countries. Böttcher develops balanced solutions for the most diversified production conditions in all regions of the world – taking into consideration the water quality or ambient temperature, specific aspects of the chemistry or local legal and environmental requirements.
Because all rubber comes from a central processing plant in Gelsdorf, Germany, customers can be assured of the same high quality and precisely the same compound for their roller material.
Böttcher has sixteen production sites, with our latest manufacturing facility located in China. In addition to the manufacturing sites, customer service centers and distribution warehouses are located throughout the world.
Whether a client is in Asia or Europe, they can be assured that, with Böttcher, they have a competent partner by their side.