Innovations that come about by accident are often the most successful – as happened in Switzerland over 55 years ago. It was then that technicians of the Basel textile dyeing factory were looking for an alternative to the wooden cylinders around which the fabric was wound during the dyeing process. Splintered and coloured wood was a danger to the expensive textiles and a replacement was urgently required. The new material had to be able to be manufactured in the form of a cylinder with a circular cross section and constant outer diameter, be resistant to corrosion, have a low weight and a smooth surface to guarantee a uniform dyeing result, and moreover, it had to be economical. The roller made of fibreglass and polyester resin was born.”
