Traditional Manufacture
Made in Germany
Richters Ankersteine
Anker bricks are unique because they are real bricks that are lovingly handcrafted. The ingredients are weighed out according to the top-secret recipe and mixed in several steps. This process is comparable to mixing a cake batter, but takes much longer.In order to avoid impurities and not to jeopardise the high quality standards for anchor stones, the resulting mass is subsequently sieved. There is a separate sieve for each colour produced in the manufactory. The resulting mass is then used for pressing.There are various presses in the manufactory. Some of them date back to the founding period. On these presses, which work exclusively by muscle power, stone series are produced in small numbers and forms that are particularly elaborate, such as pyramids.There are also so-called semi-automatic presses, where the pressure is generated by hydraulics. The employee manually fills the mass into the moulds and the stones are pressed by machine.
The fully automatic press is mainly used to produce bricks that are needed in large quantities. The process is automated, control and hydraulics ensure the best press results.
Pressed bricks are measured by calipers, regardless of which press was used for the pressing process. Only small dimensional tolerances are tolerated in the production of the anchor stones, as we always keep our promise of precision in order to guarantee our customers the highest level of building pleasure.
After measuring, the pressed stones are placed on trays, which are then pushed into the oven to dry the stones. In order to ensure gentle and careful processing of the anchor stones, the drying process takes several hours, during which the linseed oil resins and thus the "shaped mass" becomes a stone - the anchor stone.
After drying, the stones are sent to the warehouse logistics. Each stone is sorted into different boxes based on its shape and colour and these are stored in the warehouse for later filling of the wooden boxes.
To fill the wooden boxes, the employees work on the filling line. There, the bricks that are necessary for filling the boxes are lined up. Then the wooden boxes are prepared and the appropriate labels are applied. Then the stones are lovingly filled by hand according to the packing template that exists for each individual box. Simple boxes contain 42 individual stones, our premium product almost 4000 individual stones. More manual work is not possible.
Afterwards, construction templates and cutting booklets are placed in the wooden box, which is closed and packed ready for shipping.
Educational Value
Awards
A great and beloved toy has to meet high quality standards. It should offer open ended, and free play. Furthermore, we want our Ankersteine to facilitate many different abilities in children: speak and listen, explore and try, understand and follow rules, tolerate stress and tension, improvise, and build.
In following these demands, great toys stimulate the physical, mental, and social development of young children. It is our aspiration to produce such toys, to offer only the best and educationally appropriate open-ended play for children.
Have a look behind the scenes
ManufacTOUR
Interested in Ankersteine and how they are produced? Come and habe a look! We offer two types of guided tours (ask us for group discount):
BasicTour:
- insight into the manufacturing process
- guided tour through the manufacture
- appr. 30 minutes
- 6,00 € pro Erw. / 5,00 € ermäßigt
PremiumTour:
- historical facts, famous Anker fans
- press your own Ankerstein (free)
- appr. 60 minutes
- 10,00 € pro Erw. / 8,00 € ermäßigt
Ermäßigte Tarife für Gruppen – bitte sprechen Sie uns an!