Silver Plating Factory
Forsølvningsfabrikken, formerly known as Askhim's Forsølvningsfabrikken, was acquired by Hornvarefabrikken on 20 December 2022. Forsølvningsfabrikken has had changing addresses since its establishment in Frederiksgade in Aarhus in 1953. Since 1999, the factory has been located in Odder, where many pacifiers, shoes and silverware have been silver-plated. Today, production has moved to the Hornvarefabrikken workshop in Bøvlingbjerg, where the focus is now on real flowers in copper and silver and gold jewellery.
About the production process
In copper plating, we apply a copper coating to the flowers using electrolysis. Electrolysis works in a vessel containing copper sulphate, among other things, where we apply current that causes the copper to migrate from the copper pieces (the anode) to the product we want to pre-combust (the cathode). The secret to electrolysis is to energise the flowers. We do this by coating the flowers in copper powder and lacquer. Some flowers are so thin and delicate that they are first coated with a thin layer of paraffin wax so that the fragile flowers can withstand the copper mixture. The flowers are immersed in the tub and tied to a copper rod that hangs over the tubs. The flowers hang there for one to two days until the copper layer is thick enough. When the flowers have a suitable layer of copper, we remove the binding wire. We repeat the process in silver or gold vessels if the flowers are to be silver plated or gold plated. Often the flowers and other products require finishing, where the product is sanded and polished.