There are two production lines in the work shop. Phallic-shaped glass formers are dipped into long narrow baths filled with the mixture. Formers with different surfaces are used to produce various kinds of condoms – ribbed, studded or classic, normal condoms.
Formers, moving on, “emerge” from the baths. After that the condom semi product is being a little dried up, and some of the latex mixture drips from the formers. During the production of ultra-fine condoms the chain moves more slowly so that more mixture could drip. While the latex on the formers is still transparent, it is virtually invisible.
After that comes the second wetting. It is necessary for thicknessing the product to the required degree. The formers then move further. At the next stage a strengthening rim, known as the bead, is made at the open end of the condom with the help of the brushes that revolve along them. The “semi products” enter the vulcanization chamber. Out of them emerge semi-transparent milky products. The chain moves further to the baths, in order for the latex to soak off and for the condom to strip easily from the former. To make the soaking off easier, ammonia is added to the soap solution. The products then are removed from the formers into the container with the help of water jets and revolving brushes.
18.5 cm - European standard
The next stage is the final one. The condoms are “washed” with warm water in the device that reminds an ordinary washing machine, of large size. Some powder is added for the products not to stick together, plus some disinfectant solution. The process of washing and drying takes up to an hour and a half.
The process of manufacture proceeds then to its finest and most responsible part: condoms proceed to the laboratory for the multi-stage quality control. At the first stage one hundred items are selected out of a four-six thousand items batch. “This is enough to judge about the quality of the whole batch – says Vladimir. – If some product nonconformity is disclosed at this stage, the whole batch is rejected as defective”. Condoms are weighed and their length is measured. Every item has to weigh around one gram and be 18.5 – 19cm long. This is European standard which also sells well on Ukrainian market. Therefore the factory is not planning to manufacture condoms of nonstandard sizes.
In the laboratory I started every now and then from the snaps. It was the sound of bursting condoms – they are checked for durability this way. Out of one hundred already measured and weighed condoms five are selected to be further checked for pressure and the air volume they can hold. The condom is inflated in a special container. At the moment, when it bursts, the equipment registers the amount of air the condom has held and the volume it was able to withstand. The burst condom that I saw withstood the pressure of 2.5 kilopascals and held around 40 liters of air. And the government standard for ultra thin is 1.1 – 1.2 kilopascals, air volume - around 18 liters.
“Generally 15 % of defective condoms are allowed for one batch on all the stages of the quality control. – says Vladimir Dobush. – If the batch is “a failure” and the percentage of faulty condoms is higher, we throw away all 4-6 thousand, as further checking and packing become unprofitable”. By the way, there is a number embossed on every former edge which imprints in the condom under the very bead. The number of the faulty condom is registered. If the flaw continues to appear on the same former, it will be replaced by a new one.
Electronically tested
After all these manipulations the whole batch of 4-5 thousand condoms proceeds to the first stage of electronic testing. Operators sit at the testing machines and manually put the products on metal electrodes shaped as condoms, which are connected to the equipment. The condoms which let the current pass through become faulty. The rest proceed to the next stage. 30 condoms are chosen then to be put manually on the electrode, and after that they are filled with the electrolyte solution, put into the container also filled with electrolyte. If the indicator registers, that the condom has let the electric current through, it means that there are micro pores in it. So the whole batch is considered faulty and becomes trash. And the testing machines that have not disclosed these defects are subject to inspection and repair. But this occurs not very often. Usually after the electronic testing the whole batch gets disinfected and proceeds to the packaging line.
How to prolong sensations?A drop of silicone lubricant is added before sealing to each condom with the help of the dosing machine.
To produce the so-called “sensation-prolonging” condoms, some lidocaine solution is added besides the lubricant, since lidocaine has an inhibiting effect on the nerve endings. Some aromatic substances are added when producing aromatized condoms. The packing quality is checked in a special vacuum chamber.
The factory itself operates round the clock, in three shifts for eight hours, and produces around 17 million condoms a year. Before starting the shift every worker has to take a shower and put on working clothes prior entering the so-called “clean zone”. The floors are mopped every three hours and a high moisture level is sustained in order to avoid dust.
