A compaction roller is a construction equipment used to compact surfaces such as concrete, soil, gravel or macadam during the construction of foundations and roads. They are also used for landfill compaction, typically with a sheepsfoot roller pattern with the goal of achieving a compacted surface over a smooth one.

Compaction rollers work by using the weight of the vehicle to compress the surface on which they are driven. Generally, the initial compaction is carried out by means of a roller with air-filled tires, which is better adapted to the slightly uneven terrain of a newly drawn road. The compaction roller with its smooth metal drum provides the final smooth finish.

It is likely that the first compaction rollers were drawn by horses and it is possible that the Romans, who were prolific road builders in the 2nd century BC. C., they will use them.

In more modern history, mechanized rollers were in use from the time of the invention of the steam roller, around 1859 and continued to be used in the UK until almost a century later, when, in the 1960s, they were replaced by rollers driven by internal combustion. . Some sections of the current M1 motorway were built with the help of steam rollers.

The first motor-driven rollers were designed in the early 20th century. Hamm AG, now part of the Wirtgen Group GmbH, produced the first diesel powered rollers in 1911. Hamm AG was founded in 1878 by brothers Anton and Franz Hamm, both gunsmiths, to build agricultural equipment. In 1928, they took the bold step of abandoning all other product lines to focus solely on road rollers.

The gamble paid off and Hamm AG moved from force to force, constantly providing innovative products to meet global demand, such as the development of a four-wheel drive tandem roller in 1951.

As motor driven rollers became more widely used, the challenge was how to improve them. On November 5, 1948, inventor WW Wood filed US Patent 2677995. The patent describes the use of vibration to increase the mass per meter of production of the current generation of compaction rollers.

But it was a newly formed Swedish company, AB Vibro-Betong, that took the initiative in 1953 with the launch of the first vibratory roller. The new compaction roller quickly joined similar offerings from competitors, including Bomag, which launched its BW60 vibratory roller in 1957. AB Vibro-Betong still exists to this day, but is now known as Dynapac and has been part of the parent company Atlas Copco since 2007..

The compaction roller continues to improve and a wide range of products are now available, from small compaction plates and remotely operated trench rollers to huge ride-on road compactors weighing 20 tonnes and costing more than $ 150,000 . Landfill units can be even larger weighing up to a colossal 54 tons.