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Innovation:
The fuel for our vision of
a more sustainable future

Sustainability

Science is always looking to the future. And it’s important for that future to be shaped by technologies that improve processes, products and people’s lives worldwide. Our tesa innovators are constantly exploring new ways of making our portfolio more sustainable. And they’ve already made exciting progress…

Innovation is the fuel that has pushed tesa forward for more than 125 years – and it’s driving our company towards its vision of a more sustainable future too. tesa currently has a portfolio of more than 7,000 adhesive tapes and self-adhesive products. Now, scientists in our laboratories around the world are expanding that portfolio by adding new solutions to help cut the environmental footprint of industrial processes and consumer lifestyles.
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As a company within the chemicals industry, it’s natural for tesa to pursue a science-based approach to boosting sustainability. Right now, we are investing millions of euros in research projects and sustainable materials that support positive progress. Our team of more than six hundred scientists, engineers and product developers around the globe is constantly searching for innovative, sustainable products and processes that deliver high standards of performance and reliability.

Innovators at tesa are exploring the possibilities of using materials extracted from the milk (latex) of the rubber tree (hevea brasiliensis), for example. This substance contains long polymer chains that enable very flexible adhesives when mixed with resin to create a glue. Adhesive tapes that include natural rubber remain mobile at low temperatures.

 

 

 

Latex milk is directly extracted from the rubber tree
Latex milk is harvested from the rubber tree

Just add water

Using water as a carrier for producing our adhesives makes it possible to substantially improve worker safety when making acrylic adhesives by eliminating potentially harmful substances from the process. This technology also saves energy and cuts the related emissions because it reduces the amount of drying that is necessary compared to traditional approaches. And waterborne processes involve lower levels of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions and odors.

Pioneering, proven and patented

Our scientists have also successfully developed an innovative method for applying coatings to double-sided acrylate adhesive tapes. This acrylate extrusion (ACX) technology is patented by tesa and used in the construction and automotive industries, among others. We bring this technology to the market through our ACXplus range. The products in this portfolio have passed more than twenty tests, including cyclone testing at James Cook University in Australia and an earthquake simulation in Chile. Solvents are used only during polymerization and are then removed from the acrylate via a special curing technique and recycled back into the manufacturing process. All other manufacturing steps are free of solvents.

 

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Pathways to more sustainability

Every day, scientists at tesa are developing technologies that open valuable pathways to a safer and more sustainable future. By saving energy, cutting emissions, and eliminating potentially harmful substances, these solutions continue the momentum our company has gathered during more than 125 years of innovation – and help to improve processes, products and people’s lives worldwide.

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