tesa builds a new plant in Vietnam

In the region, for the region: That is the short formula that tesa will use to produce adhesive tapes for the Asian market starting from 2023. Now, it has been decided to build a large plant in Vietnam. The tesa group will thus strengthen its presence in Asia, significantly increase its capacities and therefore shorten the way to customers and suppliers. "The aim of our strategy is to continue to grow and to achieve a harmonized balance between the regions of Europe, North America, and Asia. The Asian adhesive tape market is experiencing a very dynamic development that we want to take advantage of," explains Dr. Norman Goldberg, CEO of tesa SE, which is an affiliate of the Beiersdorf Group. "With the fact that tesa makes such a large investment in times of Corona, the shareholders set a strong signal for the future."

Currently, tesa operates 14 production sites worldwide, including large plants in Germany (Hamburg, Offenburg), Italy, the USA, and China. The new building is located in the port city of Haiphong in Northern Vietnam, where the company will be located on approximately 70,000 square meters.

The politically stable state on the South China Sea with a population of 95 million offers tesa the best opportunities to serve customers and markets in Southeast Asia and also in China. An ever-greater number of particularly important tesa customers are settling in Vietnam, for example, from the electronics and automotive industries. Even in the first quarter of 2020, the country’s economic growth rose by 3.8% – despite the global Corona crisis. With an average age of 31.7 years, Vietnam is young and – quite significant for tesa – has an elevated number of engineers

Stronger growth – Shorter distances

Since 2005, in the Far East tesa has been successfully operating a large plant in the Chinese city of Suzhou, which in 2025, despite the current expansion, will reach its limits to meet growing demands. From Suzhou, tesa supplies, among others, many high-tech tapes for electronic devices, for example, to glue components and displays in mobile phones and tablets. This means that more than 40 different tesa adhesive applications are used in smartphones. The trouble-free replacement of batteries was only possible with a newly developed tesa tape (Bond & Detach).

"The new plant in Vietnam creates the necessary capacity to ensure our growth targets in the largest and fastest growing region," explains Stefan Schmidt, head of tesa Supply Network, responsible for purchasing, logistics, and production at tesa worldwide. "Time-to-market is especially important to us. Access to markets, fast and flexible delivery to customers and the development of local raw materials are important factors in international competition."

In the first phase, there will be approximately 140 employees working at the plant.

A mark of sustainability
In Vietnam, tesa is also investing in sustainability: 65% of the production volume will be made with solvent-free, water-based adhesives. For the plant planning, the company strives for certification according to the internationally recognized "LEED Gold Standard". Among other things, the use of solar energy and rainwater treatment are planned.