The expansion and new equipment will serve to meet the high domestic demand for industrial tapes and adhesive solutions, said Michael Johansen, global vice president and general manager, Performance Tapes. “The electronics, automotive and general industrial segments are already significant in size and are growing fast. With our new coater, we can now better serve our customers in China with local production, which means faster delivery backed by a range of valuable services.”

The company will also offer customised solutions for customers who have special needs and requirements, he added.

The new coater installed is a high-speed, versatile custom-built coater that incorporates safety systems, and which can coat various coatweights and run solvent or emulsion adhesive tapes with a maximum width of 1.52 m.

The Kunshan plant will manufacture a broad range of high performance industrial tapes that will serve to bond different materials and substrates in diverse applications. For example, these tapes can be used in electronics (for touch-screen and touch-pad mounting, speaker mesh or batteries), in internal automotive applications (seat heating and airbags), external automotive applications (bonding of badges, emblems and brake shims), or just general adhesive applications required for large domestic appliances, elevators, or packaging.

In expansion of the plant, there will also be a new lab with test equipment that will allow the company to develop new products and maintain high quality and performance of its existing products. It will also house a manufacturing hall, offices and labs.

The company has had 80 years of experience in adhesive coating, including 20 years in China, shared Mr Johansen. “We look forward to putting our vast knowledge of adhesives and tapes to work for several of China’s key industrial segments.”