tesafilm® Celebrates 75th Anniversary

tesafilm® transparent adhesive tape has been successfully writing brand history for 75 years now. About 50 billion meters of the tape have been sold since it was first invented, in 1936. The quantity produced in 2010 alone would be enough to completely cover about 2,800 World Cup-sized soccer fields. In its home country of Germany, tesafilm® is synonymous with high-quality transparent adhesive film. With name recognition of 98 percent (International Research), it is so famous that has even earned its own entry in the authoritative Duden dictionary of the German language. But this world traveler long ago expanded beyond the borders of Germany itself: From Andorra to Venezuela, tesafilm® is sold in nearly 60 countries today. The smallest nation on the list is the Vatican, in Rome, with its current population of about 750.

Pioneering work in the late 19th century

In 1935, the predecessor of tesafilm® was launched on the market: Beiersdorfs-Kautschuk-Klebefilm (Beiersdorf rubber adhesive tape), which was made of cellulose hydrate film. A year later, the product was renamed Tesa®-Klebefilm, and since 1941, the classic brand has been called tesafilm®. But the company’s experience in the development, production, and marketing of self-adhesive tapes and its expertise in complex coating technology go back much farther: In 1890, Dr. Oscar Troplowitz took over the lab run by pharmacist and company founder Paul C. Beiersdorf. The portfolio also included a failed development: an adhesive bandage that adhered excellently, but irritated the skin. Troplowitz made a virtue of necessity, renaming the product “Cito-Sportheftpflaster” (Cito sports adhesive tape) in 1896 and launching it as the first technical adhesive tape for repairing bicycle inner tubes. Single-sided lasso tape joined the portfolio in 1906; this fabric adhesive tape was used by confectioners and paint manufacturers to seal tins and cans. It was followed in the 1930s by a double-sided version, which was utilized primarily in the paper industry.

The triumphant advance of tesafilm® and its outstanding utility value, which remains excellent to this day, are closely connected with industrial entrepreneur Hugo Kirchberg. Born and raised in the central German state of Thuringia, Kirchberg moved to Beiersdorf in 1934, where he systematically developed the company’s adhesive business based on his firm belief in the “unlimited possibilities of adhesive tape technology.” He recognized early on that the product was even more useful with a combined piece of equipment to dispense and cut it, so he invented the tesa dispenser, which – in a modified design – can still be found on practically any desk to this day, saving users the trouble of looking for a pair of scissors.

Since its invention in 1936, tesafilm® has been consistently further developed and improved. The film used for the first transparent adhesive tape was somewhat brittle and sensitive to moisture. With the help of a contact adhesive, it was equipped with an adhesive mass made from natural rubber and resin. Because they were so thin, the individual strips of adhesive tape were already highly transparent, so they were advertised as being “crystal-clear,” but full rolls still had a brown tinge due to the layer of contact adhesive. That changed in the 1950s, when new types of cellulose acetate film and a synthetically produced acrylate adhesive mass were introduced; starting in 1956, tesa adhesive tapes were nearly colorless in roll form as well, for the first time ever. The company also launched a matte version that could even be written on. In 1946, tesa also began using PVC as a backing material. It was highly resistant to tearing and featured a smooth surface, low sensitivity to moisture, and outstanding resistance to aging. In conjunction with newly developed adhesive masses, the number of possibilities increased – and the company continued to consistently expand the tesafilm® product range.

Environmentally conscious for over 20 years

Growing awareness of environmental issues triggered groundbreaking developments at tesa early on. Since as far back as the late 1980s, the company has been using only polypropylene films as backing materials for its tesafilm®, instead of PVC, which is unfavorable from an environmental standpoint. In most cases, the films are coated with water-based acrylate adhesive mass – without the use of solvents. One current new product goes one step further: tesafilm® ECO & CLEAR is part of the new tesa ecoLogo® product range and consists predominantly of renewable and recycled materials, right up to the packaging.

The international tesafilm® product range currently includes about 200 items, including variants for a wide variety of different applications – such as crystal-clear, tear by hand, and double-sided tapes. Hand and desktop dispensers and various regional brands are also among them. The latest innovation is tesafilm® invisible, which is based on a patented new formula. It features a special surface structure that makes it suitable for writing on with almost any kind of writing implement – even fountain pens and gel pens. The company’s regional items include the TIXO® brand, the Austrian counterpart to tesafilm®. Transparent TIXO® adhesive tape was first developed and produced in the 1950s by Koreska, a company based in Vienna. In 1985, the company stopped making its adhesive tapes; Beiersdorf acquired the trademark and replaced some existing TIXO® products with its own brand, tesa®. To this day, “Do you happen to have a piece of TIXO® tape?” is a widespread question in Austria; together with tesafilm®, TIXO® is the undisputed market leader in the Alpine republic.