Annual press conference:
Innovation II: New tesa foam tape assortment

Self-adhesive tapes with foam backing for industry: custom tailored innovations by the new modular development concept

Self-adhesive concept solutions made of foam are increasingly used by industry for efficient and solid fixing of decorations and facings. The focus is on bodies of flat screen television sets in the electronics industry, on fixing of emblems and components of the interior lining in car manufacturing as well as on profiles and trim lines in the furniture industry.

Bodies of flat screen television sets in the electronics industry are mounted with tesa® foam tapes.

By means of a new modular concept for the development of double-sided mounting tapes with foam backing as well as by a novel production technology tesa is opening up new applications within this profitable business segment.

The construction kit system permits fast and flexible development of new custom tailored foam backed adhesive tapes for many uses. Due to a novel and patented laminating technology developed by tesa these products can be produced fast and cost effectively also in smaller quantities and in particularly high grades.

The construction kit system comprises various foam backings, freshly developed acrylic adhesives as well as separating liners made of paper or plastic. In a special development process these elements can be combined best matching the requirement profile. This results in products adjusted to precisely meet the respective applications.
One example is the new foam tape tesa® 4957 black that has been developed for mounting of mirrors or acrylic window panes in the furniture industry. Due to its particularly high adhesive strength tesa® 4957 is also used in the construction industry for mounting of signs, profiles and solar cell modules.

By means of the new assortment tesa supports the strong trend towards lightweight, time saving and cost effective mounting systems that increasingly replace conventional methods. Due to their special properties foam backed mounting tapes are the preferred alternative: they are fixing objects firmly and reliably and compensate uneven surface structures. At the same time the elastic backing material absorbs impacts and counteracts internal material stress motion, the joint remains flexible. For the electronics industry in particular experts are predicting a high growth potential: in 2005 alone approx. 20 million flat screen TV sets were sold, more than twice the number sold in the year before.