Afera Tape College 2024 Day 1
We’ve kicked off a busy week for the European adhesive tapes industry, first with semi-annual Committee and Working Group Meetings, then with the opening of Afera’s 11th Tape College, welcoming 120 participants to a 3-day, 4-session, 21-lecture learning event about the fundamentals and current technical essentials of adhesive tape technology. It is also a coveted networking event for the global tape business, new and veteran members alike.
Afternoon
Why tapes? A key to making an idea sticky is to tell it as a story. This is what Evert Smit (Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG) did in his general introduction to adhesive tapes “Made to Stick” at the start of the 11th Afera Tape College today in Munich. We don’t need more solutions for tapes, we need better solutions for solving future needs. Tapes, because of their versatility, help enable
the (sustainable) future more than any other bonding technology.
Caroline Sperling (tesa) then introduced Tape College attendees to pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) technology, providing a survey of the most important relationships between physical performance and application properties. She aligned adhesive tape technology available with the demands of today and tomorrow´s industrial processes.
After a networking break, solvent-based and UV-hotmelt acrylics were Anja Schneider’s (Henkel) focus in her talk about the world of these technologies, including their design to meet technical requirements and applicability on converting lines of the Industry.
Last of today’s presenters, Matthias Renka (Organik Kimya) explored the fundamentals and possibilities through emulsion polymerisation of customising water-based PSAs, which are used in label, packaging, tape, surface protection, graphics, high-gloss laminations and other applications. He ended his presentation with an interactive quiz about tape technology, which was won by Anja Schneider, Martijn Verhagen (Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG) and Enzo Pichon (Nitto EMEA). Attendees then enjoyed the opening drinks reception!
