Covestro: Inventing for a Brighter Adhesive Industry in China

By Rowena Wang

China’s adhesive industry has experienced fast growth in recent years. Over the past ten years, the domestic adhesive industry witnessed a 10% CAGR in both capacity and revenue reported by the China National Adhesives Industry Association (CNAIA). With rapid market expansion, China’s current adhesive industry is facing market fragmentation, growing needs for technology upgrading, as well as rising concerns regarding environmental and safety issues.
In addition, the need for industry players to differentiate from their competitors has never been so strong. The leading adhesive makers are looking for new solutions that can achieve higher performance and efficiency, and are more sustainable.
As the inventor of PU technology and a leading supplier of polyurethane adhesive solutions, Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, is stepping up its efforts to collaborate with customers and partners along the value chain to create multiple values for the business and the industry. “Inventing for You” is the spirit that drives the company’s efforts.

High-performance adhesive solutions for diversified needs

To maintain their market position under the intensified competition, adhesive makers are looking for new solutions that can meet higher standards for quality, durability and sustainability. With an in-depth market understanding, Covestro developed a series of new high-performance adhesive solutions to meet the needs of various application industries.
Covestro’s collaboration with Scarpa, a famous Italian alpine boots brand, illustrates how Covestro enables high-performance polyurethane adhesives solutions to support products that work on a large variety of substrates that resist extremely cold climates and humidity. Dispercoll? U, invented by Covestro, facilitates the production of Scarpa alpine boots that can help mountaineers challenge an 8 000-meter peak. “By using a solvent-free adhesive, we can optimize the working conditions in our production and further reduce the potential impact on the environment,” explains Scarpa’s CEO Sandro Parisotto.
In China, Covestro has been investing heavily in the R&D of polyurethane adhesives solutions to meet diversified market needs. The company has expanded its adhesive lab and brought in more experts to join the adhesive R&D team in China. What is also noticeable is that Covestro established a product innovation center at its Polymer Research and Development Center in Shanghai, the first outside of Germany.

Sustainable solutions that comply with the highest standards

Rising concerns about air pollution and more environmental protection initiatives from both the government and industry level are popular topics in Chinese market today. The Chinese government authorities have issued a series of strict environmental regulations and policies, such as Vehicle Indoor Air Quality issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. The new challenges also bring new business opportunities to players who can quickly adapt to market change.
Covestro has always been a strong advocate for sustainability. Among its extensive product portfolio, there are many products and solutions that can meet the highest sustainability standards. In fact, over the past ten years, Covestro has been actively helping Chinese customers better understand and adopt eco-friendly PU adhesive solutions. This has contributed to the popularization of eco-friendly adhesive solutions throughout the entire industry.
Take one of Covestro’s solutions for the automotive industry as an example. Dispercoll?, an adhesive raw material for automotive interiors, is becoming the primary choice for automotive OEMs due to its low VOC property. Another sustainability effort worth mentioning is Covestro’s partnership with Purbond, a subsidiary of Henkel, to introduce product life cycle analysis of adhesives and minimize the impact of PU adhesives products on the planet.

High efficiency solutions
to create multiple values

The future competition in the adhesive industry will no longer be limited to the product itself, but will extend to a comprehensively integrated solution. Industry players will need to compete for materials, equipment, technology, process, talents, logistics, etc.
Covestro integrates its unique understanding of materials and industry insight into the overall solution by helping customers and end users optimize total cost, shorten the production cycle and create extra value.
The Desmodur? quix solution from Covestro has opened up a new era of high-performance flexible packaging. It delivers a direct and positive impact at each stage along the value chain, including faster processing, higher flexibility, more rapid response to retail trends, increased process efficiency and less working capital. In addition, Covestro has cooperated closely with customers in the area of sports to develop material solutions that greatly simplify the manufacturing process and minimize labor input for end users.