Tenacity—just plain sticking to it—is important, particularly in adhesive tapes. This is a product that, in many ways, makes the modern world possible while going largely unnoticed. As a leader in solvent-based acrylic and hotmelt pressure-sensitive adhesives, Philadelphia-based CCT Tapes develops custom, cost-effective, incredibly tenacious water-based acrylic formulas that can be as thin as 1 micron or as thick as 400 microns or more—and is ready to take on the next chapter of its fabrication legacy with the lowest emission acrylic-based tapes in the world with a new facility from ATP in West Columbia, South Carolina.
This is especially timely as it seems volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like formaldehyde, emitted from paint, glue, and other materials, are everywhere, especially in motor vehicles and buildings. By building on its solid history of innovation, CCT Tapes and ATP adhesive systems will change this.
New facility, new growth
This new focus follows a 2021 acquisition by Swiss firm ATP, a company with a proud history. Recognized as one of Switzerland’s best-managed companies, with leaders who have been with the company for over two decades, ATP is respected globally for its outstanding adhesives. Established in 1988 and with production based on the solvent-free adhesive formulations that made it so popular, the company now has more than 500 employees.
ATP will open a new fabrication facility on American soil for this visionary line in the second quarter of next year, accompanied by sizable capital investments that will greatly grow the company’s capabilities and reach.
Stimulating growth will also mean appointing more than 100 new staff members at this state-of-the-art facility, and company leadership is confident in the timing of the investment. “America today is like Europe was 20 years ago with respect to solvent-free adhesive tape technology,” says Daniel Heini, CEO of ATP. The goal, then, is active expansion throughout North America.
While ATP focuses solely on solvent-free acrylic technologies, CCT Tapes continues to offer solvent-based, acrylic, and rubber tapes in addition to its recently introduced, game-changing new products. With its most popular products available in a selection of around 300 double-sided and transfer tape options, the company is also well known for custom formulations based on in-depth, in-house research and development.
Innovation and ecology meet
For both companies, excellence has always been the name of the game, with an eye toward innovation and evolution. “ATP always went the ecological way to create tapes without solvents,” says Paul Schwitter, COO of ATP. At the time, the company’s adhesives were mainly used for labels on consumables, but as the product improved, this changed. Today, ATP is a force to be reckoned with.
“Together with raw material suppliers like acrylic dispersion (resin) suppliers and producers, we created much higher technological properties to reach the performance that’s needed against solvent-based acrylic tapes,” Paul explains.
Combining these technologies with sophisticated customization and cutting-edge equipment at its Swiss research and development facilities, ATP products have been continuously evolving ever since with the unshakeable goal of outperforming solvent-based adhesives.
Paul is clear about the improved ecological profile of water-based acrylic adhesives: “The product carbon footprint (PCF) of water-based acrylics is half the carbon footprint of solvent-based acrylics,” he says.
30 years at the top
There is no question of the company’s formidable capabilities. “We’ve been the market and technology leader for 30 years in these water-based acrylic tape products for industrial applications,” Daniel says, emphasizing these advances in product formulation and performance as the company’s main competitive advantage (apart from maintaining an accessible price point) over the years. Beyond these essential aspects, understanding the exact requirements of customers and their specifications is at the forefront of every relationship that ATP establishes with a customer before custom-developing each formulation and tape construction.
Back in the United States, and thanks to the merger, CCT Tapes will align itself with the standards, formulations, and technologies that its parent company offers. “We have different capabilities at our location in Philadelphia; now part of ATP, we have a wider range of solutions for our customers, and have been able to further our focus on customized solutions for them,” says Commercial Business Lead Kyle Dempsey.
As a result, CCT has its sights set on further developing its offerings for the construction market as well as taking a fresh look at its formulations for the automotive industry. As CCT now has access to unique solvent-free formulations, local motor vehicle fabricators will benefit from lower levels of VOCs being released from their products, reducing the overall impact of materials used in motor vehicles while achieving outstanding product performance.
The out-performers are here
Thanks to groundbreaking technology, these modern adhesives often outperform older glues, providing customers with confidence that their tapes will perform as expected—and perhaps even better.
Instead, these tapes are versatile and strong enough to be used in an array of applications, typically replacing liquid adhesives and other types of fasteners, and it naturally follows that the company’s client base is as diverse as its product range. CCT Tapes and ATP adhesive systems serves markets including automotive, transportation, building and construction, medical, optical, electronics, white goods, abrasives, graphics, and general industrial applications.
With a talented team of 60 at its current facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it’s not uncommon to find staff members who have been with the company for a decade or longer. This means retaining precious knowledge and an equally important understanding of local markets and unique quality requirements. The company’s people understand the value and importance of the top-performing tapes they’re responsible for.
Powered by people
One of the real gains of this approach is that the ATP Group team has a well-rounded, global appreciation of its overall mission and operational standards across all processes. “Our staff know what they do. They know our tape might potentially end up on a loved one’s body to save their life,” says Kyle, who has been with the firm for nearly two decades. For him, the CCT advantage is the sincere sense of ownership that employees hold at the forefront of their commitment to excellence as they sustain the high standards that keep end users safe.
Due to the high stakes involved in its product performance, cross-training staff has become a valuable aspect of ensuring that employees in the U.S. and in Europe remain current and fully equipped to maintain standards. ATP and CCT Tapes both share a deep belief in continuous training, and Kyle is open about the tremendous value this has brought the company.
“We found that developing people within our organization delivers the best outcome for them as well as our customers,” he says, noting how difficult it can be to find professionals with the depth of knowledge embodied by CCT’s team. “There’s an art behind what we do.”
The future of fabrication
The marriage of robust local market knowledge with Swiss innovation promises many benefits for those North American fabricators who are yet to discover the big pluses of switching to these modern adhesive tapes. From this perspective, ATP has brought the future to American fabrication. And these two industry leaders are confident in the merits of their contributions to the American manufacturing landscape.
“As we see it, the future of creating more sustainable products is in solvent-free acrylics,” Kyle says, highlighting CCT Tapes’ mission to reduce VOCs—and thus ecological impact—in its overall product offering.
Paul strongly shares this sentiment. “We are happy to serve American customers and be ahead in environmental, social, and governance requirements over the next 20 years,” he says. With a new facility soon to open its doors in Lexington County, South Carolina, this powerful team of innovators will be sticking around for good.
