Henkel breaking ground on adhesives innovation center in city

In response to surging demand for adhesives from the automotive and electronics industries, German consumer goods company Henkel is building a special adhesives Asia-Pacific innovation center in Shanghai.

With an investment of 500 million yuan (US$77.58 million), the innovation center will be located in Zhangjiang Science City in the Pudong New Area, and is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The mission of the innovation center will be to develop high-quality adhesives for consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, and will employ more than 400 experts and scientists.

An adhesive is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items to bind them together and resist separation.

The company’s adhesives business reported a strong first quarter, amid a faster-than-expected rebound in the automotive and electronics industries.

First-quarter sales rose 7.7 percent to 4.97 billion euros (US$5.97 billion), driven by an increase of 13 percent in the company's adhesives unit and 4.1 percent growth in its laundry and home care division.

Henkel said sales of its adhesives to the automotive and electronics sectors grew at double-digit rates, with strong sales in both emerging and mature markets.

Anticipating continued strong sales in adhesives, Henkel raised its 2021 growth outlook.

Henkel’s adhesives sales were 8,684 million euros in 2020, accounting for 45 percent of overall sales.