tesa: leader of tape solution in the automotive industry

"Compared with comprehensive enterprises, tesa only focus on tape product development and tape application exploration. Therefore, in tape industry we hold a high market share and a very prestigious pedigree," tesa China Associate Sales Director Wang Zheng stated in an interview with Gasgoo.com (Chinese). According to Wang Zheng, the growth of the tape market is quicker than that of the automotive market. In response to the growing demand for new material and technologies, tesa is conducting more and more product and solution development. Due to the prompt response to fulfill OEM’s high requirements, tesa has gained a good brand recognition and respect of major manufacturers in China.

Gasgoo.com: In2012， the automotive market maintains the growth of around 5%. However, that figure has increased to around 10% in 2013. How has tesa performed and will perform in automotive industry?

Wang Zheng:As a matter of fact, tesa developed strongly in this business field in 2013. The accelerating production tempo, as well as increasing demand for new technologies and material, has also raised the demand for tape products. tesa is able to fulfill this demands by developing and delivering continuously innovations which are in line with the market. Moreover tesa has successfully established a highly flexible organizational structure to offer a fast and perfect service to our customers. This enables us to adapt also to changing demands within the branch. Therefore we are convinced to continue our positive development also in 2014.

Gasgoo.com: What is tesa relying on in order to achieve such a high growth rate in automotive industry?

Wang Zheng: On the one hand, we benefited from our well implemented development strategy, on the other hand was the Policy Support such as the GB Norm7258, entitled the "safety specifications for power-driven vehicles operating on road", announced in 2012. Due to the unique technology of laser labels from tesa for the anti-theft design, the market share of tesa in this application grew dramatically.

Gasgoo.com: The cooperation between tesa and OEMs is extremely widespread. How is cooperation between tesa and domestic OEMs in China ?

Wang Zheng: tesa has always attached high importance to the cooperation with domestic OEMs. We held 'Technology Days' at domestic OEMs and also invited engineers to our plant for technical discussion. We have already established long-term stable partnerships with main domestic manufacturers in China.

Gasgoo.com: What is the difference between cooperation with domestic OEMs and those enterprises with foreign background?

Wang Zheng: Domestic OEMs are extremely passionate for new technology, and are willing to spend a large amount of resources and funds in technology. As a result, it sets high requirements for our sales guys. We not only have to be familiar with products, but also need to familiarize ourselves with the applications, market developments and future trends in order to fully satisfy the demands of domestic OEMs. This is traditionally a strength of the tesa company.

For cooperation with OEMs with foreign background, our background as an overseas-based supplier is an extremely big advantage. Typically these kinds of OEMs prefer to find suppliers with extensive overseas experience, and place a great deal of importance on smooth communication and effective technical support during car model development.

Gasgoo.com: tesa's major focus in the automotive industry is divided into five major modules: Exterior, Interior, Body, Temporary Application and Electrical Systems. tesa has a broad range of product and application solutions. Currently, do you have sales of all your major products in China?

Wang Zheng: tesa products and solutions for Exterior, Interior, Body, Temporary Application and Electrical Systems have all been brought over to China. Within these modules we cover applications like Attachment Part Mounting & Mirror Assembling, Cable Mounting, & Interior Mounting & Buzz, Squeak, Rattle (BSR) Prevention, Hole Covering & Security Labeling & Permanent Paint Protection, Surface Protection & Design Masking & Paint Masking and Wire Harnessing.

Gasgoo.com: In promoting the localization of development and production, what does tesa place effort in doing so?

Wang Zheng: When doing the localization of development and production, tesa makes the necessary modifications in accordance with market demands. Early on tesa adopted a 'product oriented' strategy. However, following the increasingly broader use of tape as productive product in automotive industry, our strategy was changed to an 'application oriented' one. We figured out the requirements of the application and environment due to the new process adopted by customers and then designed the market-need products.

Gasgoo.com: Where does tesa acquire its technical support during the new product development?

Wang Zheng: Currently we possess one of the largest tesa R&D centers in Suzhou (Jiangsu), whose primary task is developing product based on application needs. It has given the customers a great deal of immediate and strong technical support. In addition, we also have a close cooperation and coordination with the R&D center in headquarter and Automotive BU to exchange the latest technology and information.

Gasgoo.com: You mentioned that tesa products are also used in interiors. Recently there has been much media attention on the interior air quality of cars, with interior accessories blamed as a major source of interior air pollution. What measures has tesa taken to address these concerns?

Wang Zheng: That’s true. There has been a lot of hot discussion regarding the interior air quality of cars. That is also one of tesa’s focus areas. tesa adopts environmental-friendly production processes and they are able to meet the strict VOC emission standards. For example, production of our new interior products has already shifted from using solvent-based coating to advanced extrusion technology, which greatly reduces the amount of solvent used and drastically decreases the amount of toxic chemical emissions. Additionally, our water-based products also perform well in reducing the amount of chemical emissions.

Gasgoo.com: Up to now, tesa has established subsidiary branches in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou, Changchun, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In respect to expanding the network, what sort of strategy does tesa follow? Does the company have any new plans regarding network distribution?

Wang Zheng: tesa sales network is designed in terms of the location of various OEM plants and their R&D centers. As far as our own network expansion goes, we do indeed have new plans.

Gasgoo.com: Recently the growth in tesa automotive business has been very notable. What methods will the company take to maintain such rapid growth in the future?

Wang Zheng:Firstly, we will continue paying close attention to the investment in application development. This will help us to become a market leader in specific fields gradually. Meanwhile, we will also invest more in product development. What’s more, we will continue to pay close attention to national policy related to tape products, so that we can ensure our products and solutions meet the new standards and take a leading position in the market. Last but not least, we will continuingly increase the investment in people including training and headcount.

tesa  official website:www.tesa.com/automotive

tesa QR code: