Tesa History

Our History - tesa Page 1 of 28
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OUR HISTORY
tesa’s success story begins with the unsuccessful development of an adhesive bandage. Paul C.
Beiersdorf, a pharmacist, was at work on the bandage when Dr. Oscar Troplowitz took over the
lab from the company’s founder in 1890. The bandage adhered excellently, but was irritating to
skin. Troplowitz made a virtue of necessity and, in 1896, launched the first technical adhesive
tape.
Today tesa is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of self-adhesive product and system
solutions for industry, professional craftsmen, and consumers. Follow us into the exciting history
of tesa and tape technology.
Jump to
1908
1936
1941
1954
1968
1972
1973
1974
1976
1979
1982
1986
1989
1990
1994
http://www.tesa.com/about-tesa/facts-figures/history 3/7/2017
1998
2000 7 J
2001
2002
2005
2006
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2016
1906
Secretary Elsa Tesmer invented the brand name tesa®
The Name “tesa” Is Born

The name tesa® traces back to the secretary Elsa Tesmer, who worked at Beiersdorf in Hamburg
from April 1903 through the end of October 1908, first as an office clerk and then as the office
manager. She thought up the term from the first two letters of her last name and the last two
letters of her first name.
1936 7 J
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1908
tesa® toothpaste tube
tesa as a Brand Name of a Tube for Toothpaste

In the beginning, the brand name tesa® adorns several products. For example the patented tube
used for Pebeco toothpaste. Unfortunately the tube business fares poorly.
1941
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1936
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tesa Klebefilm packaging
Birth of tesa Adhesive Tape – Hamburg

read more
1954
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1941
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tesa® logo 1941
tesa Becomes an Umbrella Brand

Only five years later, besides the tesa adhesive tape, Kirchberg advertises another product. With
the launch of the painters’ tape tesakrepp®, tesa evolves into an umbrella brand for all the
group’s self-adhesive products. The tesafilm® name is created as an abbreviation of “tesa-
Klebefilm” (tesa adhesive tape). Today both, the tesa masking tape tesakrepp® and tesafilm®
are classics of the product range.
1968
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1954
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tesamoll® advertisement
tesamoll® Development
The temperatures almost reach zero. An icy wind blows through the streets. How nice it is when
it is cozy at home. But that is rarely the case at the beginning of the fifties. Buildings are
damaged from the war, and high-quality building materials is in short supply. This gives the
engineers at tesa an ingenious idea. There would have to be a product that protects windows
and doors against drafts without requiring a great deal of skilled craftsmanship – and is also
inexpensive. The product developers invent a self-adhesive profile seal made of plastic foam in
1954. One year later, the strips appears on the market under the name tesamoll®. Here, “moll”
indicates an elastic material (mollis: lat. soft) and creates an association with the German word
“mollig” which means “cozy warm.” The product is still very popular internationally to this day. In
warm countries, tesamoll® protects living space against heat, sand, and insects.
1972
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1968
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Sales display, 1968
Ahead of the Times: Displays for Specialty Retailers

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tesa develops special displays to clearly and professionally present its products to do-it- J
yourselfers at specialty retail stores.
1973
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1972
Kati: A self-confident girl gives her “dad” do-it-yourself tips in German TV commercials.
“Kati” Conquers the World of tesa

tesa positions itself in the construction and do-it-yourself markets with a number of unusual TV
spots in Germany, which cause a stir not only in the advertising scene. The cheeky and happy
Kati flickers on the tube reliably for three years on Saturdays at the best broadcast time just
before the main news. The little girl explains to her daddy how adhesive tapes from tesa make
life in the home and garden easier. It is a change of roles that would have been unthinkable in
the 1950s – even in the tesa advertising. Do-it-yourself concerns were a man’s world, and
hobbies and handicrafts were for the women. However, after the movement in 1968 with the
beginning of women’s emancipation, tesa strikes social gold with the Kati advertising. “Kati and
daddy” are also used in different media. Since television still plays a subordinate role, the
popular duo also advertise in print advertisements.
1974
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1973
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Hugo Kirchberg, 1973
Mr. tesa Retires

After 39 years of service to the company, Hugo Kirchberg, head of the tesa department, retires.
The tesa portfolio now consists of about 600 different products.
1976
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1974
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tesa becomes a division
tesa as a Division
Beiersdorf introduces its four divisions Cosmed, Pharma, Medical, and tesa as a prelude to the
further expansion of its adhesive tape business.
1979
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1976
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Warehouse in Offenburg
Automated Warehouse Technology

In Offenburg, tesa celebrates the initial operation of a high-rack warehouse – offering state-of-
the-art automated warehouse technology with a separate picking area and nearly 8000 pallet
spaces to start out (later 10,300). tesa now offers a total of 2500 product solutions.
1982
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1979
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Drying channel at the tesa plant Hamburg
1200 Meters of Adhesive Tape Strips

The tesa plant in the Hausbruch district of Hamburg puts a complex coating unit with suspended
drying for 1200 meters of adhesive tape strips into operation. Recovery and recycling of the
solvents used in the unit enable highly efficient cleaning of exhaust air.
1986
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1982
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tesa plant Sparta, Michigan, USA
First Non-European tesa Plant – Sparta, Michigan

The first major tesa plant outside Europe opens its doors in Sparta, Michigan, United States.
Today, some 60 employees produce adhesive tapes for the general industrial market,
particularly for the regional automotive industry.
1989
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1986
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Tape production in Offenburg
25th Anniversary
In the year of its 25th anniversary, the tesa plant in Offenburg begins running a new large-scale
unit. The total usable space at the site is expanded from 4000 to 65,000 square meter.
1990
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1989
Protect your windows with fly screens
tesa® Insect Stop – a Top Seller

Consumers can keep annoying insects from paying a visit: tesa® Insect Stop makes its debut and
goes on to become a top seller.
1994
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1990 7 J
tesa logo development 1936 to today
New tesa Logo Is Introduced

The tesa brand name has been a key component of the logo since the very beginning. The
uniform design that has been used around the world since 1990 symbolizes the very essence of
the tesa brand: the sticking together of two parts.
1998
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1994
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tesa Powerstrips® 1996: TV commercial 1996
tesa Powerstrips®
Nails and screws suddenly have to compete with the newly patented tesa Powerstrips®.
ISO 9001 Quality Standard

The tesa division meets all of the requirements for the ISO 9001 quality standard, setting a new
benchmark in the adhesive tape business.
2000
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1998
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The PrioSpot technology protects brands from counterfeiters
tesafilm® as a Data Storage Medium

Two scientists from Mannheim, Germany, discover that you can store data on tesafilm®. Today
the technology protects name-brand items from counterfeiting and secures original products
against theft on their way along the supply chain. The scientists and tesa jointly establish tesa
Scribos GmbH.
2001
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2000
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tesa Easy Splice assortment
tesa Revolutionizes the Printing and Paper Industry

tesa becomes a global market leader in this segment with the launch of EasySplice®. This
technology enables secure, ultra-fast splicing when changing rolls.
2002
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2001
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tesa AG is founded
From Company Division to Independence

The Beiersdorf Group’s original tesa division becomes tesa AG.
2005
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2002
Solvent-free production unit in Offenburg
New Solvent-Free Production Technology

The Offenburg plant begins working with a new solvent-free production technology developed
at tesa. All painter’s masking tapes are the first items to be switched over to the environmentally
friendly new method, later followed by other products.
2006
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2005
tesa plant Suzhou
New Plant Built in China in Record Time – Suzhou, Jiangsu

On December 8, tesa opens a plant with a research department in Suzhou, China, so it can be
closer to its global customers.
BAUM: Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis Umweltbewusstes Management e.V.

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Environmental Award for tesa
read more
2008
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2006
tesa supports the UN Global Compact
tesa Joins the Global Compact of the United Nations

The Global Compact is a worldwide pact between companies and the UN to make globalization
more socially and environmentally sound.
2009
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2008
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Labtec is now a tesa subsidiary
tesa Gains a Subsidiary

Labtec Gesellschaft für technologische Forschung und Entwicklung mbH becomes a wholly
owned subsidiary of tesa. The company develops special administration forms for
pharmaceutical active substances as an alternative to pills and specializes in transdermal
therapeutic systems (TTS) among others.
2010
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2009
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tesa becomes SE
From AG to SE: tesa Becomes a European Corporation

As a Societas Europaea (SE), tesa adopts on March 30 the modern cross-border legal structure
for corporations in the European Union.
2011
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2010
Clean room in Hamburg
Unique Production Plant – Hamburg

An ultra-modern cleanroom and the world’s only ACX production plant for new double-sided
adhesive tapes open their doors in Hamburg.
2012 7 J
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2011
In 2011 tesa celebrated its 75th birthday
tesa Celebrates a Double Anniversary

75 years of tesafilm® and ten years of independence as a Beiersdorf company
2013
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2012
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tesa® ACXplus
Launch of tesa® ACXplus

tesa® ACXplus is a new category of tapes for constructive bonding. The strongest and best
performing product range so far has a powerful bond on materials with different surface
characteristics, offers optimal stress dissipation due to its viscoelastic behavior, and is resistant
to temperatures and demanding weather conditions.
2016
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2013
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Technical illustration of the new tesa Campus
Ground Broken for the New tesa SE Building

The new headquarters of tesa SE is build close to the Hamburg Airport. The marketing,
administration, the research and development department as well as the technology center are
brought together for the first time. The complex is precisely tailored to tesa’s business model
and will enable tesa to further concentrate its strengths and bolster the tesa Group’s
international competitiveness.
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2016
tesa SE Headquarters
tesa Campus Dedicated

On January 28, Torsten Albig (Premier of Schleswig-Holstein), Hans-Joachim Grote (Mayor 7 of J
Norderstedt), and Thomas Schlegel (tesa CEO) inaugurate the tesa Campus in front of about
1000 employees and numerous guests of honor. In a symbolic act the trio complete a huge
puzzle showing the building and its three components: headquarters, research, and technology
center. “Three in one” is the concept of the new tesa headquarters, which is finished after little
more than three years of construction. Costing some EUR 160 million, it is the largest investment
in the history of tesa.
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Our History - tesa Page 1 of 28

Secretary Elsa Tesmer invented the brand name tesa®

The Name “tesa” Is Born

tesa® toothpaste tube

tesa as a Brand Name of a Tube for Toothpaste

tesa Klebefilm packaging

Birth of tesa Adhesive Tape – Hamburg

tesa® logo 1941

tesa Becomes an Umbrella Brand

Sales display, 1968

Ahead of the Times: Displays for Specialty Retailers

“Kati” Conquers the World of tesa

Hugo Kirchberg, 1973

Mr. tesa Retires

tesa becomes a division

Automated Warehouse Technology

Drying channel at the tesa plant Hamburg

1200 Meters of Adhesive Tape Strips

tesa plant Sparta, Michigan, USA

First Non-European tesa Plant – Sparta, Michigan

Tape production in Offenburg

Protect your windows with fly screens

tesa® Insect Stop – a Top Seller

tesa logo development 1936 to today

New tesa Logo Is Introduced

tesa Powerstrips® 1996: TV commercial 1996

ISO 9001 Quality Standard

The PrioSpot technology protects brands from counterfeiters

tesafilm® as a Data Storage Medium

tesa Easy Splice assortment

tesa Revolutionizes the Printing and Paper Industry

From Company Division to Independence

Solvent-free production unit in Offenburg

New Solvent-Free Production Technology

tesa plant Suzhou

New Plant Built in China in Record Time – Suzhou, Jiangsu

BAUM: Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis Umweltbewusstes Management e.V.

tesa supports the UN Global Compact

tesa Joins the Global Compact of the United Nations

Labtec is now a tesa subsidiary

tesa Gains a Subsidiary

From AG to SE: tesa Becomes a European Corporation

Clean room in Hamburg

Unique Production Plant – Hamburg

In 2011 tesa celebrated its 75th birthday

tesa Celebrates a Double Anniversary

Launch of tesa® ACXplus

Technical illustration of the new tesa Campus

Ground Broken for the New tesa SE Building

tesa Campus Dedicated

Get in touch with us

Imprint Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Conditions of use

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