Tesa

tesa SE is a German adhesive-products company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Beiersdorf AG. The business makes adhesive tapes, self-adhesive materials, glue products, labels, and application-specific bonding systems for consumer, industrial, automotive, electronics, construction, printing, and healthcare uses. Its headquarters are in Norderstedt near Hamburg, while production and development activities are distributed across several locations, including facilities associated with consumer products and industrial applications. The tesa name has a history that predates the company itself. It was coined in 1906 by Elsa Tesmer, a Beiersdorf employee who created the name in a company naming competition by combining letters from her surname and first name. The name was initially associated with a toothpaste tube and later with other unsuccessful products. Its lasting importance began in the 1930s, when Beiersdorf developed a transparent adhesive film. The product was first marketed under a descriptive name, but Beiersdorf employee Hugo Kirchberg proposed using the Tesa name; a 1936 letter is cited as an early written use of “tesa adhesive film.” From the 1940s onward, Tesa increasingly became the umbrella name for Beiersdorf’s adhesive-tape activities. The company operates in both consumer and business-to-business markets. Consumer products include general-purpose adhesive tapes, mounting and repair tapes, masking tapes, glue sticks, sticky notes, and other household or office products. The industrial portfolio addresses more demanding requirements such as permanent bonding, temporary fixing, masking, insulation, surface protection, assembly, sealing, and component attachment. Applications include automotive glazing, sensors, displays, electrical and electronic components, furniture, appliances, packaging, printing, and building-related installation. The brand is particularly embedded in the German market, where “Tesa” has become a widely recognized generic reference for adhesive tape and is recorded in the Duden German dictionary in that sense. Internationally, the company sells through local subsidiaries, distributors, and industrial customer relationships. Its customers and applications include major electronics and automotive manufacturers, although individual commercial relationships and product specifications vary by contract and market. In 2001, the adhesive business was separated from Beiersdorf’s former divisional structure and established as an independent legal entity, initially called Tesa AG, while remaining within the Beiersdorf Group. It became a European company, tesa SE, on March 30, 2009. The company broadened beyond conventional tape during the 2000s and 2010s, including through the tesa scribos anti-counterfeiting and product-identification business and through healthcare-related adhesive technologies. In 2015, the headquarters moved from Hamburg to Norderstedt-Garstedt. The business also has a history of technology development outside ordinary tape applications. Research into using adhesive tape as a substrate for laser-etched data structures led to the creation of Tesa Scribos GmbH in 2001 with the original researchers. Its Holospot system used miniature holographic or microtext labels for authentication, traceability, and brand-protection purposes rather than mass data storage. tesa sold this business to Leonhard Kurz on September 1, 2021. Today, tesa remains an active Beiersdorf subsidiary with a broad portfolio spanning consumer adhesive products and engineered bonding solutions.

The origins of the tesa name lie in Beiersdorf’s early twentieth-century product development. In 1906, Elsa Tesmer, who worked at Beiersdorf first as a clerk and later as head of the typing pool, submitted a name in an internal competition. “Tesa” combined the first two letters of her surname with the last two letters of her first name. The name was initially used for a patented toothpaste tube associated with Beiersdorf’s Pebeco toothpaste. That business did not achieve lasting success, and in 1926 the name was reassigned to a dipping compound intended for coating sausages. This application also failed to become an important business. The name acquired its enduring meaning during the development of adhesive film. In 1935, Beiersdorf created a transparent adhesive film that was initially marketed under the descriptive name Beiersdorf Rubber Adhesive Film. Sales were limited. Hugo Kirchberg, a Beiersdorf employee, proposed using the shorter Tesa name for the product, and a letter from 1936 is identified as an early reference to “tesa adhesive film.” From 1941 onward, Tesa increasingly served as the umbrella designation for Beiersdorf’s adhesive tapes. Over time, the name became strongly associated with adhesive tape in Germany and developed into one of Beiersdorf’s most recognizable specialist brands. The product range expanded from household tape into a broad set of consumer and professional applications. Consumer products came to include general-purpose, masking, mounting, repair, office, and craft tapes, along with glue sticks, sticky notes, and related self-adhesive products. Industrial development focused on products that could bond, mount, mask, insulate, protect, seal, or temporarily fix components and surfaces. The company’s industrial materials are used in areas such as automotive manufacturing, electronics, electrical equipment, appliances, furniture, printing, packaging, and construction. Automotive applications include bonding or mounting for windows, sensors, displays, and other vehicle components. Tesa also pursued technology beyond conventional adhesive products. In 1998, physicists Steffen Noehte and Matthias Gerspach identified that ordinary adhesive tape could be useful as a substrate for laser-etched structures. Their work attracted support from Klaus Tschira’s European Media Laboratory. Tesa subsequently entered a development collaboration with the researchers, and in December 2001 the parties established Tesa Scribos GmbH in Heidelberg. The researchers initially retained a minority interest while Tesa held the majority. The resulting Holospot system used miniature labels containing microtext or computer-generated holographic information for product authentication, traceability, and protection against counterfeiting. Tesa later acquired the remaining shares and became the sole shareholder. The business did not develop into mass data storage; its practical emphasis was brand protection and product identification. A major organizational change occurred in 2001, when Beiersdorf separated the adhesive business from its former divisional structure and established it as an independent company, initially under the name Tesa AG. It nevertheless remained a Beiersdorf subsidiary. On March 30, 2009, the company changed its legal form to a European company and became tesa SE. The corporate separation allowed the business to operate with a more focused industrial and international strategy while retaining the resources and ownership structure of the Beiersdorf Group. The company expanded into healthcare-related adhesive technology during the 2010s, including products and technologies connected with patches that deliver medicinal substances through the skin. In October 2015, tesa moved its headquarters from Hamburg to Norderstedt-Garstedt, while manufacturing remained distributed among specialized sites. The Hamburg facility has been associated primarily with industrial products for automotive and electrical uses, while the Offenburg plant has been associated with consumer tape and related products. Tesa also acquired the TIXO brand in Austria from the former Kores business, giving it an additional locally recognized adhesive-tape name. On September 1, 2021, Leonhard Kurz acquired tesa scribos. This transaction separated the anti-counterfeiting technology business from the core tesa adhesive-products company. tesa continues as an active Beiersdorf Group company, serving consumers and industrial customers with a portfolio that includes adhesive tapes, self-adhesive materials, and engineered bonding solutions.

• 2021

  Tesa scribos is sold to Leonhard Kurz

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Leonhard Kurz acquires the tesa scribos anti-counterfeiting business.

• 2015

  Headquarters move to Norderstedt

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Tesa relocates its headquarters from Hamburg to Norderstedt-Garstedt.

• 2011

  Expansion into pharmaceutical adhesive technology

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  The company enters the pharmaceutical market through approval of patches capable of delivering medicinal substances through the skin.

• 2009

  The company becomes tesa SE

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Tesa adopts the European company legal form.

• 2003

  Holospot reaches the market

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  The Holospot system is introduced for product tracking and anti-counterfeiting applications.

• 2001

  Tesa becomes an independent Beiersdorf company

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  The adhesive business is separated from Beiersdorf’s divisional structure and established as Tesa AG.

• 2001

  Tesa Scribos GmbH is founded

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Tesa and the original researchers establish a Heidelberg-based company to develop tape-related authentication technology.

• 1998

  Tape-based laser-etching research begins

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Researchers identify adhesive tape as a potentially useful substrate for laser-etched data structures.

• 1941

  Tesa becomes the adhesive-tape umbrella name

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  The name begins to be used broadly for Beiersdorf’s adhesive tapes.

• 1936

  Early written use of “tesa adhesive film”

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Hugo Kirchberg uses the tesa name for the adhesive-film product in correspondence.

• 1935

  Transparent adhesive film is developed

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Beiersdorf develops a transparent adhesive film that later becomes associated with the tesa name.

• 1906

  The tesa name is coined

  [1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Beiersdorf employee Elsa Tesmer creates the name “Tesa” in an internal naming competition.

Premium adhesive solutions for industrial and consumer use

• Consumer adhesive products

  Consumer adhesive tapes

  The consumer range includes general-purpose adhesive tapes for household, office, craft, and everyday repair tasks. The portfolio also extends to masking, mounting, repair, and specialty tapes. These products emphasize ease of use, dependable adhesion, clean handling, and availability through consumer retail channels. In Germany, the tesa name is strongly associated with adhesive tape more generally.

• Mounting systems

  tesa Powerbond

  tesa Powerbond products are mounting solutions designed to attach objects without conventional mechanical fasteners. Depending on the product, the systems are intended for different surfaces, loads, and indoor or outdoor conditions. They represent the brand’s effort to translate industrial-style bonding performance into products suitable for household and professional installation tasks.

• Industrial adhesives and tapes

  Industrial adhesive systems

  The industrial portfolio provides adhesive tapes, films, and related materials for assembly, bonding, masking, insulation, surface protection, sealing, and temporary fixing. Products are developed for manufacturing processes in automotive, electronics, electrical equipment, appliances, furniture, printing, packaging, and construction. Performance requirements can include resistance to heat, chemicals, aging, vibration, and demanding substrates.

• Automotive materials

  Automotive adhesive solutions

  Tesa supplies adhesive materials for automotive production and component integration. Applications described for the company include vehicle windows, sensors, displays, and other assemblies. These products support bonding, mounting, masking, protection, and process efficiency where manufacturers require controlled thickness, dependable adhesion, and compatibility with vehicle materials and production conditions.

• Electronics materials

  Electronics adhesive solutions

  The electronics range serves applications in smartphones, tablet computers, displays, and other electronic devices. Adhesive products can be used to attach, insulate, protect, or manage components and assemblies. The business has supplied adhesive materials to major electronics manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, according to the referenced article.

• Healthcare adhesives · 2011

  Healthcare and transdermal adhesive technologies

  Tesa expanded into pharmaceutical-related adhesive technology during the 2010s. The area includes adhesive patches capable of supporting transdermal delivery of medicinal substances. Such products require skin compatibility, controlled adhesion, and material performance appropriate to medical use rather than ordinary household or industrial tape applications.

• Anti-counterfeiting technology · 2003

  Tesa Holospot

  Holospot was a miniature-label system developed through tesa scribos. Its small data field could contain microtext, logos, images, or computer-generated digital holograms, with optional encryption. The labels were intended for product authentication, traceability, and brand protection and could be inspected using simple magnification or dedicated analogue and digital readers. The tesa scribos business was sold to Leonhard Kurz in 2021.

• 2021

  Divest tesa scribos to Leonhard KurzM&A

  Background

  The tesa scribos business specialized in holographic and microstructured anti-counterfeiting labels rather than the core adhesive-tape portfolio.

  Action taken

  Leonhard Kurz acquired tesa scribos on September 1, 2021.

  Aftermath

  Tesa’s remaining business continued to focus on adhesive products and bonding solutions, while the authentication technology business moved to Leonhard Kurz.

  Source

• 2011

  Enter pharmaceutical adhesive applicationsProduct launch

  Background

  Tesa’s adhesive-material expertise was extended into patches designed to deliver medicinal substances through the skin.

  Action taken

  The company entered the pharmaceutical market after approval of relevant transdermal patch technology.

  Aftermath

  Healthcare became an additional application area alongside consumer, automotive, electronics, and other industrial markets.

  Source

• 2009

  Adopt the European company legal formStrategy

  Background

  The company sought a European corporate structure for its international business.

  Action taken

  Tesa AG began operating as tesa SE on March 30, 2009.

  Aftermath

  The company continued as a Beiersdorf subsidiary under the tesa SE name.

  Source

• 2001

  Separate the adhesive business as an independent subsidiaryStrategy

  Background

  Beiersdorf reorganized its adhesive activities, which had previously operated as a division, into a separate company while retaining ownership within the Beiersdorf Group.

  Action taken

  The business was established as Tesa AG and given a more independent corporate structure.

  Aftermath

  The company continued developing both consumer adhesive products and specialized industrial solutions under the Beiersdorf ownership structure.

  Source

• 2001

  Create Tesa Scribos GmbHOther

  Background

  Research into laser-etched structures on adhesive tape suggested applications in product identification and anti-counterfeiting.

  Action taken

  Tesa and the original researchers jointly founded Tesa Scribos GmbH in Heidelberg, with Tesa initially holding the majority stake.

  Aftermath

  The business developed the Holospot system and later became wholly owned by Tesa before being sold to Leonhard Kurz in 2021.

  Source

• 2021

  Leonhard Kurz acquires tesa scribos[1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Leonhard Kurz acquired the tesa scribos anti-counterfeiting and product-identification business on September 1, 2021.

• 2015

  Tesa relocates headquarters to Norderstedt[1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company moved its headquarters from Hamburg to the Nettelkrögen industrial park in Norderstedt-Garstedt.

• 2009

  Tesa AG becomes tesa SE[1]Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company adopted the legal form of a European company and began operating as tesa SE.

1. 1Tesa SEen.wikipedia.org
2. 2tesa official websitetesa.com