Afera, the European Adhesive Tape Association, has announced that the topic “Debonding on Demand in View of the Circular Economy” has been added to the 16-seminar working programme created and curated for its 67th Annual Conference set to take place at the Hyatt Regency in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 25 to 27 September 2024. The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Matthias Popp of Fraunhofer IFAM, one of the most important independent research institutes in Europe in the field of adhesive bonding technology and surfaces.
Themed “Taping Our Future”, Afera’s premier event for the European tapes business is already set to welcome at least 150 participants from 15 countries across Europe, Asia, the U.S. and the Middle East for critical networking and deep diving into the hottest tape issues. Three separately themed working sessions on 25, 26 and 27 September will cover Market Data & Trends, Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability, and Current Tape Applications & Technology Highlights. Social activities have also been planned to frame and enhance each day’s schedule, such as a “5 senses” tour of Thessaloniki on Thursday and long networking coffee breaks and organised conference lunches, drinks and dinners on each day.
Soaring registration numbers
“With less than a month to go, we are happy to reveal that registration has been soaring compared to previous years,” commented Astrid Lejeune, secretary general of Afera. “Why? Because we listened to our members’ feedback about what they value in an event. Our planning committee has responded by putting together an excellent working programme featuring 16 seminars, expert panel discussions, and plenty of networking time for both commodity and specialty adhesive tape professionals.
“One industry expert has already said on LinkedIn that ‘this is possibly the best programme ever,’” Lejeune continued. “Not only are many tape manufacturers going to attend, but a number of notable end users such as IKEA Sweden and FlexEnable, and interest is further demonstrated by the industry sponsors that are still signing on.”
Attendees will come away from Afera’s Annual Conference with fresh knowledge and perspective on
• Global and European market data, trends and forecasts from three separate experts
• Adhesives raw materials, trends and challenges
• AI in the new era of business and manufacturing
• Regulatory and sustainability affairs affecting tape-related businesses, including ESG, CSRD, ESRS and LCA
• Afera’s new PCF calculation tool for adhesive tapes
• Updates from the North American and Asian tape industries
• End-user experiences (IKEA Sweden and FlexEnable)
• Multi-process converting.
Focussed working group
A focussed working group within Afera’s marketing committee consisting of delegates from Loparex Europe, Kraton, Bostik, Organik Kimya, ICAP-SIRA Chemicals and Polymers, ABI Tape, Atlas Tapes and Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG have formulated the rich and varied content of the event.
Those who participate in Afera’s three-day Thessaloniki Conference come from best-in-class businesses within the commodity and specialty industrial adhesive tapes value chains, including manufacturers of tapes; raw materials, machine and packaging suppliers; converters of tapes; research institutions; national tape organisations, and other international counterparts, such as PSTC (North America), JATMA (Japan), CATIA (China) and TAAT (Taiwan). The event is geared towards Afera members; however, non-members are permitted to attend one time in order to familiarise themselves with the industry collective, its network, activities and projects.