Hidden champions – how Adhesive Technologies from Henkel are part of everyday life

Adhesives are more versatile than you might think. From the smartphones in our hands to the cars we drive, from high-speed rails to artificial intelligence, our innovative adhesive solutions are everywhere. Whether it is in the routine of daily life or the extraordinary moments that define history and shape megatrends, our solutions are the bonds holding it all together. We have collected eight examples from different areas of life, business, and industry to show you the comprehensive expertise and versatility of these technologies.

#1: In charge of the future of mobility – helping your cars to stay fueled

If you’re driving an electric car, chances are high that innovative solutions from Henkel Adhesive Technologies are on the road with you. To ensure that the batteries in electric vehicles are efficient and safe, Henkel offers solutions such as debondable adhesives and sealants, battery conductive coatings, battery safety coatings, and thermal interface materials, which enhance the durability, thermal management, and circularity of the battery.

#2: Your smartphone at your fingertips

If you own a smartphone, you likely have experienced the annoying fingerprints on your device. That’s why the Loctite InvisiPrint Glass coating was developed by Henkel Adhesive Technologies' Business Accelerator NBD Nano. The coating distributes oils across the screen, thereby hiding and reducing haze caused by fingerprints on the display. It not only keeps the screen clean, but also protects it from scratches and abrasion, ensuring a longer lifespan. 

#3: Adhesives supporting patient wellbeing in blood glucose monitors

A key challenge in managing chronic diseases is ensuring patient comfort with less invasive devices. In diabetes, continuous glucose monitoring ‏(CGM) allows patients to track blood sugar levels with sensors that display data on any cell phone. These devices must be reliable and accurate to be safe and support effective treatment. Our conductive materials, needle bonding, encapsulation, and skin-friendly adhesives ensure reliable CGM patches. With accurate real-time monitoring, patients can also optimize insulin injections. By combining design expertise with customer input, a more user-friendly device was created, enabling easier glucose monitoring and timely insulin injections.

#4: Your online shopping delivered in plastic-alternatives 

Have you ever wondered how your online shopping packaging arrives at your doorstep with the goods intact? Or why the packaging sometimes is made from plastic and sometimes made from cardboard or paper? Our innovative EPIX technology transforms paper into a powerful alternative to plastic. By replacing bubble wrap with lightweight cushioning, we enhance shipping envelopes with impact resistance without adding extra weight. This breakthrough EPIX technology extends to a wide range of paper products – from shipping bags to beverage cups or food packaging – by adding barrier properties and thermal insulation. Now, paper packaging is better protected against water, grease, and temperature changes, all while remaining fully recyclable.

#5: Ready, set, snack 

We all want our foods to taste good, last a while and, of course, come in packaging that keeps it safe and fresh. The demands on food packaging are high and our solutions from Adhesive Technologies are the game-changer when it comes to food-safe packaging. Whether it’s the wrapper of the protein bar consumed after the gym, fresh food packaging for meats or cheese or the packaging of condiment sachets – our flexible laminates are a highly specialized solution, combining material layers with different characteristics to bring out the desired features for each individual packaging. By reducing the thickness and the number of layers needed, packaging becomes lighter, easier to recycle and helps to reduce the impact on the environment.

#6: Hitting your athletic goals with the right footwear 

High-end sports shoes have long since made their way from the gym to the office and into everyday street styles. Working with major brands, Henkel delivers not only cutting-edge technology and materials but also customized solutions to meet industry challenges. Shoes are complex to make since they consist of multiple layers made from different materials, ranging from rubber outsoles and foam midsoles to leather and fabric uppers as well as linings, insoles and more. By using adhesives, these different materials can be bonded together, while offering flexibility and comfort, allowing the shoe to bend and stretch along with the foot. Adhesives are a key enabler for brands to be able to use innovative materials, creating lighter and more comfortable shoes that enhance athletic performance. Our solutions are designed to simplify and shorten the traditionally labor-intensive manufacturing process.

#7: From furniture to floors – home is where the adhesives are

Whether it’s a DIY project, wallpaper, or the windows you have installed in your homes – adhesives help you make your house a home. Our adhesives are, for example, used to lay floor tiles, or in insulating facades to ensure balanced temperatures and lower energy consumption, or for sealing and bonding around windows. In one of the rooms you probably spend time in every day – the kitchen – edge sealing, for example, plays a crucial role in several areas of the furniture and construction industries. It helps protect countertops from moisture and steam, stabilizes cut edges, and seals the narrow surfaces of particle boards.

#8: From streets to skylines: adhesives that keep our cities connected 

Whether it’s a skyscraper downtown, a museum or an airport – chances are high that solutions from Adhesive Technologies are found there. Around the world, apartment buildings, high rises, or office complexes are increasingly built with wood. If you examine a piece of the engineered wood that’s being used, you'll see that it consists solely of wood and adhesive. The adhesive is the key element. Since high-rise buildings must be fire-resistant, our experts developed fireproof bonding agents that also ensure the structure is resistant to warping. And regarding sustainability, our adhesives enable even wood scraps to be certified as building material, making them reusable in other construction areas if needed.