Renewing the everyday with adhesive material performance: Our expert answers your top 10 adhesive questions

Sascha Butter

Global Manager for Innovation Excellence, UPM Adhesive Materials

In today’s fast-evolving materials landscape, adhesives play a critical role in enabling performance, sustainability and circularity across industries. At UPM Adhesive Materials, we don’t just formulate adhesives – we innovate solutions that connect with your needs.

So, what’s the story behind our adhesives? We sat down with Sascha Butter, Global Manager for Innovation Excellence, to tackle this sticky subject and answer your top 10 adhesive questions.

1.

Do you mix or polymerize your own adhesives?

Yes. We develop and control the adhesive formulation process, overseeing everything from polymer architecture to end-use-specific performance. This guarantees recipe ownership, innovative leadership and consistent quality. We also use flexible sourcing model for select materials when it adds value in terms of efficiency, footprint or speed. Regardless of origin, every adhesive meets UPM’s standards for reliability, sustainability and quality control.

2.

What trends are shaping the adhesive industry?

Circularity, high-performance logistics and regulatory transparency are reshaping the market. UPM is leading this transformation by embedding sustainability, compliance and data transparency into adhesive performance.

3.

What adhesive technologies do you offer?

Our portfolio includes water-based acrylics, hot-melt platforms and advanced specialty adhesives. We offer solutions for permanent, removable, wash-off and open-closure needs – tailored for moist and chill, migration-safe and extreme cold applications.

4.

How do your adhesives perform across different substrates?

Our adhesives are engineered for reliable performance on plastics, glass, metals, paper and recycled-content materials – even curved or textured surfaces. Performance is validated through global labs and customer trials.

Adhesives are quiet enablers of progress – driving circularity, durability and design in everyday applications.
Sascha Butter, Global Manager for Innovation Excellence

5.

Do you design your own adhesives?

Absolutely. Our adhesive expertise connects excellent product quality with sustainability. We innovate to meet your needs – and to earn your trust.

6.

Can adhesives be customized for specific applications?

Yes. We fine-tune tack, peel, shear, clarity, coat weight and resistance to meet exact end-use requirements. From high-visual impact to deep-freeze logistics, we adapt adhesives to your ambition.

7.

How do your adhesives perform under extreme conditions?

Our adhesives are validated for deep-freeze (down to -180°C), heat spikes, UV exposure, chemical resistance and sterilization cycles – ensuring durability in the most demanding environments.

8.

Do you support testing and validation?

We do. Our global testing centers and technical teams run pilot trials, provide compliance documentation and help optimize your production processes – because your success is our priority.

9.

Do you offer joint development or co-innovation?

Yes. We run structured co-innovation programs with customers and partners. Under NDA, we align on performance targets and sustainability KPIs – moving from concept to commercial scale together.

10.

Are your adhesives compatible with packaging recycling processes?

Definitely. We offer PET wash-off adhesives, clean-removal solutions for plastics and repulpable grades for paper. Many of our products are externally approved for compatibility with PET, HDPE, PP and paper recycling streams – supporting packaging circularity.

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