What 3F does

3F GmbH Klebe- & Kaschiertechnik is a privately held German manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Plüderhausen, Baden-Württemberg, with a wholly-owned US subsidiary (3F North America Inc.) operating from Charlotte, North Carolina since 2012. The company develops and produces a modular portfolio of self-adhesive products organized into transfer and double-sided tapes with multiple carrier options (transfer, scrim, fabric, film, paper fleece), foam tapes (PE, PU, PVC, EPDM/cellular rubber), single-sided tapes for building envelope applications, a 2025-launched HPA (High Performance Adhesive) line using proprietary UV-crosslinking technology, and certified low-emission variants. Underlying technology is solvent-free coating with polyacrylate and hotmelt adhesive chemistries on multiple coating plants and converting lines, spanning an aggregate 16,000 m² of production area at headquarters producing "millions of square meters" of self-adhesive material annually.

Name

3F

Legal name

3F GmbH Klebe- & Kaschiertechnik

Website

https://3f-gmbh.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

3F is a privately held German manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes serving automotive, construction, electronics, healthcare, and energy industries, with solvent-free coating technology and a wholly-owned US production subsidiary in Charlotte, NC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Adhesive Tapes

NAICS

Adhesive Manufacturing (32552), Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing (326112)

SIC

Adhesives & Sealants (2891)

akta.pro primary industry

Tapes, Labels & Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (IMAEAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Adhesives (Structural & Assembly) (IMAEAGAH), Sustainable Labels, Adhesives & Inks (Wash-Off Labels, De-inkable Inks, Low-VOC) (IMALAMAJ)

Keywords

• Technical adhesive tapes
• Double-sided tapes
• Foam adhesive tapes
• Contract coating services
• Industrial bonding solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Plüderhausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Adhesive Tape Products: Manufacture and sale of technical adhesive tapes including transfer tapes, double-sided tapes, foam tapes, and single-sided tapes. Products sold in various formats including slit rolls, long rolls, and cross-wound spools. Customers include industry companies, trading companies, and adhesive tape converters.
2. Contract Coating Services: Toll coating services where customers provide materials (felts, nonwovens, films) that are coated with adhesives. Includes strip coating, full-surface coating, and lamination services for various substrates including acoustic damping materials for automotive and aerospace, wind turbine components, and construction materials.
3. Private Label Products: Custom-branded adhesive tape products manufactured under customer brand names. Includes printed carrier materials, individual single roll packaging, branded cores, and fully printed cartons. Particularly for building envelope applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

3F develops and manufactures technical adhesive tapes, including transfer tapes, double-sided tapes, foam tapes, and single-sided tapes, using solvent-free polyacrylate and hotmelt adhesive coating processes. The company also offers contract (toll) coating and lamination services where customer-supplied substrates such as felts, nonwovens, and films are coated with adhesives. Products are sold via direct, consultation-based sales to industry companies, trading companies, and adhesive tape converters across automotive, construction, electronics, healthcare, and energy sectors.

Product overview

3F is a developer and manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes offering a comprehensive portfolio of self-adhesive products organized into several core product lines. The main categories include transfer and double-sided adhesive tapes available with various carriers (carrier-free, scrim, fabric, film, paper fleece) and foam tapes in different materials (PE, PU, PVC, EPDM/cellular rubber). The company also offers single-sided adhesive tapes for building envelope applications, HPA (High Performance Adhesive) tapes featuring UV-crosslinking technology, certified adhesive products (including EMICODE-certified low-emission tapes), private label customization services, and contract manufacturing for custom coating and lamination. Products serve diverse industries including automotive, transport, household/electronics, construction, healthcare/hygiene, and energy. The company operates from headquarters in Plüderhausen, Germany (since 1998) and a North American facility in Charlotte, NC (since 2012).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transferklebebänder ohne Träger (Transfer Tapes without Carrier) Carrier-free transfer adhesive tapes consisting only of adhesive film, offering minimal thickness and cost-effective pricing for large-area bonding applications.
• Klebebänder mit Fadengelege (Adhesive Tapes with Scrim) Adhesive films reinforced with embedded polyester threads, offering enhanced stability and easier processing compared to carrier-free tapes while maintaining low thickness.
• Gewebebänder (Fabric Tapes) Double-sided fabric-backed adhesive tapes providing robust construction with excellent flexibility and suitability for narrow slit rolls, commonly used for fixation, floor installation, and repairs.
• Folienbänder (Film Tapes) Double-sided film adhesive tapes with PP or PET foil carriers, known for high tear resistance and stable construction, suitable for universal applications including mounting.
• Papiervliesklebebänder (Paper Fleece Tapes) Double-sided paper fleece adhesive tapes with thin, hand-tearable carriers providing high flexibility and cost-effective pricing, frequently used in automotive and paper industries.
• PE-Schaumbänder (PE Foam Tapes) Polyethylene foam adhesive tapes with closed-cell surfaces offering excellent weather resistance, used for sealing, insulation, and damping applications in both indoor and outdoor environments.
• PU-Schaumbänder (PU Foam Tapes) Polyurethane foam adhesive tapes with open-cell structure providing excellent insulation properties for thermal insulation and acoustic damping applications.
• PVC-Schaumbänder (PVC Foam Tapes) Polyvinyl chloride foam adhesive tapes with chemical resistance and flame retardancy, suitable for indoor and outdoor sealing applications in windows, doors, and vehicles.
• Zellkautschukbänder (EPDM) (Cellular Rubber Tapes) EPDM, CR, and natural rubber foam adhesive tapes offering high resistance to heat, weather, UV radiation, and chemicals for exterior sealing applications.
• HPA-Klebebänder (High Performance Adhesive Tapes) Advanced UV-technology adhesive tapes with adhesives processed at low temperature and crosslinked through targeted irradiation, offering excellent resistance to heat, moisture, and chemicals without solvents or VOC.
• Einseitige Klebebänder (Single-sided Adhesive Tapes) Single-sided adhesive tapes with various carrier materials including kraft paper, films, PP spunbond, and Tyvek, designed for building envelope applications such as pitched roofs, windows, and facades.
• Private Label Adhesive Tapes Custom branding service offering adhesive tapes with individually designed printed carriers, packaging, cores, and cartons for customer-specific private label products, particularly for building envelope applications.
• Zertifizierte Klebebänder (Certified Adhesive Tapes) Adhesive tapes certified for specific applications including EMICODE for low-emission indoor air quality and other industry-specific certifications such as DIN 4108/11 and DIN 18234.
• Lohnfertigung (Contract Manufacturing / Toll Coating) Custom coating and lamination services for applying adhesive coatings to customer-provided materials such as felts, nonwovens, films, and other substrates, including stripe coating and material composites.

Quantifiable outcome

• Producing millions of square meters of self-adhesive materials annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• H.B. Fuller Company: Global industrial adhesives manufacturer serving packaging, construction, automotive, and hygiene markets. Overlaps with 3F in industrial bonding applications and pressure-sensitive chemistries, though H.B. Fuller is much larger and more diversified across liquid adhesives.
• Avery Dennison: Global pressure-sensitive materials and labels company serving packaging, graphics, and industrial segments. Comparable to 3F in pressure-sensitive adhesive manufacturing and converting, but with a much larger global footprint and more focus on labelstock.
• 3M Company: Global industrial conglomerate with a major Industrial Adhesives & Tapes division covering transfer, double-sided, foam, and specialty tapes. Competitor to 3F in nearly every served vertical, but at vastly larger scale and with much broader product breadth.
• Nitto Denko: Large Japanese diversified materials company with a substantial industrial tape division serving automotive, electronics, and infrastructure. Overlaps with 3F's industrial tape portfolio but operates at much greater scale and broader end-market reach.
• Saint-Gobain (Adhesives & Tapes): French building products giant with significant specialty tape and adhesive offerings in construction, automotive, and industrial markets. Competes with 3F particularly in building envelope tapes, while operating a much broader materials portfolio.

Direct peers

• Scapa Group: UK-headquartered specialist in technical adhesive tapes for healthcare, industrial, and construction markets. Comparable to 3F in product breadth, customer verticals, and specialization on differentiated, application-specific tapes rather than commodity offerings.
• Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG: German specialty adhesive tape manufacturer with a comparable Mittelstand profile to 3F, focused on industrial bonding and converting. Overlaps directly with 3F in transfer tapes, foam tapes, and custom-coating services for automotive, electronics, and medical customers.
• Intertape Polymer Group: North American manufacturer of specialty and pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes with industrial, construction, and OEM customers. Comparable to 3F's Charlotte, NC operation in geography and product mix, with significant overlap in building envelope and industrial bonding tapes.
• tesa SE: Beiersdorf-owned German manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes serving automotive, electronics, and construction. Closest direct peer to 3F by product portfolio, geography, and customer base, though tesa is dramatically larger and more global.

Emerging players

• ADDEV Materials: European specialty tapes and converting services provider for industrial, aerospace, and medical markets. Comparable to 3F in the contract coating/toll manufacturing service line and in custom industrial tape offerings, though with a different geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3F