Spooling Toward a Faster, More Efficient Future
"Time is money."
This familiar saying captures a core truth in manufacturing: speed and efficiency are essential for productivity, scalability, consistency, and customer satisfaction. The ability to deliver high-quality products quickly and reliably can be the difference between leading the market and lagging behind.
One technology helping manufacturers meet demands for both speed and efficiency is spooling, a process that enables streamlined, high-volume production. Spooling involves winding long, continuous lengths of material such as foam, film, or tape onto a spool, a cylindrical device designed to store and dispense these materials efficiently. This format allows for extended production runs with fewer interruptions, reducing changeovers, enhancing repeatability, and minimizing downtime, all while maximizing throughput.
At the Granville, New York site, the Tape Solutions team has installed advanced spooling equipment to complement our strong product portfolio of bonding and gasketing tapes, and to provide additional value to our customers.
To better understand the strategic thinking behind this new capability and the value it brings to customers, we spoke with Joe MacDonald, Development Manager, and Rachael Dufour, Product Manager for Norbond® and Green Glue®.
How is Tape Solutions positioning itself to stay competitive in the growing acrylic bonding market?
Joe: The global acrylic bonding market is set to hit $20.14 billion by 2028, growing at a 6.10% CAGR, fueled by demand across automotive, aerospace, and construction industries.
Tape Solutions is meeting this demand with Norbond UV Acrylics, a cleaner alternative to solvent-based tapes, offering a significantly lower environmental footprint.
To support high-volume applications, especially in automotive and EV, Tape Solutions has invested in spooling technology to deliver customized, automation-ready products.
What does the new spooling capability entail, and how does it benefit customers?
Joe: Our new spooling machine installation is designed to produce two-sided adhesive materials, primarily foams, in a spooled format (see picture above). The process includes die cutting, applying a secondary liner, and traverse winding. The equipment is built to meet critical specifications and deliver key capabilities, including:
- Slit widths: 4–25 mm (±0.3 mm)
- Secondary liner widths: 8mm–40 mm
- Kiss-cutting/fingerlift capability
- Product lengths: <1,600 meters with -0% / +1% length accuracy
- Spooled widths: <305 mm ( up to 12")
- Spool OD: <360 mm (14")
- Configurations: Biconical and Flat
Which industries benefit most from spooled tape products, and how are they applied?
Rachael: Spooled tapes are especially valuable in mobility and industrial sectors.
In mobility, they support automation-driven applications like wheel weight attachment, OEM exterior bonding, and trim attachment, where precision and long continuous runs are critical.
In industrial markets, they’re used for bonding trims and profiles, and in residential window framing, where extended lengths improve installation speed and reduce waste. Custom formats, including specific widths and liner configurations, are tailored to meet the needs of fabricators and construction professionals.
What role does automation play in the need for spooled formats?
Joe: Spooled formats are essential for high-volume taping applications. Automation providers are entering the market with solutions for industries like automotive and construction, and these systems rely heavily on tapes in spooled format.
A key differentiator is the ability to quickly deliver trial-ready spooling solutions for customer testing. Our internal spooling capability gives us greater control over production quality and lead times, enhancing responsiveness and accelerating validation.
What Tape Solutions products are best suited for spooled formats?
Rachael: Products like Norbond Polyurethane Tapes (V2800, Z500, E500) and Acrylic Tapes (Z3100, Z2000, Z800, A7600) are commonly used in high-volume applications.
We also offer single-sided Norseal® Foam Tapes and Norgard® Film Tapes in spooled formats. However, the best solution depends on the customer’s process and substrates.
Our applications team works closely with customers, often starting with a Spooling PRO (Product Requirements Outline), to ensure the format is optimized for their automation equipment.
What’s next for Tape Solutions in its spooling journey?
Joe: While we’re currently focused on optimizing spooling for acrylics and polyurethanes, we’re actively exploring additional formats, including foam and film tapes for construction and industrial markets. This is part of our broader strategy to support automation and deliver tailored solutions across key industries and best support evolving customer needs.
As global manufacturing accelerates toward higher levels of automation, material providers must evolve to meet these demands. Tape Solutions is investing in spooling capabilities to deliver customized adhesive roll formats designed for high-volume, automated applications. Combined with our robust portfolio of bonding and protection tapes, these capabilities position us to grow alongside industries like automotive, EV, industrial, construction, and mobility.
In a world where “Time is Money,” Tape Solutions is building the future of advanced manufacturing. Connect with our team today to learn how our new solutions can support your needs, now and in the future.