Mondi Release Liner Sets its Sights Firmly on North America
Mondi Group, a provider of paper and packaging solutions, has joined the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC). PSTC is the leading North American trade association for release liners and is fully committed to further supporting its existing assets and presence in the region’s tape industry.
Over the past nine months, Mondi has focused on better understanding the needs of the tape manufacturers specific to relevant markets. “As a result,” notes Rakesh Kumar, Business Solutions Manager – North America, Tapes and Medical, Release Liner, “we are revamping our product portfolio to introduce a line of polycoated and glassine liners for various double- and single-coated products.”
Mondi has long been an active member of Afera, the European Adhesive Tape Association. Now, the firm’s U.S. Release Liner business has become a member of the Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC). The 60-year-old PSTC is dedicated to helping the industry produce quality pressure-sensitive adhesive tape products for the global marketplace.
“Mondi is well represented in this region and definitely intends to stay and grow,” said Jon Bast, Vice President-Sales in the Americas, Release Liner. The company has a pair of Release Liner plants – one in Pleasant Prairie, WI and one in Leonia, NJ – plus a logistics centre in Minneapolis, Minn.
“Mondi has a strong commitment to the tape industry with a clearly defined strategy and the resources to further strengthen its existing position in the U.S. The company draws on an extensive tape industry experience,” noted Alex Schwab, Business Development Director, Release Liner. Mondi is a leading supplier of silicone-coated and speciality release liners. Its comprehensive range of substrates, silicone systems, and printing and finishing capabilities enables it to tailor customized products to meet users’ needs. Mondi Release Liner not only oversees a fully integrated value chain, but can also procure kraft paper and special substrates, both internally and externally.
“Mondi in Europe,” Schwab said, “has a number of coaters running two-sided coated liners in one pass, covering paper, film and polycoated substrates. Besides having an established supply chain via a network of warehouses throughout the U.S., we are now putting an additional strong, strategic focus on our U.S. operations.”
A good example of Mondi’s ability to assess and serve specific industry needs in the tape market, notes Kumar, is its development of an innovative fluorosilicone liner. “We also are one of the few companies, for example, to offer a thin, PET film silicone-coated, back-printed release liner.”
Additionally, he notes, the company has dedicated, competitive assets supporting the market, including a modern siliconizing plant in its Chicago-area facility in Pleasant Prairie. The firm also is staffed with dedicated market experts who understand the various tape end uses and markets, which allows them to suggest the best possible solutions. Mondi’s global technical team is a great resource for offer well-informed alternatives.
There’s no doubt that North America remains a key global market: The region accounts for 27 percent of the global release liner market, according to 2017 data from Dutch market research firm AWA Alexander Watson Associates BV. By comparison, Asia accounts for 38 percent and Europe 28 percent.
