Tell us a bit about your business? When were you founded, where are you based and how many people do you employ?
PPI Adhesive Products was established in Waterford, Ireland in 1970 and commenced production in Waterford Industrial Estate in 1971. We are looking forward to celebrating our 50 year manufacturing anniversary in 2021.
Our headquarters remain in Waterford, where the vast majority of our manufacturing is conducted. We also have our facility producing bespoke release liners on Valentia Island, just off the South West coast of Ireland. From this base, we are active in all six continents in more than 50 countries worldwide, with approximately 160 employees. PPI Adhesive Products is proud to have been one of the first self-adhesive tape companies to receive the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system certification.
What does the business do?
We produce an extensive and sophisticated range of technical adhesive tapes, laminates and die-cuts for a wide range of applications, most notably in the automotive – including commercial vehicle – electrical, electronic, aerospace and medical sectors, as well as a wide range of tapes for specialised industrial and high-tech applications.
We coat, convert and die-cut our own products, giving us full control and flexibility to meet the growing demands of the industries we support.
For the automotive industry, we work with companies to advise, develop and supply solutions for their challenging adhesive tape and bonding applications. Our range of products includes high temperature ID labels, thermal management materials, RFI/EMI shielding, thermal and electrical insulation, mounting tapes, seal tape for airbag inflators, tyre ID labels and ‘anti-squeak’ tapes. For the growing electrical vehicles sector we supply thermal management and insulation products for battery cooling. We work with all levels of the industry from vehicle manufacturers to Tier 3 suppliers.
One of our main strengths is our ability to produce customised tapes and die-cut pieces to individual customer specifications, including small quantities for short runs.
How is business? What’s the outlook for the year ahead?
2020 has undoubtedly been, and continues to be, a very challenging year. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted business operations and demand worldwide. Manufacturing and supply chains have been affected in different ways, depending on market segments, trading partners and business models.
The automotive sector has had its own unique challenges with widespread reduction of production and employee numbers.
As our company is not solely dependent on any one industry or geographical market we have had some protection from the decrease in business activity. While 2020 revenues will not match the 2019 results, our business forecast is still positive.
As it now seems that a second wave of the pandemic is inevitable, the challenging times will continue into 2021. We will also have to deal with the anticipated disruption to business as a result of Brexit.
Having said this, we remain optimistic that there are plenty of opportunities for our company to continue to develop and grow our product range and market share over the next number of years.
What are the big issues or technological advances that fill you with positivity?
As a company we pride ourselves on our flexibility and ability to meet the demands of the ever changing industries we serve. In our 50-year history we have had to continuously find new opportunities and develop new products to meet customers’ specific requirements.
While Covid-19 may restrict our ability to meet in person with our valued customers, we have embraced the various digital meeting platforms that are the new normal.
In the automotive sector, the continuing growth in the electric vehicle sector will present us with new opportunities. At PPI the glass is still definitely half full!
Adam Kidgell, Sales Manager, PPI Adhesive Products Ltd and Tony Fisher, Sales Manager, PPI Adhesive Products Ltd
