DELO Industrial Adhesives has named Torsten Uske president of its North American subsidiary, DELO Industrial Adhesives LLC. Uske, 38, joined DELO in Germany in 1999 as an application engineer after he completed technical university studies. He later served as a Regional Sales Manager for the company, handling a variety of industries and technologies in international sales before becoming Chief Representative at DELO’s office in Shanghai in 2004.
Seven years later, he joined the North American subsidiary as Sales Manager, based in Santa Clara, CA. With his new appointment, Torsten Uske is now heading the drive to build up the company’s business on this side of the Atlantic. He describes how it is pursuing this goal.
PD&D: DELO is a relative newcomer in North America when it comes to having staff on the ground. When you and your people meet with customers, what do you use as your major selling points? How do you distinguish DELO and its products and solutions from competitors?
Torsten Uske: We stress solutions that meet customer requirements and make production more efficient. We want to build strong relationships and trust with new and existing customers, where they see us as a partner, not just a supplier. Our customers can rely on DELO as their adhesive specialist, with access to worldwide support capabilities. That’s important because most of them outsource manufacturing overseas; we can help and support their manufacturing all over the world. From a target market standpoint, our business in North America is more narrowly focused than what DELO does in Europe, where we cover a wide range of industries and end users, from producers of credit cards to shower enclosures. Our strategy is to use our most innovative adhesive solutions – and build critical mass in a number of core markets.
PD&D: What are DELO’s strongest sectors and most promising growth markets in North America?
Uske: Definitely automotive sub-supply, for such components as automotive camera modules and their insertion into car bodies, also automotive sensors and switches of all types. Solid state lighting and optics are very promising, along with a wide range of MEMS, or micro-electromechanical devices. We are very interested in consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, including components used in these devices. We are aware that these devices are not manufactured in North America at the moment, but manufacturing and purchasing decisions are made here.
PD&D: From a customer perspective, how does the North American market differ from Europe in terms of its choice of adhesive technologies, for example, thermal cured vs. UV/light cured?
Uske: Generally speaking, the same adhesive technologies are used in both regions. For competitive reasons, we are more focused on our core competencies in North America, like UV- and Dual curable adhesives or very fast-curing, one component heat-curing adhesives (for example, curing temperatures below 80’C). Mature adhesive technologies, like anaerobic adhesives and two component adhesives, are not the main focus at this time.
PD&D: What are some of the applications in North American industry where you are seeing the switchover to the latest generation of adhesives from either legacy products or other bonding solutions?
Uske: Pretty much those markets that we are targeting right now like automotive sub-supply. We also see lots of opportunities in those newly emerging fields where new adhesive technologies are necessary like MEMS applications, solid state lightning, and optical applications.
DELO Industrial Adhesives, one of Germany’s small- and mid-sized companies (SMEs) with more than 300 employees, has established a global presence in the expanding marketplace for intelligent bonding technology. While family-owned, DELO has over 50 years of expertise in industrial adhesives, the past three have been among its best ever in terms of increasing revenues. Rapid growth has earned DELO a spot in the top 50 fastest growing companies in the German state of Bavaria, among 1,500 companies rated.
Five years ago, DELO formed DELO Industrial Adhesives LLC to represent it in the Americas. DELO considers entrepreneurial investment as an essential strategic keystone for the future development of the company as a whole.
Bonding in Electric Motors
DELO Industrial Adhesives (Boston, MA) has expanded its lineup for bonding magnets and other components in electric motors with two new anaerobic/light-curing adhesives: DELO-ML DB136 is a fluorescent adhesive for easy application control; DELO-ML DB180 is a dual-curing fluorescent adhesive with a high viscosity, ideal for applying on vertical surfaces. Features include:
– A solvent-free formula.
– Curing by exclusion of oxygen under the influence of metal ions and by exposure to visible or ultraviolet light.
– Flexibility at elevated temperatures.
For more information visit www.delo-adhesives.com/us/.
