German brand Tesa is one of the world's leading brands in the field of self-adhesive products and system solutions. Dating back to 1890, Tesa played a very important role in the development of tape technologies around the world.
Tesa's success story begins with an unsuccessful experience of developing a Band-Aid. Pharmacist Paul C. Beiersdorf, Dr. He was working on a Band-Aid when Oscar Troplowitz took over the laboratory from him in 1890. The Band-Aid adhered perfectly but was irritating to the skin. Troplowitz made it his pleasure to develop a better product and introduced the first technical adhesive tape in 1896.
The last quarter of the 19th century was the period when the foundations of many inventions that we use even today were laid. As in other fields, many inventions were made in the health and pharmaceutical sector, and it was desired to both achieve commercial success and be beneficial to humanity by obtaining the patents of these inventions and starting mass production.
During this period, German pharmacist Oscar Troplowitz focused his studies on adhesives at Heidleberg University. In 1890, he bought the pharmacy and pharmaceutical laboratory Beiersdorf AG, operated by pharmacist Paul Carl Beiersdorf in Hamburg, and started to work there.
Paul Carl Beiersdorf received his first patent in 1882 for the manufacture of medical adhesive dressings and focused on band-aids. The Band-Aid he developed had a strong adhesion feature; however, it was irritating the skin surface during removal. Oscar Troplowitz thought that if they developed this invention and brought it to the market, they would both achieve a very important success in the health sector and achieve a great commercial success from the sale of the product.
By 1896, they had not developed the band-aid they wanted. However, they had made many inventions on self-adhesive tapes. The first technical adhesive tape was launched on this date. They used brand names such as Nivea, Leukoplast, Labello for their first products. The name Tesa, on the other hand, was formed from the first two letters of the surname and the last two letters of the secretary Elsa Tesmer, who was the office clerk and manager of the company from April 1903 to October 1908. This name was specially chosen because it was both different and memorable.
The Rise of the Tesa Brand
The Tesa brand name was originally used for many of the company's products. Moreover, in the early 1900s, the product range was developing rapidly, and this name was used for products in quite different groups such as toothpaste as well as adhesives. However, the company found the main commercial success in the area of adhesive tapes and wanted to increase its brand recognition with this product line.
Transparent rubber bands, the last product group in which the Tesa name was used, were first introduced to the market on February 17, 1936. The most important role in the development of the product belonged to 25-year-old Hugo Kirchberg, who has just started working at Beiersdorf AG. As a matter of fact, Kirchberg provided a significant change in the production technique used by the company in its transparent rubber bands and was able to produce these products in 2 different lengths and 6 different widths in colorless-crystal-clear, yellow transparent, yellow coated and black coated versions. Immediately after, different colors of these products started to be produced. Also on this date, the first tape cutting machine was invented and put into use.
After the Second World War, the industrial food sector in Europe started to revive and the importance of shelf life increased. In this period, tesa tapes began to be used in many areas from dried fruit cardboard packaging to jam jars, from bread boxes to various food packaging. In other words, these products not only provided a change in the band production technique, but also paved the way for the development of the industrial food industry and the packaging industry. Depending on the prolongation of the shelf life, the product variety in the industrial food sector has gradually increased.
The rise of the company in the world market gained momentum in the 1970s and its products achieved a high level of recognition. During this period, R&D engineers started to receive more than 50 new patents on average every year, and advanced adhesive tape solutions were met with great interest in the industry. As its product range expanded, its practical solutions also increased and its multifunctional product groups brought great commercial success in the field of tape.
Sub-brands such as Tesakrepp and Tesamoll, which the company developed over time, gained great momentum in the world market during this period. As a matter of fact, Tesakrepp tapes, which have created significant changes in the dyeing industry, have become a world classic among masking tapes. Tesamoll tapes have become one of the most important building materials that protect living spaces against heat, sand and insects. With its other sub-brands, the company has pioneered the development of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape technologies.
You will also find the two names mentioned in this success story in Nivea's success story. Because the two names who created Tesla are also the inventors of the Nivea miracle.