PROGRAMME
11th Afera Technical Seminar
"Navigating the Future of Adhesive Tapes:
Transforming Challenges into Opportunities"
The provisional programme can be found below. Please check regularly for updates.
The Afera European Tape Week 2025 kicks off with the 11th Technical Seminar, starting with a networking dinner on Monday, September 22nd. The seminar runs on Tuesday and concludes Wednesday afternoon with a joint session opening the Annual Conference. From Thursday, the conference continues. Committee Meetings take place on Monday for committee members only.
Monday, 22 September 2025
12.00 - 19.00
09.00 - 12.30
Check-in at Afera registration desk - Hotel Lobby
Afera Technical Committee Meeting - Room: Ephesus II+III
Afera Marketing Committee Meeting - Room: Epidaurus I
12.30 - 14.00
Luncheon for TC + MKC + SC Members - Prefunction Area
14.00 - 17.30
Afera Steering Committee Meeting – Room: Epidaurus I
19.00 - 21.00
Opening dinner Technical Seminar
An informal networking dinner at the Hotel restaurant veranda, exclusively for Technical Seminar attendees and all Committee Members.
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
09.00 - 19.00
Check-in at Afera registration desk - Hotel Lobby
Conference Room - Grand Ballroom
Session 1: New PSA Chemistries
Session chair: Reinhard Storbeck
09.00 - 09.10
Opening remarks by the TechSem Chair and Session 1 Chair
Reinhard Storbeck, Director of R&D at tesa SE (Germany) / Afera Technical Committee Chair
09.10 - 09.30
Biodegradable polymers: Recent advances in sustainability of acrylic dispersions for PSAs
Prof. Nicholas Ballard, Research Associate at Polymat-University of the Basque Country (Spain)
09.30 - 09.50
LED UV-curable acrylics / hotmelt PSA
Moritz Arnold, PD Chemist for Acrylic UV HM PSAs at Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany)
09.50 - 10.10
LED bulbs for curing of PSA
Petra Burger, Process Development Engineer at Dr. Hönle AG (Germany)
10.10 - 10.40
Networking break - Prefunction Area
10.40 - 11.00
Sticky secrets from nature: Bio-inspired adhesion for innovative material
Sidney Rostan, Founder & CEO at BIOXEGY (France)
11.00 - 11.20
Faster drying of water-based PSAs for specialty tapes: Improving drying behaviour by polymer design
Dr. Christoph Scholten, Principal Scientist - Application Development, Adhesives at Synthomer Deutschland GmbH (Germany) / Afera Technical Committee Member
11.20 - 11.40
Intrinsically flame-retardant polymers
Anita Barni, Sustainability & Innovation Director at ICAP-SIRA Chemicals and Polymers SpA (Italy) / Afera Marketing Committee Member
11.40 - 12.25
Panel discussion with speakers and audience Q&A
12.25 - 13.30
Business Luncheon - Prefunction Area
Session 2: New Perspectives
Session chair: Christoph Scholten
13.30 - 13.50
High solid content tackifier dispersions: Less water is more sustainable
Dr. Stephan Kobben, Global R&D Associate Adhesives at Lawter, Inc. (The Netherlands)
13.50 - 14.10
Improve mechanical testing results with automation
Oskar Gnant, Head of Sales – Automatisation at ZwickRoell GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
14.10 - 14.30
Full automation in the lab: Latest developments in mixing, formulation, testing and measuring peel adhesion
Carine Marcos, Sr VP Workflow Design at Chemspeed Technologies AG (Switzerland)
14.30 - 15.00
Networking break - Prefunction Area
15.00 - 15.20
Combining machine learning with AI to achieve faster development of PSAs
Stefan Keller, Senior Account Executive at Citrine Informatics (Germany)
15.20 - 15.40
Deep-knowledge integration in AI software for adhesives and coatings
Marco Schmid, Lead Data Scientist at ai-predict GmbH (Germany)
15.40 - 16.00
AI tool for quicker development projects, including adhesives use cases
Sarah Najmark, Co-founder and CEO at Osium AI (YC S23) (France)
16.00 - 16.45
Panel discussion with speakers and audience Q&A
18.00 - 19.30
Cocktail reception
with hors-d'œuvres – Oceana Poolside Restaurant at Hotel
19.30 -
Free evening - Selection of restaurants available
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
09.00 - 19.00
Check-in at Afera registration desk – Hotel Lobby
Session 3: New Production Technologies
Session chair: Matthias Renka
09.00 - 09.20
UV hot melt coating: An exciting technology, integrated
Tim Self, Director at TS Converting Equipment Ltd. / Elite Cameron (United Kingdom)
09.20 - 09.40
TBA
Mikko Rissanen, Director of Technology at UPM Specialty Papers (Finland)
09.40 - 10.00
Double-sided simultaneous coating station for silicone application
Konstantin Martynov, Sales Engineer at Kroenert GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
10.00 - 10.30
Networking break - Prefunction Area
10.30 - 10.50
Proof of concept: How pyrolysis can be applied to the adhesive tapes industry, its role in sustainability, limitations and opportunities
Marco Karber, CEO and Founder of AES Autonome Energiesysteme GmbH (Germany)
10.50 - 11.10
Is sustainability just a PCF value?
Ian Grace, Technical Sales Manager at artimelt (Switzerland) / Afera Technical Committee Member
11.10 - 11.55
Panel discussion with speakers and audience Q&A
12.00 - 13.00
Business luncheon: Opening luncheon of 68th Afera Annual Conference - Prefunction Area
Conference Room - Grand Ballroom
Joint Session of TechSem and Annual Conference:
Sustainability and Regulation
Session chair: Ian Grace
13.30 - 13.35
President’s welcome / Opening of 68th Annual Conference
Evert Smit, Afera President
13.35 - 13.40
Setting the stage by Conference hosts
Sonja Haug, Global ESG, Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Loparex (Germany)/ Afera Marketing Committee Chair
Brenden Drijgers, Marketing Manager at Kraton Corporation (The Netherlands) / Afera Marketing Committee Member
13.40 - 14.20
Keynote: Chemicals and sustainability: Why is it so hard to do the right thing?
Denis Hicks, Founding Board Member at Triple Helix Group (Belgium)
14.20 - 14.45
The adhesive tape industry and the doughnut economy, CSRD and quadruple bottom line, incl. a report on PSTC's Tape Week
Evert Smit, Director Scouting for Sustainability, Technology & Innovation at Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) / Afera President
14.45 - 15.15
The Digital Passport and consequences for the tape industry
Dr. Martin Klatt, Head of Product Stewardship Dispersions and Resins – Global Substance and REACH Co-ordinator at BASF (Germany)
15.15 - 15.45
Networking break - Prefunction Area
15.45 - 16.10
Afera’s Flagship Sustainability Programme (AFSP): Key learnings and updates on driving sustainability in the adhesive tapes business
Karla Pastor, Sustainability Project Manager at Afera (The Netherlands)
16.10 - 16.35
Adhesive tapes regulation in Europe: Afera Regulatory Working Group report on Afera’s latest actions and upcoming topics
Pablo Englebienne, Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability Manager at Afera (The Netherlands)
16.35 - 17.00
The E.U. Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and its implications for the European adhesive tape industry
Speaker TBA - European Commission (Belgium)
17.00 - 17.45
Panel discussion with speakers and audience Q&A
This session marks the conclusion of the 11th Technical Seminar.
19.00 - 23.00
Welcome cocktails & dinner - Cocktails & Dinner: Oceana Poolside Restaurant at hotel (exclusively for Annual Conference delegates and those with a combined ticket for both events; dress code: smart casual)