Henkel opens European hub for aerospace adhesive solutions

Source | Henkel

Henkel (Düsseldorf, Germany) has opened a new production facility for aerospace applications at the Henkel site in Montornès del Vallès, Spain. Part of the company’s adhesive technologies business unit and representing an investment of about 35 million euros, the new plant is intended to support key trends in the global aerospace industry such as lightweighting, fuel efficiency and automation.

The new aerospace plant is located near the company’s existing adhesives production plant for the automotive industry. It features dedicated production, labs, offices and warehouse capacities and spreads out over an area of about 14,000 square meters. Designed as a smart operations site, the facility reportedly uses Industry 4.0 technology for collaborative engineering and manufacturing execution. The new plant will become Henkel’s European hub for the aerospace industry and will increase the capabilities for global customers as well.

The building itself is said to be the first production building in Spain with DGNB certification as a green, sustainable building, due to Henkel’s use of renewable energies and smart technologies for equipment and infrastructure.

Henkel develops and supplies engineering materials to global aircraft customers responding to some of the major industry challenges such as lightweight for higher fuel efficiency and increased comfort. Source | Henkel

Henkel’s adhesive technologies unit is developing and supplying engineering materials, such as structural adhesives and surface treatment technologies, for global aircraft manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in the industry. The company offers close customer collaboration and involvement as early as the design phase, with support ranging from material development and qualification through the assembly and manufacturing processes at the customers’ sites.

“Aerospace is a very attractive growth market for us, because the global demand for new passenger aircrafts is expected to double over the next 20 years,” explains Jan-Dirk Auris, executive vice president of Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “With the new high-tech facility, we significantly expand the capacities for our leading high-impact solutions that are specified on all major aircraft platforms and increase our capabilities to develop next-generation materials for future programs. At the same time, we enlarge our global production and distribution network and enhance the proximity to our strong customer base in Europe.”