BÜHNEN is a company active in the field of hot-melt adhesives and their application equipment. The company exists since 1922 and was always working in machining and joining industries. Since the 2000s, hot-melt adhesives is the only focus of the company and activities are based on 4 pillars.
With own personnel, the company is active in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and United Kingdom. Various other markets are covered by local partners who act in the same way as BÜHNEN.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
BÜHNEN: BÜHNEN has a unique position in the market due the combination of offering hotmelt adhesives as well as the related application equipment. That combination of Know-How makes us special – and a very valuable partner for our customers.
No matter what goes wrong in your bonding process – we are there with best-in-class knowledge to support. Usually, you must talk to 2 separate people – one who is supplying the adhesive and one who is supplying the application technology. And often enough you find yourself trapped in the middle.
With BÜHNEN you do have a one-stop-shop mentality which is enriched by service within our premises or at customer site as well as compatible spares for units of other producers.
Due to the variety of industries in which we are present, we have a wide portfolio that range from mechanical handguns to floristry up to 200-liter drum melters for the automotive industry.
BÜHNEN is your partner of choice when it comes to hotmelt – no matter which industry you are in.
E.E: What’s the news for 2021 about new products?
BÜHNEN: We will be launching 2 new mechanical handguns.
- The HB 225 and the HB 326.
- The HB 225 is a pleasure to work with all day long. The slim device lies well in the hand. The convenient stand allows you to place the glue gun safely. A new feature is the LED status display, which clearly indicates when the working temperature has been reached. The temperature can be adjusted precisely to the degree, so the glue is treated gently. A 3 mm nozzle is already pre-mounted and can be replaced by other diameters.
The HB 326 is a real powerhouse! 600 W quickly brings the machine up to operating temperature. The HB 326 can handle 18 mm sticks and is the largest of our mechanical handguns.
It has a large melting chamber, so that it can be used for a longer period without refilling a stick. There is a wide range of alternative nozzle sizes for the HB 326.
On the adhesive side we are launching a new product to the market. We talk about a thermostable hotmelt which is perfectly suitable for the concrete industry (production of pre-cast walls). It enables smoother and more efficient processes.
Further we are in the phase of testing a series of certified bio-based products in which a defined share of „green” raw materials is used.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
BÜHNEN: Bühnen stands on 4 main pillars:
- Hotmelt adhesives for various industries – and here we talk about EVA, PO, PA, PU, PES as well as other thermoplastic rubbers.
- Application equipment for those hotmelts from handguns to drum melters
- Compatible spare parts for application equipment of other manufacturers
- Service and maintenance at our premises and customer locations
We are present in a wide range of industries from packaging, automotive, electronics, construction, floristry etc.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
BÜHNEN: The markets are mostly saturated in one way, but some are evolving intensely and re-inventing or re-thinking applications which come along with different requirements towards adhesives. One example is the current trend towards online shopping which drastically increases the need for packaging and thus also for bonding and using adhesives.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
BÜHNEN: There are various trends which are either macro or micro based.
One of the macro trends is the ageing population and the increasing number of single person households with a demand for smaller pack sizes etc.
Further the trend to convenience / ready to use food and drinks come with an increased need of packaging.
The trend to e-commerce was already mentioned in a prior aspect. In a range of industries, we see a trend towards automatization and standardization which also comes with more use of cobotic solutions.
In various industries we also face increasing interest for bio-based products with a sustainable footprint.
In the application unit development, the trend to IoT and connectivity e.g., smart units is clearly seen, and we respond to that.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
BÜHNEN: We do have a cartridge gun which has a built-in level indicator which is new to the world and helps to have a better process control when using the 310 ml PUR cartridges.
To support this processing, we do further have a very innovative cartridge pre-heater which can heat up cartridges of 310 ml in order to allow working without waiting time as you do not need to heat up the cartridge in the application gun, but you already get in heated up – and this via digitally controlled heat chambers.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2021?
BÜHNEN: Due to Corona but even more due to shortages in raw materials and constraints in logistics and supply chain, 2021 is a challenging year. Nevertheless, we are confident that we will see a strong year 2021 in which we can expand in supporting our customers around the world.
With the existing supply challenges, we can deal well as we have an established network of partners with whom we work and are further filling up our warehouse capacities in order to outweigh potential shortfalls in raw materials. Still the unpredictable market causes some uncertainty also at the site of our customers.