The Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC) is sponsoring Tape Week 2025, taking place May 5–8 at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, which just minutes from O’Hare Airport. A leading event for the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape industry, Tape Week provides customized learning and networking opportunities during a crucial period of transformation for the industry. With a new PSTC president, shifting economic trends, and an emphasis on industry sectors, participants can discover how these changes align with their organizational objectives. The annual event provides attendees with the latest in polymer and adhesion science, as well as the most up-to-date information about markets and applications within the industry. With the theme, "Charting the Course," this year's tape week will provide attendees with the right tools to meet the ever-changing needs of their customers.  

The Tape Academy

The PSTC offers a comprehensive educational program called Tape Academy. This program provides a series of unique and powerful classes covering all aspects of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape design and manufacture, including topics such as polymer technology, PSA tape manufacturing, fundamentals of PSA tape applications, and key technology areas of PSA tape. This year, the PSTC is offering its "Adhesives & Advanced Technologies" course on Monday, May 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Tuesday, May 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This two-day course will cover polymer technology as it applies to PSA tapes and will include a discussion of polymer properties, adhesive types, chemistries and properties, surface science, and theories of adhesion, among others.

The ESG Sustainability Track:

On Tuesday morning, the PSTC will again offer its ESG Sustainability Track. The track, which will run from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and will feature speakers covering topics including: an update on U.S. environmental compliance and global product stewardship, global waste and the sustainable future for pressure-sensitive materials, smart adhesives that offer debonding on demand, the product carbon footprint of self-adhesive tapes, natural rubber in PSAs, APR wash-off performance, and resilience as companies move to a more sustainable future. Speakers for the ESG Sustainability Track include Cathy Stewart, a retired R&D scientist at Intertape Polymer Group; Sean George, a senior scientist at BASF Corp.; Paul Schwitter, COO at ATP Adhesive Systems AG; Michel Mies, head of product development at tesa tape; Calvin Frost, chairman of Channeled Resources Group; John Goetze, senior environmental consultant at Trinity Consultants; Mark Hawes, managing consultant at Trinity Consultants; and Daniel Riendeau, strategic business unit director — Packaging, at Flexcon.

Spring Leadership Forum, Keynote Address, and Poster Session

This year's Spring Leadership Forum will take place on Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The forum will include an economic update on what to expect in 2025 and beyond by Alex Chausovsky, director of analytics and consulting at Bundy Group and this year’s keynote speaker. Sam Richter, founder and CEO of SBR Worldwide/Know More, will also speak. He will give a presentation that discusses a company's digital footprint and the benefits of managing your digital presence successfully.

The Spring Leadership Forum will be followed by a lunch and the general session and keynote address, which will be given by Sam Richter. Known for his in-person keynote presentations and online programs, Richter is the author of the book, "Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling," a publication that outlines how to find information online and use it for sales success. He is a member of the boards of directors for Brandpoint, a top global content management platform, and Argos Risk, a software platform specializing in business financial health and credit monitoring. Additionally, he serves as an advisor and partner to various technology, big data, and sales organizations.

Tuesday afternoon will feature the annual Innovative Poster Display from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The display offers exhibiting companies a chance to showcase their latest technologies in a relaxed setting that will include refreshments and networking.

Technical and Market & Application Tracks

Tape Week offers two concurrent tracks during the conference: the Technical Track and the Market & Applications Track. Topics covered in the Technical Track sessions include: medical adhesives, the application and analysis of constrained layer dampers, a method for screening the minimum application and service temperatures of PSAs, hot-melt technology, coating water-based PSAs, resins in UV-cure acrylate adhesives, tackifier dispersions, acrylate-based stretchable adhesives, characterizing the cure of silicone release coatings, nanoparticle dispersions in waterborne acrylic PSAs, waterborne adhesive technology for high-performance tape backings, and biodegradability testing for sustainable adhesive development.

The Market & Application track is offering the following sessions: an overview of the global and North American pressure-sensitive tapes market, a look at trends and opportunities for PSA tapes in home exterior weatherization, a review of acrylic PSA trends in building and construction tapes and membranes, a housing market outlook report, a presentation on AI implementation that gives a strategic guide for the tape industry, a presentation about the versatility of hot-melt adhesives in security systems, a report on the global tape market by AFERA President Evert Smit, and various panel presentations, including a review of medical applications for PSA tapes.

Showcase Lunch

Tape Week's annual exhibitor showcase and networking lunch will be held on Wednesday, May 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The showcase offers attendees and exhibitors a chance to form strategic connections and create new partnerships. More than 40 exhibitors will present their latest technologies for the industry during the showcase. Attendees and exhibitors have an opportunity during this part of Tape Week to get ahead of the next big thing in the industry while solidifying existing connections and creating new partnerships.

For additional information about Tape Week 2025, visit pstc.org/tape-week-2025.