2024 ASI Top 20: DELO Industrial Adhesives

DELO produces industrial adhesives for automotive, consumer electronics and semicon applications, as well as dispensing and curing equipment. The company’s total sales for its 2023 fiscal year (ended March 31, 2024) reached €229 million (approximately $249 million), a 12% increase over the 2022 fiscal year.

For the 2023 fiscal year, DELO reports that approximately half of its sales were generated in Asia, with the other half divided between Europe and North America. The most important pillars in terms of sales were the semiconductor, automotive, and consumer electronics markets. Since high R&D expenditures are part of the company's strategy, the company again invested approximately 15% of revenues in research and development for fiscal 2023.

In 2023, the company celebrated the 25^th anniversary of its management buyout, in which managing partners Sabine and Dr. Wolf Herold took over the company, making it again an independent family business. The company had 1,080 employees at the end of its 2023 fiscal year and expects that figure to reach 1,150 by the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Some of the company’s brand include: DELO DUALBOND (dual-curing adhesives and sealants), DELOLUX (UV-curing lamps), and DELO-DOT (jet-dispensing valves).

"After a few challenging years due to COVID-19, strapped supply chains and the war in Ukraine, all of which prompted constant rescheduling of logistics processes, this past fiscal year could be characterized as more routine," said Dr. Wolf Herold, managing partner of DELO. "Nevertheless, there was great uncertainty among our customers as a result of a more cautious global market, making our twelve percent increase all the more remarkable."

NOTES: DELO’s entrance into the medical electronics industry occurred within fiscal year 2023.

The company recently successfully acquired land on which to build an additional production facility in Malaysia. The new site is located near Kuala Lumpur. Major investments are also being made at headquarters in Windach, Germany. Construction work is underway for a fully automated 6,000 m² warehouse.

In April of this year, the company started producing its own green electricity after completing and commissioning a photovoltaic system with almost 4,000 panels across all roofs on its campus in Windach, Germany. In addition, DELO also made expansions to its American offices in Boston and San Jose.

Opening image courtesy of DELO Industrial Adhesives.

More on DELO Industrial Adhesives

• DELO Installs Photovoltaic System for Green Electricity
• Automotive and Electronic Adhesives Manufacturer Increases US Presence
• DELO Expands into the Medical Electronics Industry
• Achieving Flexibility in Adhesive Curing