The Portuguese Secretary of State for International Trade and Foreign Investment, Bernardo Ivo Cruz, and the Mayor of Charlotte, Vi Lyles, inaugurated the modern facilities of the Portuguese company Colquímica Adhesives on the west side of Charlotte. 

About a year and a half after it started its operation in 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, the American subsidiary of the hot-melt adhesives for industrial applications company represents a 20% increase in the group’s global annual production capacity.

“I’m very pleased with the first 18 months of this new unit,” says Sofia Koehler, chairman of Colquímica Adhesives Inc., in front of an extensive delegation of representatives of Portuguese and American institutions. “In Charlotte, we found the ideal conditions to accelerate the globalization of the company’s activity and explore the enormous potential of the North and Latin American markets.”

With an initial investment of $12 million, the company has already added another $500,000 for technological modernization. The state-of-the-art production facility incorporates high levels of automation and robotization in all production stages. With this focus and aiming for the continuous increase of production and storage capacity, Colquímica Adhesives has already projected an additional investment of $2 million over the next 12 months.

The company has also engaged with local suppliers and partners. Since beginning operations in 2021, Colquímica Adhesives has spent over $6 million with U.S. suppliers, of which $5.5 million was with North Carolina companies.

The opening of the facilities in the United States represented a new stage in the sustainable growth path of Colquímica Adhesives, adding to the two units in Portugal and one in Poznan, Poland, which was inaugurated in 2013. Throughout its history, the company has continuously increased the number of employees, export markets and sales volume.

With a production capacity of 71 thousand tons of industrial adhesives per year (156M pounds), the group reached a record turnover of $124 million in 2021, estimating $165 million in sales for 2022.  Colquímica Adhesives employs a total of about 400 employees from 17 different nationalities and is one of the largest global players in the hot-melt adhesive industry.

Launching a new production unit and commercial operation on a new continent, in the context of a global health crisis, was a great adventure for Colquímica Adhesives.

“This challenge was only overcome due to the enormous resilience, commitment and unity that from day one our teams have shown,” adds Koehler. “We are immensely proud of the three dozen employees we have in Charlotte who have quickly adopted our culture, and we’re excited to increase the number of employees by almost 50% over the next two years.”

In 2022, the U.S. subsidiary is expected to account for 7% of the group’s total turnover, with about $12 million in sales. That value is expected to grow more than 50% next year, reaching $20 million and representing 10% of the Colquímica Group’s global invoicing.

With almost 70 years of activity, Colquímica Adhesives currently exports its products to more than 60 countries, serving mainly the markets of personal hygiene and nonwoven, mattresses, packaging, paper conversion and product assembly.