The first polymeric tapes were launched in the pipeline industry in the mid 1950ies. Polymeric tapes have been used worldwide for the external corrosion prevention of buried pipelines since then.

The most common tape production process is laminating an adhesive layer (bitumen mastic, mastic or butyl rubber) onto a PE-or PVC-carrier foil. Many tape coatings, especially 2-ply tapes, are manufactured in this way. By repeating the lamination process and adding an adhesive layer on top of the PE-carrier foil, a 3-ply tape structure can be achieved.

A more sophisticated and complex way to produce tapes is to manufacture them in a coextrusion process. The coextrusion process technology requires more than one polymer melt stream as each melt stream is produced by its own extruder. This process requires a lot of technical expertise. However, the effort is more than justifiable, since the product properties and, in particular, the long-term behavior are significantly increased and improved.

On top of high-quality requirements of products and fulfilment of international standards like ISO 21809-3 and EN 12068, a clear additional focus is placed on using as little material as possible and avoiding waste. Likewise, no hazardous substances to health & environment (like primers) should be used and the work steps for the applicator should be reduced to the minimum.

This presentation will give explanations to the different manufacturing processes of laminated and coextruded tapes and how one is able to distinguish between different kind of tapes. The presentation will also introduce the latest innovative development of a 3-ply coextruded tape, which for the first time worldwide does not require a primer and includes corrosion prevention and mechanical protection in only one product and with only one application step.