The future is electric – also in adhesive application

02. July 2025 3 min.

Rolf Gräser, Industry Manager Packaging

Industry is changing. Efficiency, sustainability and cost pressure demand new approaches – and many companies have long since switched from compressed air to electrical solutions. No wonder, because compressed air is expensive, inefficient and high-maintenance. There are also attractive options for moving away from compressed air in adhesive application.

Two men looking at a tablet conclude that electric application heads are worthwhile Electric application heads are worthwhile in every respect.

Let's start with the application head. Air-free application heads really do offer many advantages: less downtime, lower energy consumption, significantly lower operating costs.

In short: if you switch to electric today, you will save money tomorrow – and be ready for the day after tomorrow. In this blog article, I will show you four compelling reasons why it is worth making the switch.

Less maintenance. More production.

Just imagine: Your production line runs 24 hours a day – thousands of products are glued every hour. Every unplanned downtime costs money. This is what happened to one of our customers in Malaysia. In his production hall, drinking straws run on a conveyor belt around the clock – and every one has to be glued onto the beverage packaging with pinpoint accuracy. With pneumatic application heads, this always meant additional work: the application heads had to be replaced every few weeks. Seals wore out quickly, valves blocked – production interruptions and unplanned maintenance were the order of the day.

At the beginning of 2025, the pneumatic application heads were replaced by modern, electric jetting heads. No more compressed air, no more dynamic seals – and suddenly things were running smoothly. These application heads will not have to be replaced for another five to six years. The return on investment? Long since achieved after three months.

As you can see, electric application heads drastically reduce maintenance efforts, extend service life, and simply cause less trouble. If you want to produce continuously, you do not just save money here, you also increase the operational reliability of your production.

Two Volta electric application heads for straw application on beverage packagings Straw application: Stress-free adhesive application with electric application heads.

Why compressed air costs more than you think

Compressed air sounds harmless at first glance – but in reality, it is a real energy guzzler. Its efficiency is often below 20 %. Leaks, pressure losses, complex compressor systems: All of this makes compressed air the most expensive form of energy in production.

Electric application heads work entirely without this inefficient system. They do not require a compressor, compressed air hoses or pressure regulators – and are significantly quieter, more precise and more reliable. Energy consumption is reduced, as are operating costs.

In many applications, switching to electric heads saves tens of thousands of euros – year after year. What's more, it paves the way for completely compressed air-free adhesive application. Combined with an electric pump system, you do not only make your production more efficient, but also future-proof.

Volta: Electric application head without compressed air Electric application head: A step in the right direction.

Less adhesive consumption. More efficiency.

What is the biggest cost factor in industrial adhesive application? Exactly, the adhesive itself. And this is where hot melt stitching comes in: Instead of applying continuous beads, the application is broken up into smaller sections – short beads or dots. This saves adhesive without impairing adhesion.

This is made possible by electric application heads, which can apply many small dots of adhesive with a high switching frequency and high operating cycles – without the wear and tear of dynamic seals as with pneumatic application heads.

A real-life example: A customer in India packs chocolate bars in secondary packaging – 20 boxes per minute, day after day. In 2024, they switched to electric application heads and changed the adhesive application from continuous beads to hot melt stitching. The result: 43% less adhesive consumption. That's around €15,000 in savings every year – on adhesive alone. The investment paid off after just a few months.

Volta electric application head in action: hot melt stitching on wrap-around packaging Hot melt stitching: no problem with electric application heads.

Think sustainably. Act economically.

Sustainability is no longer a green extra – it has become an economic necessity. Saving energy, avoiding material waste, using resources efficiently: those who do this today not only reduce costs but also strengthen their competitiveness.

Electric application heads make a decisive contribution to achieving these goals. They do not require expensive compressed air, consume less energy, last longer – and also significantly reduce adhesive consumption thanks to hot melt stitching. This reduces the carbon footprint and makes your production fit for new requirements from customers, legislators and markets.

Those who switch now are not just investing in technology – they are investing in future peace of mind. And that pays off twice: ecologically and economically.
What are your experiences with electric application heads? Write a comment to us and tell us about your experiences!

Rolf Gräser, Industry Manager Packaging

Rolf Gräser has worked in the packaging industry for 30 years. As Industry Manager Packaging at Robatech in Muri, Switzerland, he uses his in-depth expertise to incorporate the environmental and economic needs of the market when developing new adhesive application systems and components.

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Less maintenance. More production.

Why compressed air costs more than you think

Less adhesive consumption. More efficiency.

Think sustainably. Act economically.

Rolf Gräser, Industry Manager Packaging

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