In 1982, tesa Plant Sparta became the first U.S. location for Germany-based tesa SE. It makes self-adhesives for a number of industries including appliance, automotive, building supply and electronics to name a few.
The Sparta location manufactures special tapes for appliances, automotive and packaging applications. tesa plant Sparta currently employs 125, but that number will grow with demand for adhesive products.
tesa SE is making a $35.6 million capital investment expanding its Kent County location. The groundbreaking in the Village of Sparta will add eco-friendly production technology and other state-of-the-art equipment. The investment is expected to add 25 new jobs.
For tesa, the expansion location came down to Michigan or Massachusetts. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and regional economic development organization, The Right Place, worked with tesa providing a Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant of up to $450,000. The village of Sparta is offering a 50-percent property tax abatement.