(Yicai Global) Dec. 12 -- Bostik, a French industrial adhesive specialist, sees great potential in China's electronics market as the fourth industrial revolution powers the rise of smart manufacturing in the country, according to senior executives at the firm.

As products get more lightweight, manufacturers have shifted to using more engineering adhesives and technical polymers, rather than welding or mechanical fastening with nuts and bolts, Steve Edwards, regional engineer and adhesives business director at Bostik APAC, told Yicai Global. This has provided new opportunities for the smart bonding solutions maker.

As a chemicals company, Paris-based Bostik needs to anticipate megatrends, Polivio Goncalves, its head of engineering adhesives, said in an interview on Dec. 10. These days, it's all about miniaturization, about things getting smaller and smaller. It's about better sustainability, more drastic legislation, making things faster and better, he added.

China's adhesives and sealants market accounts for 52 percent of the whole of Asia. As a manufacturing hub that produces the most televisions, computers, tablets, smart phones and electric vehicles in the region, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5.91 percent over the five years to 2023, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence.

But China also presents its own set of challenges, Goncalves said. Its diverse needs mean that Bostik has to create multiple centers with different strengths across the country. For example, the emphasis in Shanghai is on marketing, communications and innovation, while in the south of China, implementation must be excellent. Bostik continues to invest in research and development in China to be closer to its customers.

China-US trade frictions also make the market more unpredictable, Goncalves added. The world is already very complex, but now it is uncertain whether there will be new tariffs or boycotts from day to day.

To remain ahead of the game, Bostik has taken over firms that supply specialist technologies that it does not have. It recently acquired Afinitica, a Spanish company specializing in instant adhesives known as cyanoacrylate, and Nitta Gelatin, a Japanese specialist in UV system technology.

In November, the firm launched Born2Bond™, an instant gap-filling adhesive repair product that can be applied to wearable devices including earplugs, headphones and monitors as well as electronic equipment in electric bikes and new energy automobiles.

Founded in 1889, Bostik is a leading global adhesive specialist in construction, consumer and industrial markets. It was acquired by the Arkema Group in 2015 from French multinational oil and gas company Total. Last year, Bostik's revenue was EUR2 billion.