The first heat-shrinkable sleeves were introduced as polyethylene pipeline coatings started to replace bituminous or tape coatings in the oil and gas industry. At the time, the processing for polyethylene to make the sleeve backing was new technology and the adhesives used in sleeves were much the same as those used on pipeline coating.
The technology used to make sleeves has advanced significantly since then, with new methods of cross-linking the polyolefin backings and new-generation adhesives that are formulated to provide performance under more-demanding pipeline conditions.