CONSUMER SEGMENT OFFERS
GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
During tough economic times, consumers oftentimes put
off hiring contractors for projects and opt instead to save
money and to undertake these projects themselves.
“The DIY segment offers the most opportunity in this
type of market,” said Fuller. “Consumers may downgrade
the size and cost of home improvement projects, but they
will continue to invest into their homes because they
wish to take care of and properly maintain them. In addition, DIYers and energy conscious homeowners represent
an ideal audience to promote and educate the benefits
related to home weatherization such as energy conservation and utility cost reduction.”
“Within the adhesives business, the consumer-related
segments such as adhesives for craftsmen and consumers, or packaging, consumer goods and construction
adhesives exhibited more stability overall,” said Schmidt.
The trend toward sustainability and lowering VOCs
continues to pick up steam in the adhesive and sealants
market. “VOC and related regulations continue to be
implemented and expanded dictating manufacturers to
formulate new and more environmentally friendly products,” said Fuller. “We have taken a proactive approach
and formulate products which exceed these expectations.
A good example is our new DAP 3.0 Advanced Sealants
that were formulated with virtually no VOCs.”
“Sustainability is of great interest to customers who
are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint,”
said Meehan. “It is more than just a decision between
water-based adhesive versus solvent-based adhesives,
however, as the term, ‘sustainability,’ can have many different meanings and interpretations. Some customers
are interested in the overall impact from a Life Cycle
Analysis point of view. It is still debatable, however,
whether customers will pay more the more sustainable
solution. Manufacturers of adhesives and sealants will
have to consider sustainability issues in all new product
development efforts going forward.”
NEW ADHESIVE & SEALANT TECHNOLOGY
Royal Adhesives and Sealants LLC has launched new
VOC compliant Silaprene Contact Adhesives. Silaprene
low VOC Contact Adhesives are EPA compliant and cus-tomizable to meet the needs of its industrial customers.
For use in the transportaion, assembly, foam and furniture, HVAC, recreational vehicles and marine industries, these new contact adhesives and cements contain
less than 250 grams per liter of VOCs, compared to
more than 600 grams per liter of VOCs in traditional
solvent-based adhesives and cements.
“This new line of Silaprene brand low VOC adhesives
and contact cements can be tailored to the application
requirements of our customers without requiring large
minimum orders which allows us to work with customers
on all sizes of potential applications,” said Ted Clark,
CEO, Royal Adhesives and Sealants LLC. “Royal’s experienced research and development department works
closely with industrial customers to develop new products and modify existing products that will meet their
needs for green strength, application times and physical
properties.”
Henkel’s Macroplast UK 8340 is the first polyurethane
adhesive to be certified by Germanisher Lloyd for bonding
rotor blades for the wind power sector. “Wind turbines must
perform reliably for a specified service life of 20 years without
major repairs,” said Schmidt. “And the rotor blades of large
turbines have to satisfy especially stringent standards
regarding fatigue strength. Conventionally, they are bonded
together by using epoxy adhesives certified for this application by Germanischer Lloyd (GL). With Macroplast UK 8340,
Henkel is now the first company to develop a GL-certified
polyurethane adhesive for rotor-blade production.”
Macroplast UK 8340 two-component system features
rapid curing, which means considerable energy saving
potential. It also features excellent wetting, which shortens time consuming and costly preliminary work such as
sanding and laminating.
AKZONOBEL ACQUIRES
EAST EUROPEAN ADHESIVES BUSINESS
AkzoNobel Industrial Finishes has acquired the
wood adhesives activities of Kronochem, the chemical arm of Kronospan, a global producer of wood
panels, MDF, chipboard, laminate flooring and
board resins. The transaction includes a long-term
tolling agreement under which Kronochem will utilize its manufacturing capacity and production
expertise to produce wood adhesives for Casco
Adhesives, a global producer of wood adhesives and
a significant player in the board resin industry.
Kronospan is already a toll manufacturing partner
in Russia and China.
“This is a strategic bolt-on acquisition which will
strengthen our portfolio in a key region and boost
our technological capability,” said Leif Darner, the
AkzoNobel board member responsible for performance coatings. “Eastern Europe is a major production center for some of the biggest and most innovative furniture manufacturers and we can now
strive for the productivity needed to prosper in this
part of the world.”
The acquired wood adhesives business is located
in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and
Slovakia, an area regarded as a primary growth
region for the future. Their products support applications for the furniture industry, including veneering, curved plywood, edge glue panel, doors, shuttering and three-layer boards. AkzoNobel’s own
European production for wood adhesives is centralized at two plants in Sweden.
