Challenges and Opportunities of Foaming Water-Based Adhesives
Foaming is not a new concept; plywood has been manufactured using this technology for many years. The first attempt to bring foaming to the converting market occurred in the 1980s. This failed due to resistance from adhesive and converting equipment manufacturers. Today's end users are more informed about the benefits associated with foaming. In addition to substantial adhesive cost savings, adhesive end users understand that products manufactured with foamed adhesive have less warp, resulting in another cost savings: less waste. This has presented adhesive manufacturers with puzzling challenges, but has left the adhesive end user with the double benefit of cost savings plus better product.