The adhesives and sealants industry has a continuing need to close the gap between formulators in the R&D laboratory and end users in the manufacturing and applications environment. Surprisingly, these disparate groups may be worlds apart in terms of day-to-day experiences and expectations regarding product performance. A variety of methods can be used for success in the final stages of the new product development cycle, in situproduct testing (including application procedure optimization) and end-user training as part of commercialization.
In the coatings industry, testing the application process and educating customers in dedicated facilities is commonplace among multi-national companies. Last September, PPG announced the establishment of an applications testing and training facility in Wisconsin, in addition to the expansion of its Allison Park, Pa., applications laboratory, while The Sherwin-Williams Co. has had three separate technology centers in operation for several years. The objective of these captive facilities is to test, optimize processes, validate quality and train the sales force. Importantly, these are also places where the companies can engage with customers in a setting that replicates an environment similar to what is found on the manufacturing floor without the inconveniences of borrowing production time at their customers’ expense.