This month's editorial roundup from Managing Editor Brian Hayes.

Brian Hayes
This issue features our sixth annual Raw Materials, Chemicals
and Additives Handbook. As in previous years, this year’s handbook has been
updated and expanded with many new categories and definitions, as well as an
increase in supplier listings.
The listings are divided into five major categories: Additives and Chemical
Specialties; Oils and Fatty Acids; Resins and Base Polymers; Pigments and Dyes,
Dry/Dispersions and Extenders; and Solvents. Each category features several
subcategories. The directory is set up with a definition of each material
followed by the names of suppliers who provide the material. Products are
listed alphabetically under each major category.
While our staff made every effort to contact the entire community of materials
suppliers to our industry, we may have inadvertently excluded some. If you are
a materials supplier and would like to receive information on purchasing
listings in next year’s Raw Materials, Chemicals and Additives Handbook, please
contact Peg Van Winkle at (614) 760-4222 or e-mail
vanwinklep@bnpmedia.com.
Also this month, an application engineer with Henkel Corp. discusses the latest
in high-tech dispensing equipment for two-part adhesives. According to Tom Buckley, understanding the
formulation of a two-part adhesive is a critical first step in choosing a
dispensing system because of the influence certain adhesives can have over
equipment variables, such as reactivity of dispensing components, shot size,
and how material is fed to the valve. See “Dispensing Two-Part Adhesives” for
more information.
“Air Barrier Properties and Building Envelope Science” provides an overview of
current and future government initiatives designed to stop unwanted air
filtration into residential homes and commercial buildings through the
construction of better air barriers. Dr. Tom Fishback, technical director of
Fomo Products, Inc., then discusses how specific sealant and caulking systems
may be implemented into what he calls a “monolithic air barrier structure.”
Finally, Ross Noel, a senior application engineer in the Technical Service
division of Dow Corning, offers “Five Tips for Selecting an Industrial Sealant.” Chief among Noel’s suggestions: wide-ranging
temperature stability; dependable weather resistance and chemical stability;
good bond strength; sufficient electrical properties; and low flammability.
A New Addition
Congratulations
go out to
ASI Editor-in-Chief Teresa McPherson and her
husband, Dru, on the birth of their daughter, Kassia Ann, on Jan. 18. The
family is doing well, and Teresa will be back running the show in next month’s
issue.
Links