Jowat is offering future-oriented products with its Green Adhesives portfolio. Developed with a focus on practical applications and industrial-scale availability, the company’s Green Adhesives portfolio comprises a range of adhesives that offer industrial applications equal to their conventional counterparts.

ASI spoke with Gerhard Haas, chief officer for Human Resources, Purchasing, Quality Management, Research and Development, and Technical Service at Jowat, about the company’s Green Adhesives portfolio as well as how the company has managed challenges of the last few years and what it expects for the future. 

ASI: The industry has become quite focused on sustainability. Can you tell me about Jowat’s Green Adhesives and how they provide the technical solutions that customers are asking for?

Gerhard Haas: On the path to greener processes and products, companies need extensive expertise and a 360-degree perspective. This is because sustainability has many different facets. And modern adhesives are an important factor in the equation. As a leader in innovation and technology, Jowat pays special attention to the development of its sustainable portfolio. Jowat’s Green Adhesives product line provides a full package of tailor-made adhesives and comprehensive services for sustainable packaging.

Modern low-temperature hot melt adhesives, for example, provide a substantial energy saving potential coupled with high performance and process quality. Traditional hot melt adhesives are generally applied at temperatures of up to 180 °C. Jowat-Toptherm^® 851.99 has been optimized for packaging processes and can be processed at energy-saving temperatures starting from 99 °C. This makes it particularly interesting for applications involving temperature-sensitive products, e.g. frozen food or sweets. The MOAH-free hot melt adhesive also impresses in packaging processes of dry and fatty nonperishable food products.

For those who want to couple energy savings with the use of renewable raw materials, the powerful biobased hot melt adhesives of the Jowatherm^® GROW series provide the right solution. Jowatherm^® GROW 853.20 is particularly sustainable due to a DIN-verified biobased raw material content of 33% and can be applied in different packaging processes at reduced temperatures starting from 120 °C. Jowat GROW sustainable packaging adhesives have also earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product label.

Both products impress with a clean string cut-off at the nozzle and the immaculate processing characteristics typical of Jowat packaging adhesives. When used, they can reduce the soiling of machine parts and packaging materials. Unnecessary material consumption can be prevented.

Another example is the first available bio-based D3 dispersion adhesive, which contains an impressive 20% renewable raw materials. It is an optimum choice for bonding solid wood and for laminating wood based substrates with different surface materials.

ASI: The last four years have presented some challenges to the adhesives industry. How has Jowat managed to successfully navigate those challenges?

Haas: Since the beginning of COVID in early 2020, the demand and supply balance has been challenged. A surging demand in the second half of 2020 caused shortages in raw materials, packaging materials, and available transportation logistics. This further worsened when the Texas freezing weather shut down a considerable number of chemical producers.

Jowat always recognized that our staff is our greatest asset. Our well trained and competent employees had a big part in our success navigating through the challenges. In addition, we were well prepared with our multiple region sourcing strategy to assure supply of our raw materials. We also added resources to our logistics department to assure timely inbound and outbound shipments.

ASI: What do you see as the major opportunities for Jowat in the future, and how are you working seize those opportunities?

Haas: The global adhesive market continues to grow, furthermore new opportunities like lightweight designs, electric cars as well as the trend to sustainability are creating areas of growth. Our commitment to our customer, global presence, ability to innovate and provide expert technical service along with Quality awareness and a focus on sustainable solutions will put us in an excellent position to participate in those growth opportunities.

Learn more about Jowat at www.jowat.com.