Karen discusses ASI's 10-year anniversary.

This issue marks the beginning of our yearlong celebration of ASI’s 10th year of publishing. With a lot of help from our friends in the industry, we produced a prototype issue in mid-1993 that paved the way for our first full year of publishing in 1994. We have noted the advertisers that were in our first issue with our 10-year logo in their product profiles and by highlighting these companies in red in the ad index.

To initiate this year’s celebration, we developed “A Decade of Adhesives, a Special ASI 10th Anniversary Report." In the report, a panel of seven industry experts offers their at-times spicy opinions on the industry’s accomplishments, new chemistries, and advances in products and equipment. They also assess our achievements on environmental, safety and quality issues. They continue by talking about how the Internet and other business practices have impacted the industry. They evaluate shifts in markets and address the effects that mergers and acquisitions have had on doing business. Finally, they give their report card on how we are handling global activities.

We think the panelists have done a stellar job. Nevertheless, during the process of writing the article, it became apparent that there would be more to say than we could possibly cover in one commentary. The feature would also be biased by its very nature since it reflects the opinions of the panelists and the areas of the industry they represent. Therefore, we invite you to write to us with your feedback on the article and suggestions of other outstanding industry developments over the past decade for publication consideration. You can send your e-mail to kramerk@bnp.com.

Some comments by one of the panelists reinforce another article in this month’s issue. Gary F. Scheeser, manager, Product Development/Technical Service Depts., Neville Chemical Co., Pittsburgh, said, “Adhesives and sealants continue to find new areas for replacing mechanical fasteners. ... A growing market for adhesives over the last 10 years has been to bond plastics. More manufacturers are switching from metal to plastic parts to lower costs and weight such as in the transportation and product-assembly industries. Adhesives are preferred over mechanical fasteners for bonding plastics in aircraft, autos, trucks, recreational vehicles and computers, to name a few, since adhesives dissipate stress more evenly, giving a more reliable assembly. Also, without mechanical fasteners, the aesthetics of the product are improved.”

The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC), Bethesda, Md., is taking action to promote the use of adhesives in place of mechanical fasteners. On page 19, we focus on ASC’s program called Building the Industry (BTI). The program will promote the use of adhesives and sealants to replace nuts, bolts, rivets, and other mechanical fasteners and welds in product-assembly applications. Working together under the umbrella of the ASC trade association, member companies have formed a coalition that legally and ethically fosters industry growth in this area in this collective program.

"Structural adhesives,” says Richard A. Barry, president, “are the focus of BTI. Product assembly uses so many mechanical fasteners that there is heavy growth potential here.”

We hope you are stimulated by the accomplishments this dynamic industry has achieved in the past decade as we look forward to the challenges that await us in the decades ahead.