Adhesives & Sealants Industry Top Stories

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Quick thinking. Open communication. Digital solutions. Streamlined processes. Wide-ranging supply chain issues coupled with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed companies that supply raw materials and chemicals to their limits. But as the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention—and players in the adhesives and sealants industry are nothing if not inventive.

At present, polymers do not have to be registered under Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).  Nevertheless, a possible change in the treatment of polymers is envisioned in Article 138(2) of REACH, which may result in polymers being included in the registration requirements. 

Bill Allmond, president of The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC), shares details regarding the 2022 World Adhesive and Sealant Conference (WAC2022), including planned keynotes and technical sessions, the much-anticipated EXPO, various networking opportunities, and more.

How does your company decide where and how to expand? Please contact me at suttons@bnpmedia.com to share your story.

To start us off, Jowat’s Gerhard Haas asks: How can we make adhesives and bonding processes more sustainable? Luckily, he also provides some insightful answers clustered under a central recommendation to seek a holistic approach to sustainability. Learn more in “Green Bonding.”

Two distinct strategies are at play in adhesives and sealants segment M&A—one being employed by large, global consolidators and the other by domestic, private equity-backed consolidators.

A new solution has been developed in the form of pre-dispersed masterbatches of core-shell particles in (meth)acrylate monomers. These new liquid toughener dispersions are stable and have been proven to increase the toughness of acrylic materials. The utility of these tougheners has been demonstrated in light-curable thermoset formulations and in 2K acrylic structural adhesives.

The pandemic drove increased demand for packaging and created significant stresses on the packaging value chain, but it didn’t reduce the focus on sustainability. The industry has had to meet the various challenges of the pandemic while continuing to make progress toward a circular packaging economy.