Adhesives are also commonly known as glues. They are applied to create and keep a bond between two parts or surfaces. They are formulated by mixing or coalescing the base materials with additives such as fillers, stabilizers, and pigments to achieve the desired properties of the application at a reasonable cost. The adhesives can be classified into two primary markets: consumer and industrial. The market of industrial adhesive is generally estimated to be about 80% of the Canadian market. Manufacturers of these products offer a wide range of adhesives consumed by the key end-use industries, including automotive, packaging, furniture and construction.
The industrial adhesives that are listed as low-to-medium performance are normally made utilizing natural materials such as natural rubber or protein, starch, or synthetic polymers. On the other hand, high-performance adhesives are usually based on polymers such as silicone, polyurethane, cyanoacrylate, and epoxy. A high-performing industrial adhesive has enhanced properties such as durability, bond strength, elongation capacity, and so on. The industry is quite fragmented, not just in Canada but across the globe as there are a variety of products, plenty of markets and various participants.
Over the previous years, the megatrend within the adhesive industry is toward concentration through mergers and acquisitions, which is seen to provide better access to new technology and product innovation. This, in turn, can provide immediate access to emerging markets. Behind all the technological innovations and improvements made are the environmental and health issues of manufacturing industrial adhesive. In many countries, the legal constraint to reduce VOC emissions propelled the reformulation of products and caused the move towards using water-based formulations.
As the water-based formulations of industrial adhesive are becoming more popular, there are still a number of applications that require solvent-based adhesives where desired performance are crucial. However, there is also an option to minimize the use of solvent as the case with hot-melt adhesive products that work great in high temperatures. Or, less harmful solvents can also be used that still meet high quality and industry standards to suit any of your applications.
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