Adhesives portfolio profile of Intercol

Intercol adhesives are engineered to cater to a wide array of industrial applications, particularly in sectors where speed, reliability, and precision are paramount. Their formulations are designed to work seamlessly with modern automated systems, which makes them especially valuable in production lines where even a few seconds of downtime or suboptimal bonding can lead to significant inefficiencies.

In the packaging industry, these adhesives are commonly used in folding box gluing machines, window gluing applications, and on side seam or multipoint gluers. The adhesives must work reliably at high speeds while maintaining strong bonds in applications such as:

• Folding boxes and corrugated board production: Providing a robust lid-to-box or liner-to-board bonding for both primary and secondary food packaging and consumer goods packaging.
• Window and wraparound boxes: Ensuring that delicate films and extra-thin substrates maintain their integrity without causing aesthetic issues like bulging or film flaking. These applications demand adhesives that set quickly, perform consistently under stress, and often require additional properties like water resistance or food safety approvals.

Beyond packaging, Intercol adhesives also find use in:

• Bookbinding and paper-based products: Where precise adhesion is key to ensuring a durable and neat finish.
• Wood furniture production and construction panels: Demonstrating versatility across different substrates with varying surface characteristics.
• Automotive assembly and white goods manufacturing: Where high shear strength and resistance to temperature extremes are critical.
• Labelling applications and specialty industrial assemblies: In situations requiring rapid setting or adhesives that perform well under mechanical stress, such as in high-speed labelling lines or in assembling parts that may experience vibration or heavy loads.

These typical applications underline the versatility of Intercol adhesives; they are designed not only for standard, high-speed applications but also for scenarios that demand specialized properties—whether it’s bonding difficult-to-adhere surfaces, ensuring long-term durability in challenging environments, or meeting strict hygiene and food safety requirements.

Waterbased adhesives

Water-based adhesives are widely used across many industries because their formulation—using water as the primary solvent—offers advantages in terms of environmental friendliness, low VOC emissions, and ease of clean-up. Their versatility makes them particularly suitable for applications where a strong, durable bond is achieved by the evaporation of water from porous substrates.

Here are some typical applications:

1. Packaging Industry: They are extensively used in the production of folding boxes, cartons, and window gluing applications. The porosity of paper and board allows water to evaporate quickly, ensuring a rapid and reliable bond in high-speed assembly processes. This is critical for maintaining production throughput while ensuring package durability.
2. Woodworking and Panel Construction: In woodworking, these adhesives are used for laminating wood, bonding panels, and even in furniture manufacturing. The natural absorbency of wood components helps in the curing process, leading to strong, long-lasting bonds with the added benefit of being a more environmentally friendly option compared to traditional solvent-based adhesives.
3. Cardboard Processing and Lamination: Water-based adhesives are common in cardboard and paperboard manufacturing. They play a key role in the lamination process, where multiple layers of material are bonded together to form robust and recyclable products.
4. Bookbinding and Paper-Based Products: The adhesives are ideal for binding books and other paper products because they provide a neat finish once the water evaporates and the bond sets. Their low toxicity and ease of application also make them particularly suited for manual and automated bookbinding processes.
5. Graphics and Print Industries: In the graphics industry, water-based adhesives are used for paper mounting, laminating printed materials, and in other precision applications where low odor and quick drying times are valued. Their application ensures that the finish remains clean and free of unwanted adhesive buildup, which is key to high-quality print products.

Hot melt adhesives

Hot melt adhesives have earned their place as a robust, efficient bonding solution across a diverse range of applications due to their fast set times, environmental friendliness (no solvents), and adaptability to automated processes. Here are some of the key applications where these adhesives shine:

1. Packaging Industry: Hot melt adhesives are a staple in packaging operations. They are frequently used for assembling and sealing folding cartons, corrugated boxes, and paperboard assemblies. Their rapid curing is ideal for high-speed packaging lines—ensuring that boxes, blister packs, and even food cartons are securely bonded with minimal downtime. This quick setting property also minimizes the risk of adhesive run-off, making them a preferred choice for maintaining both aesthetic quality and structural integrity during production.
2. Woodworking and Furniture Manufacturing: In the realm of woodworking, hot melt adhesives are used for bonding veneers, laminates, and edge banding. The adhesives’ ability to set quickly supports high-volume furniture production and ensures robust joints in cabinetry and other wood products. Additionally, they are ideal for knot filling and bonding components where dimensional stability is critical during the assembly process .
3. Automotive Assembly: The automotive industry leverages hot melt adhesives for a variety of applications, from bonding interior panels and trim components to insulating wiring and electronic assemblies. Their excellent resistance to vibrations and temperature fluctuations—combined with rapid processing—makes them particularly beneficial in automotive manufacturing, where both speed and long-term durability are required.
4. Bookbinding and Paper-Based Products: Hot melt adhesives are widely used in bookbinding processes, where they secure paper pages together quickly and efficiently. Their fast-curing nature helps maintain a seamless finish and eliminates the need for long drying times, which is critical in high-speed printing and binding lines.
5. Textiles and Non-Woven Materials: While not as traditional as stitching, hot melt adhesives are finding increasing use in the textile industry for applications like seam sealing, bonding layered fabrics, and even assembling non-woven materials. Their ability to provide flexible yet durable bonds can enhance product integrity in apparel, upholstery, and other fabric-based products.
6. General Industrial Assembly and Electronics: Beyond these industries, hot melt adhesives are also employed in the assembly of electronic devices and various other industrial applications. Their controlled viscosity and rapid solidification allow for accurate application in automated systems—ensuring precise component alignment and secure bonding even in intricate manufacturing processes.

The inherent advantages of hot melt adhesives—such as solvent-free operation, rapid processing, and flexibility in formulation—make them indispensable in sectors where production speed and bond reliability are paramount.

Hot melt adhesives: adhesion, vs heat resistance setting speed and low temperature performance

Hot melt adhesives are a balancing act. Their performance in terms of adhesion, heat resistance, setting speed, and low temperature behavior is largely governed by formulation choices—such as the type and proportion of polymers, tackifiers, waxes, and antioxidants—and by the intended application environment.

Adhesion vs. Setting Speed

• Adhesion: Adhesive strength in hot melts comes from both chemical compatibility and physical wetting of the substrate. Formulations rich in tackifiers improve initial “stick” or tack, allowing the adhesive to grab substrates immediately. However, if the adhesive sets too rapidly, it might not have enough open time to properly wet and interlock with the substrate surface. In essence, a too-fast setting speed can sometimes compromise the level of adhesion because the adhesive doesn’t flow or “spread” sufficiently before solidifying.
• Setting Speed: Setting speed (or open time) is critical in high-speed applications. It’s governed by the cooling rate and the intrinsic viscosity changes of the adhesive as it solidifies. A rapid set is advantageous because it increases throughput, but if not carefully balanced, the bond may not develop its full strength. The trick is to ensure that the adhesive remains mobile long enough for optimal wetting, and then quickly transitions to a high-viscosity, solid state to lock in the bond.

Heat Resistance vs. Low Temperature Performance

• Heat Resistance: The heat resistance of a hot melt adhesive is predominantly linked to the softening point of its polymer base. Formulations designed for high-temperature applications use polymers and additives (like certain tackifiers or reinforcing fillers) that maintain structural integrity when exposed to elevated temperatures. While enhancing heat resistance is desirable to prevent bond failure under thermal stress, those same characteristics (a higher melting point and potential increased brittleness) can sometimes work against open time and rapid adhesion development.
• Low Temperature Performance: Conversely, at low temperatures, adhesives must remain flexible to avoid brittleness and bond failure due to thermal contraction. Achieving low temperature flexibility often involves incorporating plasticizers or selecting polymers with inherently greater elasticity. The challenge is that these modifications can sometimes lower the overall heat resistance—meaning an adhesive optimized for cold performance might not perform as well in high-heat environments.

The Interplay

Because these properties are interdependent, manufacturers must fine-tune the formulation based on the intended application. For example:

• High-Speed Packaging: An adhesive may be formulated for extra rapid set speeds to keep pace with production but must still allow enough open time to form a strong initial bond with paper or cardboard substrates.
• Temperature-Critical Applications: In contexts where the product might experience extreme heat (or even fluctuating temperatures), the adhesive must maintain its integrity without softening excessively or becoming brittle at the other end of the spectrum. This typically means a compromise—balancing a higher softening point with additives that preserve flexibility.

In short, hot melt adhesives are affected by these performance parameters in a tightly interwoven manner. Adjusting one aspect (say, increasing heat resistance) often impacts others (like open time and low temperature performance), so solutions are always about finding the right balance for the specific application environment.