Hot Melt Symposium Offers Varied Program
- Published: September 01, 2001, By David J. Bentley, Jr., the PLACE Editor
“2001: A Hot Melt Odyssey” was the theme for the annual symposium of the Hot Melt Committee of the Polymers, Laminations and Coatings Division of TAPPI. The three-day trip began on June 10 at the Westin Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC. Participants from more than 10 countries gave a truly international flavor to the journey.
The first stop was the “Back to Basics Tutorial.” John C. Tangen, 3M Company, who was the session chairperson, noted that this portion of the meeting was an “excellent introduction or refresher depending on one's level of experience.” The first speaker was Keith A. Nelson, ExxonMobil Chemical, who gave “Overview of Hot Melt Adhesive Raw Materials.” He described the typical materials used in hot melt adhesive formulating and their attributes. He also emphasized how these attributes influence performance properties to meet application requirements. In his talk on “The Use of Oil in Adhesive Systems,” Paul Taylor, Equillon Enterprises LLC, explained how the market driver is automotive engine oil and the influence this has on process oils used in hot melt adhesives. Edward A. Calcote of the same company spoke on “The Use of Petroleum and Synthetic Paraffin Waxes in EVA-Based Hot Melt Adhesives.” He discussed how types and properties of waxes can guide a formulator in selection to control important adhesive products such as setting time, flexibility, and cold temperature performance.
The other speakers at the tutorial were Neal J. Earhart, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and Lee R. Baker, Strategic Business Planners, Inc. Both individuals have been very active in various functions at previous Hot Melt Symposia for many years. Earhart spoke on “The Stabilization of Hot Melt Adhesives and Their Components.” Among other points, he noted that “the best stabilizer system during adhesive compounding may not be the best for the adhesive end use.” Baker addressed methods and steps used to apply hot melt adhesives in his paper entitled “Hot Melt Equipment Technology.”
Keynote Speaker
Georges N. Altounian, Eastman Chemical Co., who was the Technical Program Chairperson for the Hot Melt Symposium introduced the keynote speaker, Bruno Charriere, ATO Findley-CRD. In his talk on “Hot Melt Adhesives: The Bonding Technology for the 21st Century,” Charriere presented an overview of the global adhesives market in which he reviewed specific aspects of markets by region, type of technology, and market segment. He noted that sales of hot melt products are growing at a faster than average rate compared with other adhesives. This higher growth relates to benefits in total performance, ability for globalization, and innovation.
Total performance includes high productivity, cost effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and technical versatility. Fast moving globalization involves all stages of adhesives such as raw material suppliers, adhesive producers, equipment manufacturers, and customers. Hot melt adhesives use delivery and application in various forms. New raw materials and building blocks and the wide latitude in formulation point to development of more “innovative bonding solutions using hot melt adhesives.”
Technical Presentations
The program for the symposium had 18 technical presentations covering a wide range of topics relating to hot melt adhesives and their uses. These included a discussion of “The Influence of Hot Melts in Paper Recycling” by Hermann K. Onusseit, Henkel KSAA, in which he explained the process and problems for recycling paper. “Managing the Development of New Products” by M. Noo Mangat, Hercules Inc., illustrated new product development initiatives with a cross-functional stage-gate process. Benefits of the technique include availability of a road map, discipline in product development, and effective product evaluation.
Emphasizing that “the only thing worse than no product development is development of the wrong product for the wrong market,” Robert W. Smith, ChemQuest Group Inc., addressed the symposium on “Market Attractiveness of New Product Concepts.”
Sharf U. Ahmed, H. B. Fuller Co., presented a paper entitled “Hot Melt Adhesives Comprising Crystalline and Amorphous Polymers.” He noted that hot melt formulations using thermoplastic compositions combining crystalline and amorphous water sensitive polymers offer improvements in remoistenable, repulpable, and recyclable applications. Four papers focused on reactive hot melt adhesives: “Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadiene Base Polyurethane Cross-Linkable Hot Melts” by Alain Drexler, ATOFINA Chemicals Inc.; “High Initial Strength with Long Open-Time Reactive Hot Melt Adhesive,” by Ju-Ming Hung, National Starch and Chemical Co.; “Moisture Curing Silicone Hot Melt PSA Technology,” by Loren Lower and Loretta A. Jones, Dow Corning Corp.; and “PUR Reactive Hot Melt Adhesive Equipment,” by Edward C. McGhee, Nordson Co.
In “Packaging and Hot Melt Packaging Adhesives — Fundamentals of Hot Melt Roll Coating” by Robert S. Forsyth, retired, he observed that the trend in hot melt markets is a 6% yearly increase. Approximately 40%-50% of hot melt adhesives have use for packaging of which most is for case and carton sealing. Forsyth noted that 20% of the world's population uses 80% of the packaging today. This indicates an immense potential market for hot melt products. Forsyth used these factors to lead into the 50-year history of hot melt adhesives including their formulation, advantages, and applications. He concluded with a discussion of current and future changes such as user friendly packaging, e-commerce, returnable packaging, package security, etc.
Presentations on hot melt adhesive application included “Fundamentals of Hot Melt Roll Coating” by Robert Dages, Kroenert Corp.; “What Are the Alternatives for On-Line Measurement of Hot Melt Coating Weight?” by Kim Townsend, Eurotherm Gauging Systems, and “Precision Roll Coating of Hot Melt Adhesives at Unprecedented Coating Weights” by Mark Kroll, H. B. Fuller Co., and co-authors.
Other Features
At the Awards Dinner on the final evening of the symposium, Loyce A. Ardemagni, Eastman Chemical Co., received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Hot Melt Committee. The group honored him for his “leadership and dedication to the TAPPI Hot Melt Family.”
In addition to the Awards Dinner, other networking opportunities included an evening reception on the first day. The Literature Table Displays that were available during the entire meeting were popular gathering sites for registrants. Breakfasts, refreshment breaks, and a box lunch were other venues for attendees to meet old friends and greet new friends.
Ardemagni led the final technical session called “Hot Melt Adhesive Test Methods Workshop.” After presentations by Ardemagni, Janelle C. Cameron, H. B. Fuller Co., and Fred Mazzeo, TA Instruments, an audience participation session covered topics including testing of pressure sensitve adhesive properties, testing of other types of hot melt adhesives, environmental testing, etc.
The complete texts with graphics for all the technical presentations at the Hot Melt Symposium are available on CD-ROM from TAPPI PRESS. Order on-line at tappi.org or call the TAPPI Service Line at 1-800-322-8686 (United States), 1-800-446-9431 (Canada), or +1-770-446-1400 (Other).
For information about the Polymers, Laminations and Coatings Division of TAPPI, see the web page at tappi.org/public/divisions/polymers_laminations_coatings.asp or access the TAPPI web site at www.tappi.org. For the complete papers whose expanded summaries appear in this section, go to the TAPPI web site at www.tappi.org/public/library.asp and click on the logo displayed here.
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