They look slightly amazed when I tell them that the table they are sat at is glued together, or that the magazine they are reading is bound with two different adhesives. Once they start to look around people quickly realise that adhesives are an incredibly common element of modern living, from the disposable nappies you wear as a baby through to the coffin they bury you in adhesives are never very far away!
Lack of Awareness
Second only to the lack of awareness of the number of ways adhesives serve us each day is the lack of awareness on how to use them!
Blue chip companies can spend hundreds of thousands of pounds building a brand, and establishing it as representing a high quality, value added product, only to have all that money wasted when the adhesive fails on the cartons or cases containing that valuable product.
Let Bert Decide...
It never fails to amaze me when companies work out a detailed recipe for their product, be it a food product, household cleaner or a high end perfume, yet they don't specify an application weight for the adhesives they use on the packaging. Their R&D department is high tech and highly professional, their marketeers have degrees and MBA's, yet the decision on the correct application weight of adhesive is left to a shift worker to decide by guesswork!
Packaging adhesives by their nature are usually one of the final products to be applied to the finished good. They seal the cartons, trays or cases that the product is shipped in, and literally carry the weight of the users brand into their customers premises. If that bond fails, and the goods in the pack go tumbling to the floor, all that added value and brand cache tumble with it.
It's rare for people on the shop floor or above to have anything more than a rudimentary knowledge of the adhesives they work with day in and day out. The majority of companies I have questioned don't even know the application temperatures for the adhesives they use. Information that almost every adhesive company provides in written form when the adhesives is first used. That information will probably be in someone's filing cabinet somewhere, but where is anyone's guess.
This blog is my attempt to help raise awareness of the vital role that packaging adhesives play in delivering, promoting and protecting your brands. So some simple common sense suggestions that will help ensure that the correct adhesive is used in the correct way on your lines.
Ask your supplier:
- For a data sheet for your each of the adhesives you use
- Ensure that your adhesives are run in line with the recommendations on the data sheet - To provide the correct application weight per unit of production, detailing the correct machine settings to achieve that application weight. (eg Nozzle type\size, temperatures, pump pressure)
- To carry out on site audits to check that each line is working to the correct "recipe" on a regular basis. (6 monthly or quarterly).
- To provide a written report showing variations against recipe by line and the spend per line.
Every reputable adhesive supplier should be willing to provide the information and service I've outlined. The only time they should object is if you are a tiny user of adhesives (say less than 2 tonnes per annum) in which case it won't be cost effective for them to do this work without charging for it. (Typical charges would be in the region of £80 per audit visit.)
These simple actions have been proven time and time again to do three key things:
- They improve quality by eliminating bond failures.
- They reduce costs through over use of adhesives. 80% of users over apply, which paradoxically can result in more bond failures as well as increasing unit costs.
- They improve line efficiency.
For more ideas on how to get the best from your adhesive email:
info@packaging adhesives(Nospam).co.uk you'll need to edit out (Nospam) please.
We offer comprehensive on site adhesive audits, and in depth training courses on all aspects of packaging adhesives and their application.
Posts
