APPLIED Adhesives works with diverse organizations throughout North America. Here are a few examples of how we helped customers succeed.
Case Studies
SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATING A FOOD AND BEVERAGE PACKAGING
How did a national baby-food manufacturer determine the best adhesive solution for an updated label design?
By Pete Turner and Nick Vogt, Application Specialists, APPLIED Adhesives
The Challenge:
Government Law sets a goal of 60% of recycling of containers and packaging by 2030¹. The Chilean decree (Law N° 20,920”), on the collection of Packaging and Packaging goals, seeks to reduce the generation of waste and encourage reusing, recycling and other sustainable practices.
Chilean government holds producers responsible for organizing and financing waste management generated from their products. With the focus on returning them value through the reusing, recycling or extracting of the energy contained in them. Thus, it triggers a rapid advance towards the circular economy, fostering direct incentives for the growth of the recycling industry and for the improvement of the designs of the products we consume daily.
Household containers and packaging2
| Collection and Valorizations Goals | |||||||||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | |
| Liquid cardboard | 5% | 8% | 23% | 29% | 35% | 41% | 48% | 54% | 60% |
| Metal | 6% | 9% | 23% | 28% | 34% | 39% | 44% | 50% | 55% |
| Paper and Cardboard | 5% | 9% | 25% | 33% | 40% | 48% | 55% | 63% | 70% |
| Plastic | 3% | 5% | 16% | 32% | 26% | 30% | 35% | 40% | 45% |
| Glass | 11% | 18% | 25% | 31% | 38% | 45% | 52% | 58% | 65% |
Non-household containers and packaging2
| Collection and Valorizations Goals | |||||||||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | |
| General | 30% | 40% | 50% | 53% | 53% | ||||
| Metal | 61% | 64% | 66% | 68% | 70% | ||||
| Paper and Cardboard | 71% | 74% | 78% | 81% | 85% | ||||
| Plastic | 38% | 42% | 46% | 51% | 55% | ||||
The Solution:
By utilizing BREAKAWAY in your production, you can reduce or even eliminate the use of the stretch wrap, corner boards, and slip sheets. Made from a water-based formula, BREAKAWAY is very environmentally friendly, helping minimize waste and reducing your carbon footprint. BREAKAWAY will amplify any sustainability goals or social awareness campaigns your company may be running.
The Outcome:
BREAKAWAY is helping an APPLIED Adhesives customer distribute these sustainable practices to businesses in Chile by reducing their overall stretch wrap usage by 50% or more. Assisting in the elimination of corner boards and slip sheets, affording them a 6-9 month Return on Investment (ROI). Thus, improving their bottom line and the environment!
1 Alomar, J. M. (June 10, 2019). REP Law set a goal of 60% recycling of packaging in Chile by 2030 – Circular Country.
Retrieved from https://www.paiscircular.cl/industria/ley-rep-fija-meta-de-60-de-reciclaje-de-los-envases-y-embalajes-en-chile-al-ano-2030/
2 Official Diary of The Republic of Chile Ministry of Interior and Public Security (CVE 1601514). (June 10, 2019).
Retrieved from https://www.diariooficial.interior.gob.cl/publicaciones/2019/06/10/42375/01/1601514.pdf
Customer Need:
When one of the largest food plants on the East coast needed to eliminate multiple delays related to open-flaps on tray formers and the associated high adhesive usage, APPLIED Adhesives’ experts were brought in to find a solution.
APPLIED Adhesives Approach:
Using its cost per thousand efficiency check, APPLIED Adhesives’ bonding experts conducted a full packaging process analysis and determined the root cause of the open flaps was sporadic severe ambient temperature shifts and high humidity during the summer months.
Moisture content from plant humidity soaked into the trays interfering with the performance characteristics of the competing EVA hot melt, causing the flaps to open after compression. The open flaps then created delays from the shrink wrapper throughout the conveyors and on into the palletizer.
APPLIED Adhesives’ technical support experts replaced the competing EVA hot melt with an ASURE hot melt formula ideal for the fluctuating environmental plant conditions.
Results:
The change to ASURE, along with additional application suggestions, achieved the two main goals of the process improvement study, eliminating the open flap delay and reducing hot melt usage.
The food plant was able to maintain a 55 percent reduction in hot melt usage throughout the entire calendar year.
Customer Need:
A customer in the confectionary industry needed a hot melt adhesive that could handle fragrance migration so they could eliminate their cold glue assist.
APPLIED Adhesives Approach:
APPLIED Adhesives’ experts developed the CC9155-02 as a fragrance-resistant hot melt to hold the bond for the consumer end user. This adhesive alleviates raw material pressure related to EVA, wax and resin supply concerns and outperforms traditional case and carton sealing products. With a high chemical and fragrance resistance, it is ideal for high speed applications with difficult to bond substrates.
Results:
Using ASURE CC9155-02 hot melt, the customer reduced its adhesive applications on the package from two, down to one, online pharmacy delivery eliminating the need for the water-based cold glue assist.
Customer Need/Challenge:
Dean Foods was running two different products for varying grades of carton stock and freezer conditions (-45F and 0F). As a result, they were experiencing char, plugging issues with both products.
APPLIED Adhesives Approach:
APPLIED Adhesives’ experts introduced the customer to ASURE CC-9120-02 as a single hot melt, freezer grade product that also could eliminate char. To confirm the enhanced freezer grade performance of ASURE’s polypropylene polymer system, APPLIED Adhesives verified this hot melt’s running parameters in the customer’s ice cream plant.
Results:
The SUS packaging material easily was penetrated by the ASURE hot melt, delivering 100 percent fiber tear after being blast frozen from -37F for 1.5 hours.
Along with superior penetration and deep fiber tear under blast freezer conditions, the ASURE hot melt also provided 22 percent reduction in hot melt usage on all ice cream packaging applications within this plant. APPLIED Adhesives’ on-site technical support provided real-time data and an adhesive usage report to be used as a baseline for the usage savings.
Customer Need:
With raw materials shortages becoming a major concern in the adhesives industry, more and more companies are turning to APPLIED Adhesives for solutions. A major manufacturer in the automotive industry was informed by its current adhesive supplier that the hot melt product they were using was no longer available due to raw material shortages.
APPLIED Adhesives Approach:
APPLIED Adhesives’ experts developed two comparable ASURE products, formulated using materials that were both high performing and readily available.
Results:
Since switching the customer over to the ASURE products, APPLIED Adhesives has developed additional products to help this customer reduce overall adhesive usage, which has helped the customer grow its business by bidding on new applications in the automotive industry. Without the APPLIED Adhesives, the plant would have been forced to shut down and ultimately lost several of its contracts.
The end result is faster throughput and Total Cost Reduction (TCR) for the customer.
Customer Need:
Due to a series of promotions at one of the largest petroleum packaging facilities in eastern United States, the packaging hot melt inventory ran scarcely low, down to just 12 cartons. The materials management team noticed the problem on a Thursday afternoon and recognized that without additional hot melt by Friday, the lines would shut down for the weekend.
APPLIED Adhesives Approach:
Because of APPLIED Adhesives’ Planned Order Program (POP), APPLIED Adhesives’ customer service team knew the order pattern for this petroleum plant and already had stocked the ASURE CC-9200 product in its East Coast warehouse in preparation for its next hot melt order. The territory manager was able to confidently predict how much hot melt was needed and work with the team to manage usage until a new shipment arrived in the warehouse Friday afternoon.
Results:
With the help of the Planned Order Program, APPLIED Adhesives’ experts were able to help prevent a costly mistake of the plant shutting down over the weekend while simultaneously avoiding the need for expedited freight costs. The customer was thrilled to learn that APPLIED Adhesives’ team proactively prepared for this situation and continues to follow up when his usage pattern triggers preparation for the next shipment of CC-9200.
This petroleum giant joins other APPLIED Adhesives customers who use the Planned Order Program to benefit from a more than 98 percent success rate for orders shipped on requested dates.
Challenge:
A potential customer in the part labeling industry had been using a competitor’s product that was being discontinued. The customer’s entire product line was built around specific properties provided by the previously used adhesive. The customer was in need of a semi pressure-sensitive adhesive that would peel cleanly from the substrate, while providing some unique stenciling capabilities.
Additionally, the end product needed to have the ability to be removed without leaving residue, yet seal as needed during the stencil labeling procedure.
APPLIED Adhesives Solution:
APPLIED Adhesives’ experts made a custom formulation using a sample of the current finished product. Using feedback from the customer, as well as from one of the customer’s major end customers, APPLIED Adhesive was able to provide a product with the optimum adhesion and release combination.
Results:
APPLIED Adhesives gained a new customer who said the company saved his business. APPLIED Adhesives’ adhesive provided the exact properties to fit this customer’s specific needs and also gave the customer peace of mind by eliminating any uncertainty regarding product availability.