For over 125 years, Bostik, the adhesive solutions segment of Arkema has been a leading global adhesive specialist in industrial manufacturing, construction and consumer markets.
For over 125 years, Bostik, the adhesive solutions segment of Arkema, has been a leading global adhesive specialist in industrial, construction and consumer markets. With a presence in more than 50 countries and employing 7,000 people, Bostik’s broad technology portfolio, extensive industry knowledge and synergies with Arkema enable the company to meet a diverse range of customers’ evolving needs around the world. Bostik’s smart solutions are found in today’s leading aerospace, transportation and packaging brands, improving operational efficiencies and overall product quality.
Manufacturing Today in conversation with Ravi Kumar Menon, National Sales Head – Tapes & Labels – India about the innovative adhesive solutions that are smarter.
What is sustainable packaging and what does the ideal sustainable packaging look like?
Conventionally, packaging is meant for single-use applications. With the rising demand for more eco-friendly alternatives, more manufacturers are urged to think about whether their packaging can be recycled or composted at the end of its life. In other words, they need to opt for sustainable packaging solutions.
Sustainable packaging solutions look at the end-of-life of the packaging. One ideal would be to ensure your packaging contains only plastics that can be recycled. It’s best to avoid zero non-recyclable plastics, such as EPS, PVC, or PLA. Instead, opt for recyclable PET, PP, or HDPE plastics. Filler, multi-resin packages and dark-coloured plastics can also pose challenges to the recycling stream.
Another ideal would be for your packaging to be compostable. Think about whether your packaging meets sustainable certifications. One such certification is BPI, a title that certifies the packaging as acceptable in an industrial composting facility and able to break down within a 90-day timeframe.
At this juncture, you may ask, how do adhesives come to play in sustainable packaging? In order to ensure the recycling or composting process is successful, your adhesives – while not as visible but are, in fact, linchpins for many objects – also need to be recyclable or compostable for the overall packaging to be more sustainable. Â Â
How has sustainable packaging impacted large manufacturing countries like India?
As a large manufacturing country, India has been ranked as the second global manufacturing destination by the 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index. In India, the e-commerce industry is fast growing, expected to reach US$350 billion by 2030. Concurrently, as of 31 December 2022, the government of India has banned plastics with PE films of less than 120 microns. This is a step forward in sustainability, with the previous 2021 nation-wide ban on plastics with PE films of less than 75 microns. As such, consumers and governments have been driving the demand for sustainable packaging, which puts pressure on local manufacturers to produce more eco-friendly options for packaging suppliers.
Today, packaging suppliers have opted for kraft paper-based bags or thicker PE-based bags with films up to 120 microns. To keep up with this demand, manufacturers opt for tape adhesives that are compatible with these eco-friendly packaging alternatives while ensuring tamper-evident sealing. One example is Bostik Thermogrip® HM2070, a Hot Melt Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (HMPSA) that can be applied to kraft bags and PE-based with films up to 120 microns.
Why are adhesives crucial in driving sustainable packaging today ?
While adhesives may only represent a fraction of the objects they contribute to, they are very much present in the things around us and can play a huge role in sustainable packaging.
Adhesives play an essential role in building a more sustainable world. Beyond their adhesive function, adhesives need to be enriched with features that improve packaging and the products within. They enable packaging to last longer, insulate better, and make recycling easier.
How are the adhesives producers focusing on product innovation, reducing the environmental impact of production processes, and improving the sustainable performance of products through formulations?
Adhesive producers today need production innovation more than ever. There is now emphasis on Research & Development (R&D) and sales teams to first understand the pain points of customers from various industries, before producers curate adhesives that will be the bonding solutions of an eco-friendly tomorrow.
At Bostik, collaboration is at the heart of our innovative culture. Our four international centres of excellence, located in the United States, Europe, and Asia, gather over 500 scientists, chemists, and R&D engineers to share the industry advances from around the world to position Bostik at the forefront of our customers’ challenges.
Additionally, adhesive producers in the market have started designing smart products from the molecular or nanoscale level. We are pushing the boundaries of adhesive technologies to turn adhesives into speciality materials that enable recyclability, reusability, or compostability. Â
What exactly does the term circular economy mean when discussing sustainable packaging?
Circular economy refers to the act of narrowing loops through more efficient usage of natural resources and goods.
In a world of scarce natural resources, circularity will soon be a norm. The shift towards a circular economy calls for a radical decrease in the use of raw materials for manufacturing processes. Manufacturers have a crucial role to play – they need to look at the need for less raw materials or materials that are more eco-friendly and better for the environment. These decisions translate into sustainable packaging for suppliers.
How are adhesive innovations enabling the circular packaging economy?
While unnoticeable, beyond their adhesion function, adhesives can help to enable the circular packaging economy. For instance, adhesives can serve a bonding purpose and as a protective layer that is suitable for mono-material food packaging. This aids in better recyclability for the entire packaging. Adhesives can also allow electronic components to be easily disassembled and recycled or have chemical compositions that substitute volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Bostik’s adhesive solutions are largely based on four sustainable aspects: reducibility, reusability, recyclability, and bio-based content.
- Reducibility: keep the quantity of adhesive, amount of substrate, energy consumption, and waste generated all to a minimum
- Reusability: adhesives that aid in packaging reusability or allow it to close the loop and fully participate in the circular system
- Recycle: adhesives certified as compatible with recycling streams (Recyclass, HTP Cyclos, INGEDE12, etc.) or facilitate the recycling process
- Bio-based: approximately 40% to 90% of the adhesive content is derived from biological feedstock
Tell us about Bostik’s speciality labels – sustainable solutions that can be applied to various industries such as pharmaceutical and personal care, food and beverage, digital printing, etc.
Working towards the role of #SustainablilityEnablers, at Bostik, we are designers of innovative adhesive solutions and partners to the most complex industrial challenges to drive sustainability.
In the India market, we see massive growth in the manufacturing scene, resulting in a surge in consumer and commercial goods demand. To keep up with this demand, label manufacturers have been pressured to massively increase their production. A key way forward is to increase converting speeds to attain the highest output. Bostik Thermogrip HM2060 is a hot melt label adhesive that we have developed to enable manufacturers across Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), pharmaceutical and logistics industries to improve productivity while ensuring sustainability. The adhesive was developed for labels that can endure high converting speeds above 100 metres per minute. Yet, the coating process requires a lower temperature, enabling the solution to consume significantly less energy, and aiding in easier maintenance of converting machines. This extends the shelf life of the machines and minimises wastage with less equipment.
The regionally available Bostik Food Touch H18 is a series of hot melt pressure sensitive adhesives (HMPSAs) for applications such as direct food contact labels. This environmentally friendly range is made from bio-based materials and has excellent converting and die-cut performance using linerless labels. By not requiring a release liner, this label adhesive enables sustainable packaging by decreasing the need for roll changes and downtime, and reducing freight costs and carbon emissions.Bostik’s Kizen series, the next generation of hot melt adhesives for case and carton sealing, offers up to 30% in material and energy savings. The adhesive contains close to 50% of bio-based raw materials, which allows less usage of fossil-based petrochemicals. This series is also available globally.
Tell us about Bostik’s acquisition and recent successful integration of Ashland’s performance adhesives and the launch of Aroset.
The acquisition of Ashland’s performance adhesives perfectly aligns with our parent group’s (Arkema) ambition to become a pure Speciality Materials player by 2024 and focus on the development of sustainable and high-performance solutions.
As of July 2022, Bostik has successfully integrated Ashland’s performance adhesives. Our Advanced Packaging & Converting BU has integrated Ashland’s Pressure Sensitive Adhesives and Lamination & Coatings activities. This integration helps strengthen our customer centricity and ability to develop innovative, sustainable, and high-value solutions in a broad variety of markets.
At Labelexpo India 2022, held from 10 to 13 November 2022, we also launched Aroset, a leading range of medical tape adhesives from Ashland, suitable for low-trauma applications. Some key features of this range include reduced complications of trauma to the sensitive skin, pain levels, and contamination chances on the skin surface. It also improves the ability for sterilisation using standard methods, help eliminate any silicon contamination risks and promote a lower-than-average pain score with the product.
Vision for Bostik brand
Founded in 1889, Bostik is a leading smart adhesive solutions provider that has patented over 9,000 technologies across a wide range of applications. With over 130 years of heritage in the business, Bostik is known worldwide for innovative products and cutting-edge solutions for the industrial, construction, and consumer markets.
We recognise that Asia is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, with one of the most diverse needs for adhesives. With our strong regional presence and diverse range of products (including Bostik Thermogrip HM2060 and Bostik Thermogrip HM2070 that was recently launched at Labelexpo India 2022), Bostik is well-placed to meet the region’s growing need for quality, smart adhesives.
Moving forward, we will develop more label solutions for speciality applications. Some label solutions Bostik currently has are deep freeze label adhesives that offer robust peel performance even under -30°C and tyre label adhesives with high initial tack and can bond to the most demanding surfaces. We will leverage our expertise in deep industry knowledge to develop more innovative adhesives that meet the needs of our customers.
As we work towards the title of #SustainabilityEnablers, we will continue to pursue greener technologies, offer smarter solutions, and invite our customers to join us on this journey.