FEATURE

From in-depth feature articles to breaking news stories, new product releases, and podcasts, ASI readers enjoyed the latest information about the adhesives and sealants industry in 2022.

As 2022 draws to a close, we are reviewing the most-read content featured in ASI during the year. Readers are again turning to ASI for the latest information about the adhesives and sealants industry. Looking back on the most popular news, feature articles, product reviews, and podcasts in 2022 gives us a better idea of what is top of mind in our industry. Below is a list of the most-consumed content for the year.*

The supply chain was a major topic in the adhesives and sealants industry in 2022, so it is no surprise that ASI’s feature article on how supply chain challenges are affecting the industry, Ongoing Supply Chain Challenges Impacting the Adhesive and Sealant Industry, was the most visited feature article this year. Back in January, Susan Sutton, the former editor of ASI, reached out to key players in the industry to find out what supply chain issues were still in play and how companies were mitigating those challenges. Other feature articles of major interest to readers include:

• 2022 ASI Top 20: Leading Global Manufacturers of Adhesives and Sealants
• 2022 Raw Materials and Chemicals Overview
• Electric Vehicle Market Advances Generate Adhesive Technology Innovations
• 2022 Raw Materials and Chemicals Roundtable
• Rethinking Medical Device Adhesives: More than a Sticky Afterthought
• Strategies for Green Bonding
• Testing Adhesives for Weathering
• Continued Consolidation in the Adhesives and Sealants Sector
• UV Curing Technology Helps Transform the Manufacturing of EV Batteries

Readers were particularly interested in the financial health of the major adhesives and sealants manufacturers as they navigated the unique business climate of 2022. The year also saw some major changes in the leadership of top companies and some interesting acquisitions. The news item drawing the most interest in 2022 was H.B. Fuller’s acquisition of Apollo and Fourny for $211 million, which the company announced at the beginning of the year. Other major news stories in 2022 include:

• Henkel Opens New Global Technology Center in India
• H.B. Fuller Revenue Jumps 17.5% in 2021
• Mastin Named H.B. Fuller Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer as Clark Moves to Advisory Role
• Matrix Adhesives Group Launches Platform through Recapitalizations of Guy Chemical and Nuco
• Sika Announces Delay in MBCC Acquisition
• H.B. Fuller Net Revenue Jumps 20% in 2022 Second Quarter
• Henkel Adhesive Technologies Generates Double-Digit Organic Sales Growth in 2022 First Quarter
• Henkel Buys Advanced Materials Start-up
• IPG to be Acquired by Clearlake Capital in $2.6 Billion Transaction

Research and development is at the heart of growth in the adhesives and sealants industry, and readers of ASI are always interested in the latest finished products, raw materials, and equipment that are driving productivity and innovation. This year the product announcement that garnered the most interested was a compressible joint filler foam developed by W.R. Meadows. Other products that caught readers’ attention include the following:

• A de-bondable structural adhesive from Conagen
• An epoxy resin for electronics applications from Evonik
• Plastic-free blister packaging from Henkel
• A non-flammable structural adhesive from Huntsman

In our busy world, people are finding new ways of getting the information they need in fast and convenient forms. Readers of ASI are no different as they discover the advantages of listening to our multi-media offerings: the Bonding with ASI podcast and our video series. This year, a podcast in which Rebecca Desch of ThreeBond International shares details regarding silicone-based adhesive gaskets, including the multiple benefits they offer for automotive manufacturers, received the most listener downloads. The following podcasts were the other most downloaded podcasts for 2022:

• Crisis in Ukraine, with ChemQuest’s Brad Boelkins
• Labels and the Circular Economy, with Kyle Rhodes, president of CELAB’s North American executive board
• Adhesives and Sealants M&A, with Tom Blaige of Blaige & Co.
• Testing for Weathering, with Florian Feil of Atlas Material Testing Technology