Industrial Division Dons New Name

Label manufacturers, take note: a leading manufacturer of pressure sensitive adhesives has a new label all its own: Franklin International is rebranding its Franklin Industrial Division as Franklin Adhesives & Polymers.

Along with the new name, the rebranding includes a new logo and a color-coded system to distinguish products for the division’s three primary markets: pressure sensitive adhesives, wood adhesives and specialty polymers. The division will use the color-coded system for product labels as well as ad campaigns, literature and other branding elements.

Label manufacturers can quickly identify any pressure sensitive adhesive by the color burgundy. This color denotes any product within the division’s broad line of permanent, removable and repositionable adhesives, marketed under the brand names of Covinax, Micronax and Acrynax—while also symbolizing trusted Franklin quality.

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Franklin’s Formula for Green Adhesives: Just Add Water

Water covers 70 percent of the earth. Notably, it also is the vehicle for nearly all pressure-sensitive adhesives produced by Franklin Adhesives & Polymers—a division of a company long-committed to developing earth-friendly products. Most PSAs produced by Franklin Adhesives & Sealants are water-based, free of dangerous solvents found in many adhesives. “Our customers can comfortably use any of our pressure sensitive adhesives and be confident that they are not releasing damaging VOCs into the immediate surroundings or the atmosphere,” said Mike Witte, manager of the division’s pressure sensitive adhesives business. Franklin International pioneered the first solvent-free construction adhesive more than 20 years ago and today remains deeply committed to the development of eco-friendly products for pressure sensitive adhesives.

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Recycling Compatible PSAs

Franklin Adhesives & Polymers is playing a role in helping keep paper out of landfills: The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) recently certified two of its Covinax pressure sensitive adhesives as “environmentally benign,” indicating that they can easily be removed from paper during recycling.

The certification is in part a result of the division’s joint-research project with the University of Minnesota, funded by the Department of Energy, to reduce or eliminate residual adhesive from waste paper during recycling. Residual adhesive adheres to papermaking equipment during the manufacture of paper from recycled paper, leading to machine down time and specks or tears in the final paper products. Now with the use of recycling compatible adhesives, manufacturers can eliminate this problem.

Franklin provided products for testing to the university. The research team found that two Covinax formulas were easily removed from paper during re-pulping: Covinax 324-39 and 379-05. Both are FDA compliant under 21CFR 175.105. In keeping with its strong commitment to ongoing R&D—and to the environment—Franklin continues to explore the development of additional recyclable pressure sensitive adhesives.

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A Clear Advancement in Water-Based PSAs

Franklin Adhesives & Polymers has a clear solution for label manufacturers that seek the characteristics of a water based pressure-sensitive adhesive with the high transparency typically offered only in a solvent-based formula: ultra-removable Covinax 210. Unlike other water-based pressure sensitive adhesives, Covinax 210 offers optical clarity and can be used on any application that requires a transparent adhesive. At the same time, it offers all the advantages of a water-based formula, including high coating speed.

Covinax 210 adheres to—and easily lifts from—diverse surfaces. This ultra-removable adhesive performs well as a removable tape or label on most surfaces and can be used for a wide range of packaging and products, from CD case labels to temporary appliance labels. It also is FDA-compliant for use with most food and drug packaging. For a transparent formula, Covinax 210 is the visible alternative to solvent-based adhesives.

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