A New Face, A New Identity

Larry Owen is no stranger to Franklin International. In his 27 years with the company, he has held several key management positions. He joined Franklin while playing professional baseball with first the Atlanta Braves and then the Kansas City Royals, working for eight years in the Franklin laboratories during the off season.

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At Adhesives & Polymers, a division of Franklin International, he will lead the continued domestic and global growth of the division, which provides assembly glues, edge and face glues,laminating glues, veneering and finger-jointing glues to the domestic and global furniture, millwork and engineered-lamination markets. The Adhesives & Polymers division also provides pressure-sensitive adhesives for office-products and food-packaging markets.

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Owen says he has a three-pronged approach for the division: He wants his personnel to be known as experts in innovation, regulation and technical collaboration with customers. “I feel if we do those things well, we will be successful,” he said. “Our president Evan Williams’ company vision is to be the most trusted adhesion company in the world. As part of this company, that’s something that’s always first and foremost on our list.”

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As such, Owen is hesitant to make too many changes in the currently tough U.S. economic times. Owen said his first priority is making sure that each staff member is in the best-fitting position for him or her at this time. “Any changes that would be made in the short-term would likely be moving people into the right positions that meet our needs at this point in time.

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“My role is one of helping to set strategy and relieve any logjams or roadblocks that might get in the way of us achieving that strategy,” Owen said.

New Division Identity

On the technology side, Franklin wants to increase its customer focus. Part of this venture includes enhancing the company’s brand and division identity to clarify what the company represents. “We’re not just a company selling products,” Owen said. “We sell service, and our people are what make our company. We have excellent people with years of expertise in their field.”

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Part of this rebranding is the evolution of the company’s Industrial Division to becoming Franklin Adhesives & Polymers. In addition to a new name, the rebranding includes a logo and color-coded system to differentiate products for the division’s three primary markets. The logo retains strong ties to the existing Franklin International logo through color and typeface,which features a dominant letter “F,” for Franklin, with a lower-case “i,” representing International while providing a strong identity for the division.

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The division also has developed a color coded labeling system for differentiating products by the markets it serves. Green signifies adhesives for wood, burgundy designates pressure-sensitive adhesives and gold denotes Franklin’s line of specialty polymers.

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“Our rebranding effort demonstrates our strong commitment to the markets we serve,” said Owen. “It is a strong step forward in raising global awareness of our division and the breadth of solutions we offer our customers.”

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Greening Adhesives

Franklin also recently introduced its first 100% formaldehyde-free, water-resistant wood-assembly glue. Multibond 4000 FF meets ANSI HPVA EF 2002 Type II Water Resistance specification standards; CARB formaldehyde emission standards; and the manufacturer’s demand for high quality in the production of interior wood products. The adhesive is a one-part x-PVAc adhesive for lamination that contains zero formaldehyde. End products fabricated with MB 4000 FF would pass stringent formaldehyde rules in California and the LEED® low-emitting materials requirement, as well as internationally, including Japan's Four Star and European EO formaldehyde-emission standards.

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“Our goal, because we are a global company, is to have products that are going to meet or exceed all international applicable standards,” Danielle Milam, regional director-Latin America, said. “That’s what we striving to do through completely formaldehyde-free products.”The U.S. has lagged in these standards compared to Europe and Japan, said Jaye Schroeder, domestic wood adhesives business manager. “That’s where the call came from — the companies trying to export back to Europe or Japan.”

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Franklin’s x-PVAc adhesives are all considered “green”; however, an absence of detectable formaldehyde in Multibond 4000 brings “green” to a higher level. This product was designed for those who demand the highest in both “green” performance and water-resistance. Multibond 4000 FF is a safe, versatile and highly effective adhesive with multiple uses across both wood assembly plants and cabinet manufacturers. It can be used in hot and cold presses as well as for laminating engineered wood flooring, interior plywood, cabinet panels and flush doors.

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“Franklin International pioneered the first solvent-free adhesive more than two decades ago, and continues to be on the forefront of green adhesives and sealants for the construction and wood markets today,” said Schroeder. “Multibond 4000 FF demonstrates our continued commitment to providing products that are safe to use yet meet our customers’ requirements for strength, water-resistance and ease of application.”Multibond 4000 FF is part of a line of adhesives formulated by Franklin to meet applications within the furniture, millwork and engineered lamination industries. The line also includes Titebond, Multibond and Advantage adhesives for edge and face, assembly and laminate applications.

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About Franklin Internatioal

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Franklin International was established in 1935 and is among the largest privately held manufacturers of adhesives, sealants and polymers for commercial and industrial applications. Franklin integrates its core competency— emulsion polymerization — into a broad product offering, including glues,adhesives, hot melts, binders, films and sizing compounds. Products are distributed across six continents for use in construction, furniture manufacturing, millwork, paper converting, pressure-sensitive paper products and fiberglass reinforcement. The company employs more than 350 people.

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