It is with great pleasure, excitement, and anticipation that we officially host our first Tape Week event this May 2-5 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., with 500+ attendees from 100 companies and 10 countries expected. Representing both a reinvigoration of our historically successful Tape Summit and a refocus and expansion of PSTC’s reach, Tape Week is the only knowledge-building and networking event for pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape professionals.

With the diminishing list of available preservatives, manufacturers need new candidates with exemplary safe use profiles. Recently, sodium benzoate has become increasingly valued outside of its traditional food and beverage applications, moving into cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, home care, and industrial applications.

Adhesives are used in a wide range of applications, such as transportation (automotive, rail) and architectural, among many others. Though the adhesives themselves are not directly exposed to the environment in most of these applications, one or more weathering factors can still affect the adhesive performance.

Originally scheduled for 2020 and postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 World Adhesive and Sealant Conference is set for April 25-27 at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago, Ill. Adhesives and sealants professionals from around the world will finally be able to gather together over three days and learn about the latest advances the industry has to offer while reconnecting with their colleagues and making new contacts.

What factors are influencing all of the merger and acquisition activity we’ve seen in the past year or so? Check out “Continued Consolidation in the Adhesives and Sealants Sector” for details.

Our hope is that you use this issue’s sourcing guide and the online Raw Materials, Chemicals, Polymers, and Additives Handbook in tandem as trusted tools for researching materials and locating suppliers throughout the year.

Noninvasive glucose monitoring devices are not currently commercially available in the U.S., so people with diabetes must collect blood samples or use sensors embedded under the skin to measure their blood sugar levels. With a new wearable device created by Penn State researchers, however, less-intrusive glucose monitoring could become the norm. 

A new polyol (PCD-b-PPG) has been synthesized that has a low viscosity of around 800-3,000 mPa·s (at 25˚C, liquid state) and is transparent due to the use of PCD as an initiator, even after storing for a long duration. The new PCD-b-PPG polyol can be applied to coating applications where transparency is required. In addition, it may contribute to other CASE applications and solvent-free urethane compositions that can take advantage of its low viscosity.

The American Coatings Show and Conference returns to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 5-7, 2022. Through the event’s conference and exhibition, coatings industry professionals will have myriad opportunities to learn about the latest technologies in raw materials for coatings and adhesives, processing and testing equipment, and environmental protection and safety, as well as a range of services.

Medical device design engineers hold in their hands the power to help transform people’s health. They have the ever-important job of designing medical devices that help people monitor, track, and adjust their health for the better. However, some design engineers may be making a mistake that can affect how an entire medical device functions: they could be reducing adhesive selection to an afterthought. This critical decision is too often left until device design is almost complete.