Focusing on Research and Development

Though the events of the past two years have posed significant potential roadblocks to research and development efforts, companies in the adhesives and sealants industry are still focused on innovation.

By Susan Sutton, Editor-in-Chief, Integrated Media

In today’s world of changing consumer sensibilities and related trends such as sustainability and e-mobility, research and development has never been more important for the adhesives and sealants industry. We must be able to develop new, commercially viable products to provide the solutions our society needs to evolve.

As we’ve all seen, the events of the past two years have posed significant potential roadblocks to research and development efforts. How are companies evaluating the multiple issues involved, exploring potential solutions, and pivoting to ensure their companies remain focused on innovation in these challenging times? I recently asked key players to share their thoughts.

How have your company’s R&D efforts been impacted by COVID-19 and/or supply chain issues?

Thomas Lys, Director of Technical Services Construction, Omya, Inc.: Our R&D efforts could be maintained during the time of the pandemic as all our technical and application labs were operating. We could continue our internal innovation projects and our collaboration with customers. Virtual communication tools were proven to be very effective during time of lockdown and COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

Vinita Sharma, Vice President, Product Management & Development, Berry Global: When faced with challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic or supply chain issues, we approach it as an opportunity to increase our agility and creative thinking in support of our customers. During the past two years, Berry has announced several investments in new technology and equipment to meet the shifting demands of the times. We’ve taken this time to continue as consistent of a supply as possible to our customers as well as elevate our offerings where we can to further meet customer demand.

Michael Todd, Global Head of Innovation, Henkel Adhesive Technologies: In our adhesives business at Henkel, we haven’t seen a slowdown in the innovation rate during the pandemic—the opposite has been the case. Since the outbreak in 2020, the demand for innovation of our customers across industries and with it the number of innovation projects has increased. Key driver for this development has been first and foremost sustainability, which is progressively dominating all the different markets we serve globally—driven by resource efficiency and CO₂ reduction, by circular economy and recyclability, or by alternative material formulations and renewable raw materials. This development is also reflected in our annual R&D spend, which is constantly increasing year by year and which has reached a new record-high of about €300 million [approximately $317.7 million] in 2021.

Like many other companies, we are experiencing a high volatility in the global supply chains for years now—this development has not been limited to the pandemic. Additionally, we had to deal with the extreme weather conditions in North America with an all-time high in Force Majeures or the Suez Canal blockage and currently with the dramatic situation in Ukraine. The strong recovery in multiple industrial segments during the second half of 2020 and continued high demands for industrial and consumer goods are currently meeting short supply capacities globally. However, these challenges can be a driver for innovation as well. The pressure across the supply chains has accelerated the use of alternative raw materials such as bio-renewables or recycled materials across different formulations in our portfolio.

Last but not least, we have started operating our new Inspiration Center Düsseldorf during the pandemic in 2021, the biggest single investment in our company’s history. The €130 million-plus [~ $137.7 million] building serves as an innovation center with more than 30 laboratories, as well as a global customer center that significantly enhances our collaboration and innovation capabilities. For the first time ever, we now can showcase and connect all our technologies under one roof and offer more than 600 employees a modern and inspiring work environment reflecting new work models as well.

How digitized is your R&D process now compared to 5-10 years ago? What changes do you foresee for the next 5-10 years?

Lys: We are following the trends on digitalization, such as 3D printing or high-throughput experiment (HTE) systems. Partnering with universities using digitized systems convinced us that this is the right approach. We expect in the next 5-10 years to have more automated processes, which will free up resources for other projects.

Sharma: Especially during the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we relied even more heavily on digital platforms to connect us with colleagues and customers around the world. As a global company, we leverage our digital platforms to engage cross-functional teams to support the R&D process.

Centralization of data and processes will be the main focus over the next 5-10 years. As the work environment continues to decentralize, it will be more crucial for information to be digitized and shared across the organization. Interconnecting the development process will require us to have centralized information and processes.

Todd: The way we think about innovation and the way we run our innovation processes and activities have completely changed in the last five years. The speed and impact of the digitalization is a real game-changer for us that allows us to develop products faster and meet the needs of our customers more accurately. All our data, including experimental information, formulation information, and market intelligence information, today is collected in a structured data platform and shared dynamically in real time everywhere across in the world.

We are now able to run fully digital laboratories leveraging Industry 4.0 automation and machine learning tools that help increasing speed and efficiency dramatically. Today we are collecting data from more than 10 million R&D tests every year from around the world—something that was not possible five years ago. All this data, as well as new machine learning algorithms, help us to predict material properties and performances of new solutions before our customers have asked for them. This digital-enabled change has created a new era in the way we think about innovation as well, and this has been fully reflected in the conception of our new Inspiration Center Düsseldorf and in the construction of another global innovation center in Shanghai, which will start operating in 2023.

Today, our infrastructure and global teams are organized to maximize the value of this development. In the next five to 10 years, we can expect a further advancement of data models and analytics, which will create an even higher level of artificial intelligence to utilize these data across predictions, processes, and formulations for intelligent and sustainable designs.

What digitalization tools do you use throughout your R&D processes, and what benefits do these tools provide?

Lys: We recently started up a new HTE lab, which provides significantly higher sample and testing throughput and allows for 24/7 R&D work. The HTE is in this way an asset to speed up innovation and technical support for customers. We are also developing virtual onsite support for our customers by using connected googles to assist them even being in a remote location.

Sharma: As a company with global capabilities, coordination across multiple sites is required to support our R&D efforts. Of course, there are foundational tools such as Microsoft Office (O365), digital project management and data tracking software, and statistical software for quality assurance. There are specific maintenance tools and regulatory compliance software we use, as well as 3D design and simulation technologies.

These pieces of software facilitate communication, project tracking, planning, report writing, as well as quality assurance and raw material qualification. The most important aspect of these tools is the ability to allow communication across the organization, stemming from R&D, so connectivity is a primary driver of the digitalization tools we select.

Todd: I would like to highlight two key tools that make a difference at Henkel. The first one is our global end-to-end structured data platform. This platform allows us to simultaneously capture every experiment, test, and formulation design and share it in real-time within our innovation network across the world. This provides a huge advancement to share knowledge, to avoid double-work, and to connect our scientists and engineers around the globe.

The second digital key tool for R&D is our lab automation. By implementing smart hardware that is integrated into our data platform for immediate data exchange, we can make use of modern robotics and automation equipment that help accelerate the testing and development of materials in the lab and which also has the added advantage to increase experimental testing accuracy.

What end-use sectors are most prompting your development efforts?

Lys: Growing world population, changing demographics, climate change, and the increasing influence of regulatory bodies are some of the megatrends that drive our development efforts in order to answer needs of our customers. For adhesives and sealants applications, we see opportunities around lightweighting, thermal properties improvements, and also in reducing carbon footprint of materials by offering sustainable products that allow customers to avoid energy-intensive process steps and save energy. We are also focusing on e-mobility by offering new raw materials that answer the technical needs for thermally conductive adhesives.

Sharma: Berry Global is a company that provides products to many markets, serving customers large and small. Markets in which we are seeing the most growth and prompting our development efforts for pressure-sensitive tapes and adhesives specifically are medical protective equipment, building and construction, and transportation. We are seeing more ubiquitous use of medical protective wear as well as technology advancements in long-term wearable medical devices.

In building and construction, we are seeing a shift in living preferences sparked by the pandemic, creating a boom in single- and multi-family construction. In transportation, there is a lot of innovation happening in electric vehicle design and a push for better fuel economy. Berry Global has an advantage working in the diversity of markets we serve; while we might see a decline in demand in some areas, it may be offset in other areas.

Todd: Sustainability is without a doubt the overarching theme that sparks innovation across all end-use sectors around the globe. The digitalization has changed the way we work, but solutions tackling climate change and contributing to a lower environmental footprint have become key to drive value for our customers and society. The opportunities for innovation are endless here. This for example includes new solutions for sustainable mobility such as electric cars, replacing plastics in packaging to improve the recyclability and to drive a circular economy, or debonding solutions to enable the repair of consumer goods and appliances for expanded lifecycles. In all these areas, adhesives play a key role to further drive sustainable solutions contributing to lower CO₂ emissions, reducing waste, and enhancing health and safety for consumers and for heavy industrial sectors.

In addition, the amount of recycled and bio-based content becomes more important in our material play. These kinds of materials have not existed five years go. With today’s opportunities, we are redesigning our portfolio to implement a higher multitude of bio-renewable materials. For example, we have launched the first bio-based structural adhesive for consumer electronics applications last year. The hot melt consists of up to 60% renewable contents and at the same time offers enhanced properties for the debonding of smartphones.

Today, we are without a doubt living in a transformative era towards a greener world. At Henkel, we are convinced that adhesives are and will be an integral part of the solutions across a broad variety of applications. We are highly committed to collaborate with our customers, partners, and suppliers to make all these innovations happen that will significantly help reducing our footprints and enabling circularity.

In addition, the amount of recycled and bio-based content becomes more important in our material play. These kinds of materials have not existed five years go. With today’s opportunities, we are redesigning our portfolio to implement a higher multitude of bio-renewable materials. For example, we have launched the first bio-based structural adhesive for consumer electronics applications last year. The hot melt consists of up to 60% renewable contents and at the same time offers enhanced properties for the debonding of smartphones.

Today, we are without a doubt living in a transformative era towards a greener world. At Henkel, we are convinced that adhesives are and will be an integral part of the solutions across a broad variety of applications. We are highly committed to collaborate with our customers, partners, and suppliers to make all these innovations happen that will significantly help reducing our footprints and enabling circularity.