New H.B. Fuller Flextra Quiet Adhesive Resolves Challenge of Noisy Sustainable Flexible Packaging




ST. PAUL, Minn., February 24, 2011 — H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL) expands its proven Flextra family of flexible packaging adhesives to introduce Flextra Quiet laminating adhesive—its first water-based adhesive technology to address the challenge of high noise levels in flexible packaging produced with Ingeo (PLA) based laminations. Ingeo is a registered trademark for NatureWorks LLC. Developed to address customer concerns about the noise level of certain sustainable flexible packaging, Flextra Quiet adhesive is a significant innovation that gives environmentally minded consumer packaged goods manufacturers a solution to take their PLA (polylactic acid) based packaging initiatives forward.
    “Our team at H.B. Fuller is focused on perfecting adhesives that address the needs of the flexible packaging industry,” said Brian Glasbrenner, H.B. Fuller North American sales manager, flexible packaging. “Consumer packaged goods manufacturers have told us they need innovative solutions to reduce the noise levels of PLA based packaging materials and we have delivered an adhesive solution to address the issue.”
    The team at H.B. Fuller—business development manager, application engineer, research chemist, applications specialist and sales manager—drew upon the company’s collective knowledge and ingenuity to develop a sound reducing laminating adhesive. Flextra Quiet laminating adhesive is a new water-based solution that can be used to laminate renewable PLA film and other films currently used in the growing sustainable flexible packaging arena.
    To develop the Flextra Quiet solution, H.B. Fuller worked within the flexible packaging supply chain. First, lab trials were run with the adhesive formulation in the company’s St. Paul, Minn. pilot facility to achieve the desired sound reducing properties. Following successful lab trials, H.B. Fuller was able to test the formulation by bonding PLA film on H.B. Fuller’s full production-scale Nordmeccanica Super Combi 3000 laminator at the pilot facility.

The timeframe from lab testing to successful lamination trials was reduced to just weeks due to H.B. Fuller’s lab and production-scale laminating capabilities.
    For more information about Flextra Quiet laminating adhesive, contact
Brian Glasbrenner or visit www.hbfuller.com.