Made in India: Arobond 64 water-based pasting adhesive for folder-gluers

The Arobond 64 from Arofine Polymers is used as a side-seam pasting adhesive in the manufacturing of mono cartons on folder-gluer machines. The Arobond 64 is applied through a roller/disc application and due to its fast-drying nature offers bonding properties even when the machine is on a high speed. 

Arofine Polymers started its operation in a garage in Pune in 1976. Over fifty years, the group has earned a reputation as an ethical, quality-conscious manufacturer of industrial adhesives and coatings.

The product: The Arobond 64
Launched in 2015, the product is aimed at all printing and packaging companies engaged in the manufacturing of cartons. 

Chaitanya Joshi, business manager (domestic and export), Arofine Polymers, says, “The Arobond 64 has been designed and manufactured keeping in mind quality and consistency of the product as the key attributes rather than price, as pasting adhesive is the most crucial factor in the overall performance of the cartons. A failure of side-pasting adhesive can lead to serious losses.”

He adds that the cost-effectiveness of the Arobond 64 is derived from fewer rejections and the quality issues a customer might face while using the product. 

“The Arobond 64 has been designed to handle multiple end-use applications, such as side-seam pasting of mono cartons, window-pasting, and board-to-board pasting, thereby reducing inventory levels,” Joshi says.

The USP
Joshi says while investing in such a product, customers usually look for consistent performance on various kinds of board substrates, compatibility with old conventional pasting machines as well as new high-speed machines.

The Arobond 64 is produced at Arofine Polymers’ unit and is designed to offer consistent quality for all product batches.

The USP of the product is also its compliance to regulatory requirements like RoHS and REACH, adaptability on different pasting machines, and the resistance that it offers at a wide temperature range. 

Joshi says the Arobond 64, with its versatility and aggressive pricing, is a one-stop solution for most pasting needs of a printing and packaging customer. 

“Conventional high-speed pasting adhesives are often more expensive than other regular pasting products and thus, converters end up carrying separate inventories for all their pasting needs. With Arobond 64, converters can consume it at lower release for low-cost jobs,” Joshi explains. “Due to the fast-grab and flow characteristics, Arobond 64 spreads and penetrates the pulp surface forming a strong bond on drying. The product can run on all conventional and high-speed pasting machines. It is easily cleanable and operator-friendly. Once dry, the polymeric chains have good chemical resistance, making it suitable for packaging of a variety of ingredients.”

The productivity
Joshi says the Arobond 64 is designed to work on all leading folder-gluers at high speeds of about 400-m/min, thereby ensuring high productivity. 

“The Arobond 64 is better in terms of high-speed machine runnability and chemical resistance as compared to its previous version,” he adds.

The product is shipped in ready-to-use form and is easy to use on a folder-gluer. One needs to follow the processes of the Arobond 64 technical data sheetfor the correct utilisation of adhesive. No special training is required for using the adhesive. 

Joshi explains, “The Arobond 64 is a multi-use adhesive. One of our customers uses Arobond 64 for cartons exposed to low-temperature or deep freeze applications as it offers bonding strength even in these challenging conditions.”

Best practices
Joshi says unlike earlier, today customers refer to the technical data sheet and train their staff for the proper use of adhesives. “We find detailed SOPs displayed on the machines with regards to adhesive use,” he adds.

Regarding the recent trends in packaging and printing, he says, “We feel in the coming years, functional coatings such as OGR coatings and heat-sealable coatings would find more use in the mainstream applications, such as ice-cream cartons, food packaging, among others.”

In the current fiscal, the company plans on being among the top three suppliers for this specific grade of adhesive, Joshi concludes.