Adhesives or glues have been with us for a long time. Much knowledge on the use and manufacture of these adhesives has been passed on by word of mouth and later through raw material suppliers' bulletins.

Almost a decade after World War II, Vulcan Manufacturing Company (now A Brown Chemical Corporation) was established to manufacture industrial adhesives, particularly the contact cement or solvent-based rubber cement.

Resins, Inc. followed Vulcan and began manufacturing urea formaldehyde resins for the plywood industry and polyvinyl acetate emulsions for he paint and adhesives industry.

Casco Phils. Chemical Corporation (now Borden International Philippines) followed shortly and started producing area and phenol formaldehyde resins for the then booming plywood industry. In the 60s, Borden Philippines started producing PVAc emulsions and compounded them into industrial adhesives thus giving competition to the imported emulsion-based adhesives.

In 1958, Republic Chemical Industries, Inc. joined the industry as the first manufacturer of epoxy adhesives for the consumer and industrial markets.

In the late 60's and 70's, more adhesive companies were set up, thus displacing from the market the imported adhesives particularly those coming from Japan and Germany. From then on, locally produced adhesives became accepted and are now widely used.


Growth in the Industry

The adhesives and sealant industry is currently experiencing moderate growth rate of 12% per annum. The growth areas of the industry are in the packaging, construction, DIY, automotive and wood industries.

The packaging industry, particularly the flexible type, which uses laminating adhesives is growing at a faster rate due to health concerns of some sectors of the market. However, it is projected that this industry will continue to grow as our population increases.

Another product group that has a bigger market share is the construction adhesives and sealants. More companies are joining the bandwagon since the construction industry is booming.