Bostik, Inc. (bostik-us.com), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of adhesives and sealants, recently introduced its new worldwide branding program, complete with a new corporate logo including a multi-colored gecko . The rationale for using this image, is that a gecko is capable of sticking to almost any surface at any angle… with a remarkably strong bond. Response to the new branding has been excellent.

Bostik's gecko will be even more focal at Coverings 2014, the world's largest exposition of tile and stone products. On April 29th at the Las Vegas Convention Center, an 8' x 8' mural portraying the gecko, crafted with more than 35,000 individually-placed, tiny glass mosaics, will be officially unveiled at 11:00 a.m. The event will take place at Bostik's exhibit # 7087; a coffee bar will be on hand for those attending.

To produce a masterpiece-quality glass mural of this magnitude, Bostik turned to Surfaces, Inc., of Miami, Florida, one of the nation's premier manufacturers and marketers of glass mosaics. Elida Art, a division of Surfaces, has been creating highly detailed, labor-intensive murals for two decades. Albert Claramonte, President of Surfaces, stated, "We took a high resolution image of Bostik's gecko and then scanned it, using our special software program to elicit a gigantic, pixelated grid. This indicated to our artisans exactly which color tiny mosaic tile would go where, in order to make our Bostik glass gecko glass mural a visual reality. From there, they began mounting the thousands of half-inch glass mosaics each by hand, one-at-a-time, on square foot mesh, perfectly following the computer-generated grid."

Claramonte added that those working on the mural are not just automatons who meticulously follow the gridwork and affix the tiny mosaics in place. "They all are art school-educated, with high sensitivity to the best usage of color. If just one of the glass "chips" is even a bit off color-wise and they think it would disrupt the flow of the mural, they have the choice to replace that piece, taking time to source the most appropriate substitute mosaic tile. Our mosaic artists are absolute perfectionists!"

Bostik's Dimension™ RapidCure™, Pre-Mixed Urethane Grout, was the obvious choice to be used to finish the project. In particular, because it contains micro glass beads and a translucent, urethane binder that both reflect light as well as allowing it to pass through. This creates a totally unique reflective, three-dimensional effect within glass tile installations. Visitors to Coverings exhibit # 7087 will therefore see a huge, luminous glass mosaic gecko that will look a bit different from every angle.

“Designers are referring to Dimension as ‘upscale,’ ‘artsy’ and even ‘breathtaking’ … which is absolutely unheard of in the grout world,” stated Scott Banda, Director of Marketing for Bostik’s Consumer and Construction Unit. “Equally important, contractors love it. Dimension gives them an opportunity to up-sell, while cutting their grouting time by one-third to one-half and ultimately delivering true works of tile art. We can't wait for Coverings to take place and everyone to see our giant gecko mural which showcases our corporate logo… but also, exemplifies the most state-of-the-art way to grout glass mosaic projects!"

About Bostik, Inc.
Bostik is a leading global adhesive specialist in industrial manufacturing, construction and consumer markets. For more than a century, they have been developing innovative adhesive solutions that are smarter and more adaptive to the forces that shape people’s daily lives. From cradle to grave, from home to office, Bostik’s smart adhesives can be found everywhere. With annual sales in excess of $2 billion, the company employs 4,800 people and has a presence in more than 50 countries. Bostik is a company of Total. Visit bostik-us.com for more information.

Contact information
Chris Eichman
Marketing Communications Manager, Consumer & Construction Business Unit
Phone: 414-607-1265 Email: christopher.eichman@bostik-us.com www.bostik-us.com