CHAPCO'S Tom Guilfoyle

Hicksville, N.Y.—How important is using the best adhesives during an installation job? What should mechanics know when using today’s glues as opposed to those on the market just a few years ago? How much emphasis should be placed on training? These are just a few of the questions asked recently of several adhesive executives. The following are their suggestions for the industry.

“We need our distributor customers to embrace the need for training,” said Steve Chase, director of sales and marketing for All Purpose Adhesive Co. ( APAC). “Our salespeople must be better trained; our customers must pass on this information correctly and intelligently to the most important ingredient to our industry’s success—the installer.”

“We are trying to give our customers an opportunity to make a profit,” said Robert McNamara, Bostik’s national sales and marketing manager, flooring group. “Adding insurance to the products to overcompensate for unforeseen jobsite issues, making them easier to use, etc., all add to our customer’s opportunity to increase profits and grow.”

Tom Guilfoyle, national accounts manager for Chicago Adhesive Co. ( CHAPCO), said, “this is one of the reasons why so many mills push that their branded glues be used. They only buy premium adhesive, but if you are installing ActionBac, for example, you really don’t need the most expensive adhesive. But, if you are installing Wiltons or woven back , it doesn’t make sense to use a $12-a-pale glue. If you’re spending premium money for the flooring, you should be using a premium adhesive to make sure you don’t have a problem.”

“There are two things [some] installers mess up on more than anything else,” said Benny Wood, president of Advanced Adhesive Technology ( AAT). “They try to go with a cheaper glue, and they try to skimp on the application. If they follow the manufacturer’s recommendations or the adhesive maker’s recommendations, with the appropriate amount of glue per application, there would be virtually no problems out there in the field.

“Most every manufacturer of adhesive in the industry builds its product 25% to 30% better than it needs to be,” he explained. “We do that because we have to compensate for inadequacies in the subfloor and in the trowel. Once you start troweling adhesive on the floor, you can have the best glue in the world, if the mechanic doesn’t renotch that trowel and keep the depth correct, you’re going to have a failure. The glues today are 100% better than they were 12 to 15 years ago, and their green aspects have only made the industry better.”

Barry Minter, senior sales executive for APAC, agreed with Wood, saying, “The tendency for the guys trying to save money is they use a less expensive glue and a smaller trowel.”

Michelle Swiniarski, installation system product manager for Mapei, noted, “With a premium glue, you are getting more performance characteristics built in for long-term performance.”

Wally Giambastiani, marketing development manager for Para-Chem, said, “it is always good to use premium products because they can do more if the installer does make cuts on the job. You don’t want him to do that, but premium products have richer chemicals in there that will get the installer out of trouble.”
—Louis Iannaco