W.F. Taylor offers a complete line of green products.

By K.J. Quinn
There are new types of floor coverings from more places in the world than ever before being imported to the U.S. This is causing adhesive makers such as W.F. Taylor to develop higher performing products that offer a wide range of flooring and installation capabilities. As a result, specialized products are much more in demand.

“Changes in backing construction often mean changes in adhesive specification,” said Barry Wright, Taylor’s executive vice president. “Distributors and installers are responsible for keeping up with these changes just as the adhesive manufacturers must.”

Taylor, a maker of adhesives and epoxies for soft and hard surfaces, takes this responsibility very seriously. Founded in 1977 by Wallace F. Taylor, a well-known chemist in the adhesive industry, the firm claims to be an environmental pioneer by actively developing green products before it became fashionable or even profitable to do so. This commitment paid dividends as Taylor doubled sales the past six years, Wright said, and its environmentally friendly products were strongly recognized by flooring installers nationwide.

Environmental commitment

“Taylor has a long history of environmental focus with Envirotec Healthguard as the first solvent-free adhesive for flooring and Meta-Tec technology as the first environmentally safe adhesives chemistry considered for the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Award,” Wright said.

Taylor’s commitment to the environment was first demonstrated in the early 1990s with the development and introduction of Envirotec Healthguard adhesive technology. The company reported working with EPA and the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) to improve indoor air quality with respect to adhesives. Taylor’s Envirotec line—which it considers the first environmentally friendly adhesive product—meets all requirements of the CRI Green Label Plus Program with its solvent-free adhesives for carpet, resilient and wood flooring installations.

In early 2000, Taylor launched an adhesive based on its Meta-Tec technology and manufacturing process: Taylor Meta-Tec 2071 Tuff-Lok X-Link adhesive for wood flooring. Meta-Tec involves the use of renewable bio-based oils and resins along with a unique cross-linking system that achieves high shear strength and a waterproof-cured bond. The technology was later incorporated into adhesives for resilient and carpet installations.

“The challenge is that products considered environmentally friendly today may not be evaluated that way in the future,” Wright noted. “Keeping ahead of environmental trends as the company grows is very challenging.”

In August 2005, Taylor became the first flooring adhesive maker to subject its products to the scientifically rigorous testing of the GreenGuard Certification Program, considered the only industry independent certification program for low-emitting products. Meta-Tec Adhesives Solutions and Envirotec Healthguard Adhesives were awarded GreenGuard Indoor Quality Certification by the GreenGuard Environmental Institute (GEI). “Both lines continue to be monitored to ensure their low-emitting status,” Wright said.

The designation is significant in the commercial sector because Meta-Tec and Envirotec Healthguard adhesives can be specified in conjunction with GreenGuard Certified Flooring to create spaces with ideal indoor air conditions. “The environmentally friendly GreenGuard Certification appeals to architects and end users,” said Greg Szalay, vice president of operations and customer service, T&A Supply, a Kent, Wash.-based flooring products and sundries distributor.

New developments

Taylor’s latest adhesives are based upon Meta-Tec cross-linking chemistry, which is low VOC, certified by GreenGuard and CRI Green Label Plus and built using as much as 30% renewable resources. “The GreenGuard certification is difficult to achieve, and Taylor has been successful at certifying close to 95% of its flooring products line,” Wright said. “The ability to certify helps downstream with LEED’s points and building qualifications and with green building, in general.”

Many of the latest adhesives from Taylor are designed with the installer in mind, as they are said to be easy to use and clean up. For example, MS-Plus, a new wood flooring adhesive based on a moisture cure, 100% solids polymer, provides immediate green strength and easy surface clean-up without leaving film on the floor’s finish. “They have a broad spectrum of products at all price points, and the installers like their working characteristics,” Szalay said. “W.F. Taylor not only pays attention to what installers want but also what the industry wants.”

Taylor is also sensitive to spending habits of the installation community, a group that often seeks more bang for their buck. A case in point is the introduction of the #2085 Pro-Tac Dual Purpose Adhesive for use on most carpet and vinyl flooring and double-stick installations. “With the cyclical nature of material costs driving prices higher,” Wright said, “W.F. Taylor felt the need to develop a more moderately priced premium dual-purpose adhesive for mainstream carpet and resilient installations.”

In addition to satisfying the flooring industry’s need for adhesives that meet or exceed regulations under the Clean Air Act and other environmental restrictions, Taylor also specializes in addressing problems resulting from micro-organism attacks that cause mold and mildew growth. Taylor’s Meta-Tec technology features Meta-Sept Anti-Microbial protection for both wet adhesive and cured adhesive film.

“Meta-Tec technology will have far-reaching effects, even greater than that of our original Envirotec Healthguard technology,” said Jack Raidy, Taylor’s chairman. “Not only does Meta-Tec technology continue this stewardship of the environment, it introduces previously undiscovered advancements to cross-linking adhesives resulting in high bond strength development and curing to create waterproof bonds.”

Products and support

Taylor’s commitment to developing new research initiatives is exemplified by doubling its R&D staff and budget the last five years. Adhesives are created from inception with environmental and regulatory requirements in mind. “We have been rewarded by being regarded as the industry’s leader in environmentally friendly floor covering adhesives as well as being selected to participate in the EPA’s Green Chemistry competition,” Wright said.

To that end, Taylor reports that its quality control (QC) department does precision testing to consistently create high-quality products. Its main objective is to carry out analytical testing of raw materials used in production as well as in-process samples and final products. “The analytical results obtained in the department, and documentation from the producing departments describing the production process, form the basis for the decision of the QC department to release products for further processing or for sale,” Wright said. Taylor maintains production facilities in Fontana, Calif., and Dalton.

Taylor backs up its products with a variety of support services and literature, including a technical service call line and product catalog that provides specifier and installation information. “Specification sheets and material safety data sheets can be easily downloaded from our Web site, and for those without Web access, we offer a fax-back line,” Wright explained. “We have very few installation complaints and a lot of success because we strive to deliver the information the installer needs along with high-performance products.”

Looking ahead, Taylor will continue to invest in R&D and strive to stay at the forefront of the latest flooring developments. “W.F. Taylor prides itself in the reputation it enjoys in the industry for being the pacesetters, for the quality of its products and for the superior service we offer our customers,” Raidy said. “We will continue to promote environmentally safe products and encourage the industry to follow.”