By Louis Iannaco
How important are brands in the adhesives arena? Vitally important if you ask the players. Citing such things as trust, reliability and performance, executives believe there is no difference between what installers feel for the glues they use and the emphasis end users put on the styling and durability of the products that are held in place by these same adhesives.

“A company’s brand lets customers see at a glance they are buying a product they can trust from a company they can trust,” said Jeff Leone, Mapei’s director of strategic marketing. “We believe our brand signifies our responsibility to our customers. When they see our brand, they are assured of receiving quality products, reliable service and dependable warranties.”

Greg Wood, AAT’s president, agreed, saying brands are important in every trade. “Flooring installers are no different than other craftsmen. When they find products that work, the brand benefits from the trust that is formed.”

Mihir Gandhi, marketing coordinator for W.F. Taylor, believes adhesive brands are extremely important because the name speaks to the historical performance and excellence of the company. “A specific adhesive brand is chosen due to the consumer’s confidence the product she is buying will be of excellent quality and will provide the performance desired.”

Adhesive executives nowadays are placing a major focus on getting their brands into the marketplace. Taylor primarily has three brands for families of products—Envirotec-Healthguard, Meta-Tec Cross Linking and Touchdown Specialty Products.

“We promote our products through advertising in trade publications, participation at the major industry trade shows, and constant promotion with our customers and prospective accounts,” he explained. “Of course, all the promotion in the world wouldn’t matter if our products were not as good as they are.”

Frank Potter, director of sales and operations for Stauf, believes industry professionals are looking for “quality (described as dependable, have no complaints, easy-to-use) and price.”

AAT has two primary brands, Air Tech and Problem Solver. AAT is the company’s established brand. “The AAT brand represents a trusted name contractors have depended on for more than two decades,” Wood said. “We put great effort into getting our brand message out through print and electronic media, trade shows and industry associations.”

Mapei’s Leone noted the company’s 70th anniversary and how it plays a role in the mind of the customer. “Our brand—the beaker and cubes, the name Mapei and the registered trademark—has become a symbol of durability and reliability.”

Product differentiation key

With so many glues from which to choose, manufacturers are trying to set themselves apart by making their products unique. “Our WFR-930 differentiates Stauf as do our SMP-940 and 960 products,” Potter said. 930 is a solvent-based adhesive that meets all VOC and EPA requirements, even in California. “The others represent our polymer-based products, the latest generation of adhesive development.”

According to Wood, AAT’s Problem Solver was created in response to requests for a less complicated offering. “The packaging includes complete instructions in English and Spanish. The products are specifically chosen to offer everything the distributor and contractor needs to be in the adhesive business.”

Leone said, Mapei’s “well-rounded product line helps fill customers’ niche needs in addition to providing adhesives for all-purpose applications. Ultrabond ECO 360, our new hard-setting, latex adhesive is specifically designed for homogenous sheet vinyl applications that are subject to heavy-duty rolling loads.”

Taylor has developed an ultra high performance wood flooring adhesive, MS Plus. “It combines our patented Meta-Tec technology with modified silane polymer to create a true 100% solids adhesive that surpasses anything on the market,” Gandhi said. “MS Plus is GreenGuard certified.”