Permabond Engineering Adhesives

"Permabond’s history of developing and manufacturing engineering adhesives spans five decades and three continents. Today, Permabond Engineering Adhesives Ltd (Europe & Asia) and Permabond LLC (Americas) provide technological solutions to engineers all over the world, with offices and facilities in America, Asia, and Europe, backed by a high-tech ISO 9001 certified production plant in Europe.Permabond’s first moments started in the UK, early in the 1960s. For years, manufacturers had no choice but to rely on mechanical means of locking nuts and bolts. The high rate of failure due to equipment vibrations required a more reliable means of locking fasteners on equipment and finished goods. Chemists at Borden Chemicals (UK) seized this opportunity to develop a special anaerobic adhesive sealant that cured to a solid plastic when used between metal surfaces in the absence of oxygen. As predicted, these adhesives were well received by the manufacturing sector, and business expanded rapidly. Avdel Ltd spotted this growth and quickly moved to purchase this business from Borden Chemical. As the business continued to grow, they moved to a larger facility on Woodside Road in Eastleigh. The market for adhesives and sealants that could meet the engineering needs of industry was apparent, even at this early date. Avdel invested heavily in Research & Development, creating a number of anaerobic products to seal threaded pipes and fittings, retain bearings and press-fit parts, and form-in-place gaskets. Meanwhile, in Florida, United States, three men in the jewelry distribution business ‘accidentally’ discovered cyanoacrylate adhesive and its ability to bond pearls into jewelry. They formed a company called Pearl Chemical and sold cyanoacrylate adhesive for this purpose. One of the three owners came up with the idea to suspend a farm tractor from a crane, held by nothing except a drop of cyanoacrylate! The picture was used on some of the earliest cyanoacrylate packaging."