Newton, Mass.— According to a report published in late spring, the specialty adhesives market continues to grow. Despite the national economic downturn in 2001, industry spending in the sector, which includes many sealant products, reached $5.7 billion, according to Business Communications Co., a research firm in Norwalk, Conn.

Spending should increase an average 4.3 percent annually until 2006, when it should reach $7 billion.

BCC's report, number RC-176R, notes that hot melts are used in 25 percent of applications, followed by pressure-sensitives, polyvinyl acetate, polyurethanes and acrylics. Use of all these adhesive types will grow for the next five years, but especially in the use of packaging and non-rigid bonding.

According to Andy Schwartz of AJ Adhesives in St Louis, Mo., any adhesives that will make it in today's market must be fast-acting and long-lasting, but also safe to use. Regulations reducing the amount of volatile organic chemicals allowed in adhesives and sealants spurred the development of new products.

Perhaps the most important of these are the water-based adhesives. Water-based urethane formulas bond quicker than past formulas and last "virtually forever," Schwartz said.

Adhesive market growth areas include recreational vehicles like boats and trailers, said Dan Horner, adhesives manager at Applied Products of Minnetonka, Minn. That sector of consumer products is becoming more cost conscious while at the same time demanding faster, more permanent assembly options. In fact, specialty adhesives are quickly becoming the standard, while standbys like basic cyanoacrylates become used less frequently, he said.

"Adhesives are becoming more important in assembly all the time. New adhesive products, such as cross hybrids like silicone/epoxy, last virtually forever," Horner said. "Assemblies made that way do not come apart. Assembly operations will certainly cause growth in specialty adhesives in the future because that is the direction of the entire industry," he said.