Adhesion Matters
Adhesion Matters pulls back the curtain on the remarkable world of adhesives—the invisible technologies quietly revolutionizing everything from smartphones and EVs to Hollywood effects and wind turbines. We guide listeners on a deep-entangled journey through innovation, sustainability, and the surprising human stories behind the products that hold our modern life together.
Adhesion Matters isn’t just about chemistry—it’s a storytelling lens on how sticky stuff shapes our world. Every episode reveals that adhesives do more than bind—they enable durability, safety, and innovation across industries. Tune in if you’re curious about the overlooked tech that really holds things together.
Adhesion Matters
Meet the 10 Visionaries Reinventing Adhesives
Welcome back to Adhesion Matters. Ever stop to think what’s really holding your smartphone, car, or skyscraper together? This episode reveals the unsung heroes behind the adhesives that empower our modern world. We spotlight the top ten industry visionaries whose leadership is driving innovation, sustainability, and evolutionary change in adhesive technology.
What’s Inside:
- Meet the Movers & Shakers – From Henkel’s CEO, who’s leveraging scale to drive bio-based adhesives and circularity, to Dow’s chairman reshaping packaging recyclability—and beyond.
- Innovation in Action – Learn how leaders at 3M, PPG, and others are honing R&D strategy, driving acquisitions, and focusing on ultra-high-performance formulations for EVs, electronics, and advanced materials.
- Digital & Sustainable Integration – Discover how Avery Dennison is turning smart labels into powerful data points, or how Bodo Möller Chemie is pioneering “debond-on-demand” tech for future recyclability.
- Top-Level Sustainability – Get inspired by front-runners like Wacker and H.B. Fuller, who are embedding carbon targets and eco-conscious solutions into their growth agendas.
Why You Should Listen:
These industry leaders aren’t just responding to trends—they're shaping the adhesives of tomorrow, driving breakthroughs that impact electric vehicles, packaging, aerospace, and beyond. Learn what it means for the materials that literally keep our world together.
Have you ever stopped to think about what really holds your smartphone together? You know, allowing for those incredibly thin, complex designs, or like what keeps all the different parts of your car working together seamlessly, even when it's, well, under pretty extreme conditions. The answer, often, is adhesives. Sort of the unsung hero, right? The invisible backbone. Okay, let's unpack this. Today, we're diving deep into this really fascinating report. It profiles the 10 most influential living figures currently shaping the global adhesives industry. And our mission really is to pull out the crucial insights from the source material. We want to show you how these corporate visionaries aren't just reacting to the market. No, they're actively driving innovation, defining where adhesive tech goes next. And there's a big emphasis on sustainability and high performance applications.
Lucas Adheron:Yeah. And what's really interesting about this report is how it defines influence. It's not just about running a big company. It digs into the strategic direction they set, their actual market impact, and the sort of groundbreaking innovation initiatives they're championing right from the top. We're talking leadership in R&D, pushing for big industry shifts like circularity, bio-based materials, that kind of thing, advanced manufacturing too. And when you connect that to the bigger picture, you quickly get why this industry, which might seem kind of niche, is actually so critical. I mean, adhesives underpin just countless sectors, microelectronics, electronics, skyscrapers, food packaging, aerospace composites, you name it. Without their constant innovation, a lot of the tech we rely on daily, it just wouldn't exist or, you know, it wouldn't work as well or last as long as we expect.
Elena Bondwell:Right. So who are these people? These architects of adhesion leading the charge. Let's meet the individuals who are really at the vanguard here, starting right at the top of the list. First up is Karsten Noble. He's the CEO of Henkel. Now, you might know Henkel for like one stuff, but they're actually the world's largest adhesive technologies producer. And here's a kind of surprising bit from the source. Henkel apparently got into adhesives almost by accident back in 1922 because of a supply shortage after World War I.
Lucas Adheron:Yeah. Fortuitously, as the report says.
Elena Bondwell:Exactly. And from that kind of accidental start, they grew into this global leader. They even bought Loctite eventually.
Lucas Adheron:Huge acquisition.
Elena Bondwell:Huge. Now Henkel operates in over 800 industry segments. Mobility, electronics, packaging, construction. It's vast. So I guess the question The question is, with a company that big, nearly 150 years old, how does Nobel manage to keep pushing for profitable growth and these really ambitious sustainability goals across so many different areas?
Lucas Adheron:Well, that's where his strategic skill really comes in. Nobel isn't just aiming for small improvements. He's guiding Henkel through pretty fundamental changes. Given Henkel's huge scale, I mean, hundreds of sectors. His focus on sustainability, it's not just internal, it's about influencing the whole supply chain. Think about when a company that massive commits to things like bio-based adhesives or making recycling easier.
Elena Bondwell:It has knock-on effects.
Lucas Adheron:Exactly. It creates ripples. It sets new standards for all those industries that depend on them. He's using their market power to drive change, not just react to it.
Elena Bondwell:That's a really good point about using scale. Okay, shifting gears a bit, let's look at Celeste Mastin. She's president and CEO of HB Fuller. They're ranked fourth globally in 2024 for adhesives and sealants. What seems to stand out with Mastin is this real focus on... customer-centric innovation and sustainability efficiency too. They even have these customer innovation awards. How does that focus on customer innovation actually set HB Fuller apart? Because it's a competitive market, right? Often B2B.
Lucas Adheron:It's a really key differentiator. Yeah. In an industry where the product is often kind of hidden, Mastin makes sure HB Fuller is like deeply involved with their clients' R&D. Those awards aren't just for show. They reflect a co-creation approach, solving specific, tricky problems for their customers. And her background, you know, seven years at Bostik, that gives her a deep understanding of different market needs. Right. So H.P. Fuller can tailor solutions that really push the envelope. Things like lighter car parts or more durable packaging. And that approach also helps explain their global footprint. 81 manufacturing sites, 26 countries. It lets them offer that localized customer support.
Elena Bondwell:Makes sense. Okay. Speaking of iconic names, Bill Brown at 3M. We all know 3M. Huge material science and manufacturing company. Over $25 billion dollars a year. And adhesives are absolutely core to their business. Automotive, industrial electronics.
Lucas Adheron:Oh, yeah. Central.
Elena Bondwell:And of course, the classic example of their adhesive innovation has to be the Post-it note, right?
Lucas Adheron:The ultimate example.
Elena Bondwell:So Brown's focus now is apparently on refocusing their R&D investments, driving organic growth, boosting efficiency. Given 3M's massive portfolio, what's the strategic implication of that refocusing specifically for their adhesive innovations?
Lucas Adheron:Well, Brown's strategy at 3M sounds like it's about disciplined innovation. For a company as diverse as 3M, it's probably easy to spread R&D too thin. So his refocusing likely means concentrating their resources, putting them into the most promising, high-impact adhesive tech that can really make a difference for their biggest customers. Think maybe advanced bonding for EVs or next-gen adhesives for flexible electronics. It's about making sure the next post-it note, whatever that might be, comes out of a more targeted, efficient R&D pipeline.
Elena Bondwell:Right, focusing the firepower. Okay. Now, another Another leader whose influence comes partly through M&A is Terry Lehanoff. He's chairman and CEO of Arkema. He really shaped Arkema's place in the adhesives market by leading that strategic acquisition of Bostik. That move solidified Arkema's position in specialty chemicals. What do you think was the real driver behind such a big move and how did it change Arkema's direction?
Lucas Adheron:Oh, the Bostik deal was huge for Arkema, a real game changer. Lehanoff clearly saw adhesives as a high growth, high value part of special Good margins, steady demand. By bringing Bostick's portfolio and market know-how into Arkema, he didn't just diversify their income.
Elena Bondwell:No, it gave them scale.
Lucas Adheron:Exactly. Critical mass, technological depth. It let Arkema speed up innovation, push into key emerging markets, and get better operational excellence across a much wider product range than they could have before. It was definitely a bold move, and it paid off, made them a stronger, more resilient company.
Elena Bondwell:Okay. Then we have Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Dow. Dow, another global material science player, big presence in adhesives and sealants. Fitterling's been key in transforming Dow, focusing it more on higher growth markets driven by consumer demand. But what's really interesting is his push on sustainability, like Dow being a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, the AEPW. From an adhesive standpoint, what's the actual impact of being part of something like the AEPW?
Lucas Adheron:That's a great question. How does that high-level commitment translate into actual adhesive chemistry? For Dow, being a founder of AEPW means that there's a direct corporate push to develop adhesive solutions that help create a circular economy for plastics.
Elena Bondwell:So
Lucas Adheron:we're talking about adhesives that make it easier to recycle packaging made of different materials, or adhesives made from recycled stuff themselves. Fitterling is basically pushing Dow to make adhesives that don't just stick things together, but also consider the product's whole life. Production, deconstruction, recycling.
Elena Bondwell:Thinking end-to-end.
Lucas Adheron:Exactly. Exactly. It's a systemic shift driven right from the top.
Elena Bondwell:That's a massive undertaking. All right. Next up, let's look at Tim Navish at PPG Industries. PPG, global leader, mostly known for paints and coatings, right? But they also have this substantial specialty materials division, including adhesives.
Lucas Adheron:Yeah, that's right.
Elena Bondwell:And interestingly, under Navish, PPG won an Adhesives and Sealants Council Innovation Award back in 2020 for a high-strength structural adhesive. What does winning an award like that tell us about his broader strategy?
Lucas Adheron:Winning that ESC award, I think it wasn't just about one product. It really highlighted Navish's strategic focus on technology differentiation. He's actively managing PPG's portfolio, making smart divestitures, it seems, to focus resources on the most promising tech-driven products.
Elena Bondwell:So doubling down on the high-tech stuff.
Lucas Adheron:Precisely. For adhesives, that means investing heavily where performance is absolutely critical, like those structural adhesives for making cars lighter or advanced solutions for tough industrial uses. It shows a commitment to leading through better product performance. It's not just selling more volume, optimizing for organic growth and financial returns.
Elena Bondwell:Right. OK, moving into a slightly different but still critical area. Dion Stander, president and CEO of Avery Dennison Corporation. Avery Dennison, they're multinational, making pressure sensitive adhesive materials, labels, even specialty medical products.
Lucas Adheron:Very diverse.
Elena Bondwell:Yeah. And his leadership seems to be driving innovation, not just in the self-adhesive tech itself, but also in digital solutions for supply chains. Plus a big push on sustainability, circularity, transparency. How do those different areas, the physical adhesives and the digital solutions kind of come together under his vision?
Lucas Adheron:That's a great question because it really points to a key trend. Standard gets that in today's world, a physical thing like an adhesive label isn't just physical. It's also a data point. By integrating digital supply chain solutions with the self-adhesive tech, Avery Dennison can offer amazing transparency. Think about it. A smart label could track a product's entire journey, prove it's authentic, maybe even give you disposal
Elena Bondwell:instructions. Exactly.
Lucas Adheron:But much more integrated. This convergence is crucial for handling complex supply chains and for actually proving sustainability claims are legit. It's about turning the label stuck on with adhesive into an intelligent carrier of information.
Elena Bondwell:Wow, it really shows how far beyond just sticking things together these companies are thinking. It's fascinating how diverse the portfolios are among these leaders, too. Let's look at Peter R. Huntsman. He's chairman, president, and CEO of Huntsman Corporation. His company is a global maker of differentiated and specialty chemicals. They have a really strong portfolio of high-performance adhesive tech epoxy, polyurethane, acrylate, phenoxyethanol, A
Lucas Adheron:wide range of chemistries.
Elena Bondwell:Right. So how does his focus on tailoring products to specific market needs and navigating all the regulations shape their innovation strategy?
Lucas Adheron:Peter Huntsman's approach seems to be about strategic agility, being responsive to the market. With such a broad, advanced set of adhesive chemistries, his leadership ensures Huntsman isn't just pushing tech for its own sake. They're proactively developing very specialized formulas that solve real pain points for different industries, whether that's making planes lighter with advanced epoxies or making buildings more durable with polyurethanes. Got it. And navigating complex global rules is just part of the deal now. It means investing in R&D to create solutions that are not only high performing, but also compliant and, well, future proof.
Elena Bondwell:OK, as we're nearing the end of the list, let's talk about Dr. Christian Hertel, president and CEO of Wacker Kimi AG. Wacker Kimi is a global chemical company, big divisions in silicones and polymers, which are, of course, crucial ingredients and tons of adhesive formulas.
Lucas Adheron:Absolutely fundamental.
Elena Bondwell:Under Hertel, Wacker is focused on accelerated profitable growth, and pretty ambitious sustainability targets, like aiming to have their CO2 emissions by 2030. That's
Lucas Adheron:a big goal.
Elena Bondwell:It is. So what kind of investments are they making to hit those goals, especially in the adhesive space?
Lucas Adheron:Well, Hartel seems to be putting serious resources behind it. Wacker is making big investments in expanding capacity, specifically for specialty chemicals like high-performance adhesives and advanced silicone solutions. This includes developing new silicone sealants and adhesives that are maybe more durable or more energy efficient to apply or just made with a lower carbon footprint. Having CO2 by 2030 is aggressive, yeah. It means every part of their production, including key adhesive components, is being looked at for better efficiency and less environmental impact. It's clearly a top-down mandate. make their core chemistry greener.
Elena Bondwell:OK, finally, we get to Frank Haug, CEO of Bodo Möller Chemie Group. His company plays a really interesting role. They're a major solutions provider and partner to the big global chemical companies in adhesives, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Henkel, Huntsman.
Lucas Adheron:Kind of a critical link in the chain.
Elena Bondwell:Exactly. They operate in over 60 countries, 400 plus employees, pioneers in adhesives. And they offer this unique full service package through their adhesive competence center. It provides everything from picking the right product, validating it, process simulation, engineering, even certified labs for tough industries like automotive, railway, aerospace.
Lucas Adheron:Very comprehensive.
Elena Bondwell:Yeah. So what's really forward-looking about Hogg's initiatives, especially this vision he has of converting molecules into functioning units?
Lucas Adheron:Hogg's approach seems to be about solving the whole adhesive problem, not just selling the chemical. That phrase, molecules into functioning units, either I think it perfectly captures Bodo Möller Chemie's integrated model. They aren't just giving you a product, they're providing the solution for how that product works best in a specific use case.
Elena Bondwell:Right, the how-to.
Lucas Adheron:Exactly. And what's really exciting under his leadership are their initiatives in AI for developing materials and some truly groundbreaking work in sustainability. Things like bio-based epoxy resins and these revolutionary debonding-on-demand solutions.
Elena Bondwell:Debonding-on-demand, what's that?
Lucas Adheron:Okay, so this allows adhesives to be... essentially unstuck when you want them to be, intentionally. It's potentially a game changer for repairing products, recovering materials, and really enabling true circularity in manufacturing, especially in complex things like electronics or cars, where separating parts for recycling is usually almost impossible. He's anticipating what manufacturing will need next and designing adhesive solutions to make it happen.
Elena Bondwell:Stepping back from the individual leaders, what does this all mean for you, the listener? If we connect the dots across the work of these 10 people, some really clear, powerful themes emerge, don't they?
Lucas Adheron:Absolutely. And one of the most critical ones, as we've kind of touched on repeatedly, is that sustainability is no longer just nice to have. It's paramount. Leaders like Celeste Mastin, Jim Fitterling, Christian Hartel, they're deeply integrating sustainability into their core business strategies. And like we said, it's not just about meeting regulations. It's a fundamental rethink of adhesive chemistry. We're seeing this huge push towards bio-based, eco-friendly formulas, promoting circular economy ideas, and like we just discussed with Frank Hogg, truly revolutionary tech like debonding on demand. That enables end of life recycling, material reuse. It's all about making sure adhesives are part of the solution for a greener future, not part of the problem.
Elena Bondwell:And the second clear trajectory seems to be the relentless push towards high performance and advanced materials. The industry is obviously committed to creating adhesives with better properties for tougher and tougher applications. Definitely. You see that with Bill Brown overseeing 3M's huge R&D engine, always looking for the next big thing. And Peter R. Huntsman's focus on tailoring those super high performance adhesives for critical needs. These advances are just crucial, aren't they? Especially in areas like advanced electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, where materials have to handle extreme conditions and be incredibly reliable.
Lucas Adheron:Absolutely vital.
Elena Bondwell:So why should you care who leads the adhesives industry? Well, because their contributions are foundational. They're fundamental. These are the people making sure the bits inside your next phone stay connected, that EVs can be lighter, more efficient, that our packaging can actually be sustainable, that new ways of building are more resilient. They ensure the adhesives industry stays this critical enabler of global progress and innovation, literally holding our modern world together. So yeah, these leaders aren't just reacting to what the market wants now, they are actively anticipating, actively shaping the next generation of adhesive technologies. Their vision is paving the way for innovations that will affect industries, affect products. We might only just be starting to imagine today.
Lucas Adheron:Which raises an important question, I think. As these leaders keep innovating, how will our reliance on these, well, invisible adhesive solutions evolve in future tech? And what new challenges might pop up? Because they're becoming so complex, so ubiquitous, pretty much everything we touch.
Elena Bondwell:Something to think about next time you pick up your smartphone. Okay, that wraps up this deep dive.
