ITW Performance Polymers is seeing a trend where OEM assemblers in Marine, Transportation and Industrial markets are moving towards high performance Plexus® structural adhesives versus using traditional joining methods. A key reason is because Plexus adhesives increase the efficiency of their operations while maintaining high product quality, durability and reliability. These two-part methacrylates are specifically designed to meet the different working times needed in the production build process. In the marine industry, customers are increasingly using Plexus adhesives to bond stringers and liners. In transportation and industrial markets, Plexus is being used for structural bonding of composite materials, thermoplastics and metals. Plexus provides a unique combination of excellent fatigue endurance, outstanding impact resistance, and superior toughness.

Another trend seen be ITW Performance Polymers is the shift towards the SprayCore® line of sprayable syntactic materials. A driving force is that customers are looking to increase throughput and reduce labor cost. Furthermore, in the fiberglass industry, end users are looking for fiberglass parts that stop bulk laminate print-through, have superior cosmetics and high gloss. Our line of SprayCore products address the need for print block (behind the gelcoat, or after the skin coat), in radius (that need air relief), in the mold and plug building. These products have an excellent strength-to-weight ratio and provide fast cure cycles with a low exotherm. One of our spray materials, SC2000-OSLS, enables superior bonding strength when used for bedding products such as plywood, balsa, and other coring materials into our sprayable syntactic. The SprayCore range helps customers achieve their productivity targets while resulting in aesthetically pleasing finished products.