What to Consider When Selecting an Adhesive for Agriculture Shipping Boxes?

Hot Melt for Agriculture Shipping Boxes

Transporting agricultural produce requires quality packaging, with excellent durability and the ability to withstand weight of the produce, global logistic transportation, and the different environmental factors.

For this, agricultural operators count on hot melt adhesives for end-of-line packaging that can tolerate different temperatures and operating conditions. Thus, a good adhesive supplier must have a wide selection of adhesive to accommodate various variables required by agriculture growers and shippers such as tack level, viscosity, setting time, and more.

Cardboard or corrugated boxes are a common go-to for agriculture operators within the industry who want to ensure the safe, and damage-free transportation/distribution of their produce. But it doesn’t just end with the box; there is a strict requirement for quality adhesive used in assembly at the end-of-the-line packaging process.

These boxes also need to meet the weight requirements: Strong sturdy boxes require the right glue that can create a hot tack that will generate fiber tear when forced open.

The Right Adhesive

Ideally, operators have a number of things to consider when choosing an adhesive for carton-sealing. Hot melt glue only knows how to do one thing. Any variables from substrates to temperature could affect the performance of the adhesives.

These are the factors to consider when selecting a hot melt solution for your carton sealing application:

• Ink or Print– agriculture/produce boxes usually have ink or prints which can interact with the chemical properties of a general-purpose hot melt, ultimately impeding it from penetrating the fibers of the box, therefore, creating a less-than-ideal bond.

• Recycled boxes-. Using recycled boxes presents somewhat of a challenge because of the shortened paper fiber. Therefore, making it more challenging for the adhesive to grab onto. An adhesive with superior performance would be better suited to tackle this type of material, instead of a general-purpose regular carton sealing adhesive.

• Temperature range– Will the adhesive need to be able to perform in a wide temperature range from storage to the transportation of the produce?

• Coated or varnished corrugated box– These features could lessen the bonding strength of the adhesive due to interaction of chemicals from the hot melt glue.
• Box memory– some agriculture boxes have multiple mechanisms that result in strong box memory. This requires hot melt with strong hot tack to prevent boxes from popping open.

How We Can Help

ASA-3246ML is our premium carton sealing adhesive and a hybrid metallocene that exhibits excellent pot life stability, high-heat resistance, good machining, and increased mileage. It provides the operators with improved performance and offers excellent ROI, as equipment maintenance costs, adhesive usage, and downtime are drastically reduced. This fast-setting, versatile adhesive runs smoothly on the high-speed machines used in food, beverage, and other industries with corrugated packaging needs.

ASA-3246ML provides a unique combination of benefits, including clear color, low odor, and a smoke-free environment. High heat resistance is one of the main qualities of this product, making it ideal for both cool and warm climates, and non-climate control areas including trucks and storage facilities.

Main Qualities of ASAs Premium Hybrid Metallocene Hot Melt

• Good price point due to its hybrid metallocene technology
• Service-wide temperature range
• Exceptional pot stability
• Lowers operational costs
• Odorless and dries clean
• Safe for indirect contact with a variety of foods and beverages

ASA-3246MLP hot melt is ideal for carton sealing applications for its hybrid metallocene qualities which out-performs in comparison to EVA-based hot melts. 

So Why Us?

With excellent pot stability characteristics, ASA-3246ML hybrid metallocene possesses unique technology that eliminates charring to ensure fewer blocked filters and nozzles, less waste and downtime, and higher machine efficiency.

Hybrid metallocene technology combines the best of both worlds: economical benefits for the owner/operator, and high performance to rise to the challenge as a result of the properties.

More importantly, it isn’t limited in its uses and can be implemented in a variety of applications to include:

• Carton side seam and closure
• Corrugated board manufacturing
• Tray forming
• Folding carton sealing
• Paper to paper bonding, requiring fast set

Get in Touch With Us

For end-of-line packaging carton sealing applications, ASA-3246ML is a great solution for your needs. If you need more information about American Standard Adhesives products, do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to answering your questions.