Soon after launching the business, Gard’s founder was presented with a problem of how to clean and remove an adhesive from a machine in the woodworking industry.
The adhesive was a UF (urea formaldehyde) glue, and after numerous attempts it became clear that this particular adhesive could not be broken down by any known solvent.
The thought process changed to “if it can’t be cleaned, let’s try to stop it from sticking”.
After comprehensive research and development, Gard formulated a unique release agent that provided a protective barrier on surfaces and stopped the UF glue from sticking.
It soon became clear that adhesive cleaners and release agents would become a highly specialist area for Gard, and we developed products for numerous adhesives across various markets.
The range of products expanded further when a multinational soft drink manufacturer made contact, as they were experiencing problems using a citrus-based cleaner to remove hot melt adhesive from their label stations.
Due to its orange odour, the citrus cleaner was a potential source of contamination when bottling water.
Our R&D produced a new and exciting formulation, Gard EV60 Hot Melt Cleaner, which has the following benefits to meet customer requirements:
- Removes hot melt adhesive quickly and effectively
- Low odour
- Operator safe
- Approved for the food industry by the NSF public health and safety organisation
After rigorous testing procedures, Gard EV60 met all of the criteria and is now supplied globally across multiple markets that use hot melt adhesive.