FAQs: Definol® Adhesives and Technical Service“The adhesive accounts only a fraction of the costs – but has a significant influence on the outcome”

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
That is the question we hear often, and it is a fair one. My honest answer: it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If your line is running perfectly, your board quality is flawless, and your waste is negligible, then maybe you do not need to change anything. But in my experience, there are many sites that are not in that position. Every market has its own challenges. European plants are increasingly running lightweight recycled board at high speeds, where process stability and precise application are everything. In the Americas, you often see heavier paper grades producing high-strength packaging that should survive long transport routes and demanding storage conditions. But the core question is always the same: Is your adhesive helping your production, or is it limiting it? Our Definol® range offers high-performance adhesives based on refined wheat starch. Just mix with water and it’s ready to use, no caustic soda, no borax additions required. But more importantly, it is engineered to deliver stable bonding at high machine speeds, even with challenging paper grades. That means less delamination, improved dimensional stability, and lower waste. When you calculate the cost per square meter of finished board, the adhesive typically accounts for around 3 percent of production costs. But it has a significant influence on the outcome.

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
From a process engineering perspective, the most common practice I encounter across corrugated sites is over-application. Plants compensate for adhesive inconsistency by increasing application quantities, which adds moisture, which increases warping and waste. It becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. Definol® adhesives break that cycle because its formulation is optimized for precise, minimal application. Definol® adhesives also allow the process to run cooler than usual: paper temperatures can be kept as low as the minimum wrap allows, and steam settings can be reduced as well – especially in the chest section – without compromising board quality. Less adhesive, less moisture in the board, better bond strength – even on the heavy paper grades that are common across the Americas. That is a direct, measurable cost saving and it applies whether you are running a corrugator in Germany, the US, or Mexico.

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
We are not here to sell you an adhesive off the shelf. We are here to understand your plant and find the right solution for your specific situation. That process starts with the customer: What are your production goals? What challenges are you running into? Where are you losing time, material, or quality? The customer drives that conversation – we listen, we analyze, we ask appropriate questions. Only once we identify a clear opportunity for cost effective improvement do we go into our Definol® product range. And that range is substantial: We have multiple grades, each engineered for different paper weights, machine speeds, and production environments. Some plants need a formulation optimized for high-speed lightweight board. Others need a product built for heavy paper under humid conditions. Others again need moisture-resistant performance for cold-chain packaging. There is no universal answer. There is only the right answer for your plant. That is what being a consultant means in this context: we bring deep technical expertise and a broad product range, and we apply both in a structured, analytical way to your specific situation.

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
From the engineering side, I would add that this approach only works if you are genuinely willing to understand the customer’s process in detail. I spend a lot of time on the production floor because I want to see how the corrugator runs, how the operators work, what the paper looks like when it comes off the machine. That is where the real insight is. What we find consistently is that customers come to us with a problem they think is about the adhesive. Often, it is, but sometimes the adhesive is a symptom, not the cause. Maybe the steam pressure is inconsistent. Maybe the paper moisture varies between rolls. A consultant’s job is to see the full picture and address it honestly. The KPIs that show where the savings are relate not only to the adhesive itself but also to downtime. If a plant is running slow despite an adhesive engineered to achieve better performance, we have to find out why. That means working with the operators and understanding their daily challenges, whether paper-related or machine-related, even if the answer is more complex than simply switching the adhesive.

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
The energy aspect alone is often underestimated. Definol® bonds at lower temperatures than conventional adhesives, which means significantly lower energy demand. Customers benefit from the quality improvement that reduced paper temperatures bring along with cost savings via reduced steam consumption. The Cost-in-Use Calculator also captures what is often overlooked: the value of available machine time and productive capacity. When Definol® improves speed and sheet quality, both the corrugator and downstream converting gain productive capacity. That is the conversation we want to have. Not “our adhesive costs X” but “here is what your operation currently costs, and here is what it could look like.”

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
This is a very common question, and I appreciate its directness. Price matters. Our answer is always the same: Let us look at the total cost, not the line item. The purchase price of the adhesive is visible on an invoice. What is less visible are the costs associated with poor board quality: rejects, complaints, rework, downtime when the corrugator stops because bonding is inconsistent. A delamination failure does not just cost the box. It can cost customer relationships. This is why every engagement starts with a structured Cost-in-Use Analysis. Before we recommend anything, we sit down with the plant team and map the real cost base: corrugator running hours, boiler and energy consumption, downtime frequency, starch costs including caustic and borax additives, corrugated board waste rate, and gross margin per board. We put the current numbers in and then we model what changes when those parameters shift. That analysis becomes the baseline for a three-month on-site trial with Definol®. We track the same KPIs throughout: adhesive consumption per square meter, waste rate, energy use, downtime hours. At the end of the trial, we compare the Pre-Trial and Post-Trial data transparently, line by line. The customer sees exactly what moved, by how much, and what it means in monetary terms. Not a sales projection but actual numbers from their own production floor.

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
For us, the product and the service are inseparable. We do not ship adhesive and leave the plant manager to figure it out. The process always starts with a thorough analysis of the current situation: What paper grades is the plant running? What are the machine settings? What are the quality complaints? What are the targets – speed, waste, board strength? From that conversation, we select the right Definol® formulation. The customer does not have to guess. We recommend based on data and experience. Then we implement, with our team on-site for the transition period. After that, we run an optimization phase where we monitor KPIs, adjust process parameters, and train the operators. And beyond that, we provide regular scheduled service visits and can respond remotely to urgent issues.

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
The local presence matters enormously. Beyond our field team, we have additional colleagues and a local back-office in the United States. Customers across North and Central America have direct access to support without time-zone barriers. On the logistics side, Crespel & Deiters operates subsidiaries and warehousing across Europe and the Americas, including in the US and Mexico, ensuring supply reliability.

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
Corrugated board manufacturing is not one market – it is many. A plant might run lightweight e-commerce boxes in one shift and heavy agricultural board in the next. The paper grades, the moisture requirements, and the structural demands are completely different. What our Definol® range gives us is the flexibility to address that full spectrum with a single product. Whether running microflute or heavy triple wall with waxed mediums we have a product that fits.

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
Agricultural and cold-chain packaging is one of the most demanding applications in the corrugated board industry. Boxes for fresh produce whether avocados, berries, tomatoes, or cut flowers go into humid environments, cold storage, and refrigerated transport. The packaging should maintain its structural integrity throughout that journey. A box that delaminates at 39°F / 4°C in a cooling facility is not acceptable. Definol® can be combined with selected resin additives to enhance moisture resistance and mechanical strength significantly. This formulation maintains bonding performance in cold or wet conditions, resists moisture absorption, and supports the structural integrity required for heavy or perishable goods in the cold chain. Importantly, the solution remains starch-based so it supports biodegradable and recyclable packaging concepts. That matters increasingly to large food producers and exporters and their international buyers, who have sustainability commitments to meet.

Adrian Beckett (USA/MEX):
Labor shortages are a real pressure point for corrugated board manufacturers in virtually every market right now: Europe, the US and Mexico. Fewer qualified operators, higher turnover, and less institutional knowledge on the production floor. It creates inconsistency, and that is expensive. The practical advantage of Definol® is that it simplifies operations. It is a ready-to-use powder, just to be mixed with water at room temperature. There is no need for borax, no caustic soda handling, no complex cooking process. The preparation is straightforward and works well even for operators who are less experienced with adhesive chemistry. The gel point is consistent every time, which means less variability in output even with varying operator experience levels. That consistency is valuable not just for quality, but for training. New operators can get up to speed more quickly when the adhesive behaves predictably.

Mario Garcia-Manzano (MEX):
And this is where our training support comes in directly. We run structured operator training sessions as part of the service model – not a one-off onboarding, but an ongoing program that builds confidence and problem-solving capability within the plant’s own team. The goal is that operators understand why certain parameters matter, not just what settings to use. That knowledge stays in the plant even when team members change. We also provide digital performance monitoring through our service app, which tracks key process metrics and gives our team, and the plant’s management, visibility into how things are running between visits. If a parameter drifts outside the optimal range, we can flag it before it becomes a problem.