Kiilto launches PU adhesive for more efficient engineered timber production

Tampere, Finland – A new adhesive range from Finnish manufacturer Kiilto is designed to improve production efficiency in load-bearing wooden structures. The company said that it can boost the bonding process by up to 30%.

Kiilto Pro SW is a one-component polyurethane adhesive for the engineered wood industry. The company said it is suitable for applications that require strength and quality that can withstand decades of use. Applications include cross-laminated timber, roof trusses, glulam beams, log construction and structural finger jointing.

The required open time of the adhesive varies depending on the number of layers in the cross-laminated timber. The optimal choice for the engineered wood industry is one with a long open time, but the shortest possible pressing time, according to RDI manager Jussi Hänninen. Optimising the ratio can help increase the efficiency of the bonding process by up to 30%.

“The Kiilto Pro SW line includes options with an optimal ratio between the open and pressing times,” he said. “This way, the customer can choose the adhesive that is best suited for their factory and production. Usually, when the pressing time is divided by the open time, the resulting coefficient is 2.5. However, with the Kiilto Pro SW line, in standard conditions the coefficient can be as low as 1.5.”

The adhesive spreads well and penetrates the wood during the pressing phase, business development manager Juha Rinne said. “A high-quality bonding result can be achieved with less adhesive, which reduces production costs,” he said. “Material efficiency also contributes to environmental friendliness.”

It is also highly shear-thinning, allowing it to be pumped at lower pressures, while also maintaining the adhesive bead in place during vertical bonding, such as in finger joints and edge bonding. The squeeze-outs from the bond lines dry quickly and thoroughly, with no adhesive residues left in the blades of the planes, reducing replacement requirements.

The company also has plans to launch a biobased version. “[It will have] identical technical properties, but be made of partly bio-based components instead of fossil ones,” Hänninen said. “The proportion of bio-based materials can be up to 25%.”