It’s been said the journey to success begins with a single step. For Meridian Adhesives Group that step began with building a full team of expert adhesive companies. Founded just a couple of years ago by Arsenal Capital Partners, Meridian Adhesives Group is a U.S.-based manufacturer of high-performance adhesives and sealant technologies — with seven companies under its portfolio to date.

“After careful analysis, we found that the adhesive market was strong, growing, diverse, and highly sought-after,” says Daniel Pelton, CEO of Meridian Adhesives. “So, with the right team in place to offer expertise, we realized it could be extremely successful.”

So far, this decision is paying off. Through seven key companies (listed below), Meridian Adhesives Group is providing solutions to its customers in the following market segments:

1. Electronics: includes medical, aerospace, automotive, electrical, as well as thermal and heat-transfer type products, and others.
2. Infrastructure: for specified construction and industry-related adhesives for commercial, consumer, and DIY markets.
3. Flooring: serving the commercial and residential flooring markets, with innovative products that can be used in flooring assembly or installation.
4. Packaging: such as tapes and labels, sealants, tube winding, drywall, and more. 

“A key benefit Meridian provides is the ability to leverage technology across these segments to meet each customer’s needs. This means we’re sharing insight, knowledge, R&D, and engineering capabilities from the broader portfolio,” says Pelton.

What’s more, is in some divisions, certain products may have been atypical or inaccessible that are now readily available. This is thanks to Meridian’s broad platform, which offers more options and a greater variety of products to customers.

“Ultimately, the expertise we can garner through the group is invaluable,” shares Pelton. “We’re building a high-performance, customer-focused technology platform.”

Leveraging such technology and expertise is significant as the demands for product requirements increase and, often, at a rapid pace. This is particularly true for adhesives used in the electronics industry, where the requirements for thermal and electrical conductivity, reliability, and extreme temperature performance can be challenging. 

“These unique technology requirements are driving innovation,” he says. “And not just in the electronics market. These advanced requirements are found in all of the market segments that Meridian serves.”

Pelton adds that it’s important to not only keep up with but also anticipate new demands, and provide next-generation products.

“We’re really a different kind of company. For one, we’re continually launching innovative products that are, in many ways, changing the adhesive industry and pushing it forward,” he says. “In addition, we are providing a wholistic approach to meet our customers’ total needs to ensure their success.” 

Meridian’s new technology line, Hybrid Propel, is one example. Through these products, the company has been able to solve challenging requirements where previous technologies fell short. 

“Hybrid Propel was originally created to solve challenges in our flooring division but is now being used on a broader scale within our platform,” explains Pelton. “But by using this technology, we can dial in specific properties for our adhesives and modify their characteristics to meet performance-specific application requirements with ease.”

Significantly, Meridian has also been able to support several industries during the global COVID-19 pandemic and continued operations as an essential manufacturer.

One of its companies, Epoxy Technology has been able to provide an effective adhesive used in the assembly of medical airflow sensors. These sensors are used as part of ventilator assemblies. Meridian has also been supplying adhesives used for the assembly of face masks and air-purifying systems for use in hospitals, as well as effective packaging solutions to move these products around the world. (Read more about the company’s COVID-19 efforts here.)

“The current challenge for us, especially given COVID-19, has been keeping up with some of the demands while introducing enhanced processes and personal protective procedures to ensure our employees remain safe,” he says.

Pelton says the team is closely following CDC guidelines and enforcing rigorous safety precautions to ensure the safety of employees and customers.  

“We’ve actually gone a bit farther than those recommendations and have implemented deeper cleaning protocols,” he says. “Plus, for us, it’s critical that we keep our business operating at an extremely high standard and continue to meet the performance criteria our customers are accustomed to. Many of our products are helping keep people alive, and it’s incredibly rewarding to our team to be part of the solution.”

Pelton credits the team at Meridian for their commitment and accomplishments so far.  

“I’ve been very proud of what our team has achieved over the last couple of years. We’re outpacing the market, and we continue to build a stronger platform with each successive acquisition. We are taking reputable companies and aligning them with a winning strategy to be extremely effective in their market space.”

The Meridian Adhesives portfolio
1. Adhesives Technology Corp.: a manufacturer of construction and industry-related adhesives in epoxies, urethanes, acrylics, ester blends, and polyureas used in markets such as heavy-duty construction, industrial, MRO, and consumer/DIY.
2. Epoxies, Etc.: a resin formulator of epoxies, urethanes, and silicones. The company’s adhesives, potting compounds, and coatings are widely used in the electronic, electrical, construction, and decorative industries.
3. Epoxy Technology: develops and manufactures specialty epoxies and UV and UV hybrid adhesives to meet key performance standards in semiconductor, optoelectronic, medical, automotive, aerospace, and electronics assembly applications
4. Evans: a manufacturer of industrial adhesives, including hot melt and water-based adhesives used in applications such as packaging, case and carton sealing, and paper converting.
5. PolyCom Industries: a manufacturer of product assembly adhesives, binders, and coatings used in industries such as flooring, paint, packaging, construction products, merchandising, and more
6. Taylor: a manufacturer of adhesives and coatings for the floor-covering industry
7. Epoxy Technology Europe: supplies the global market with materials used in semiconductors, hybrid microelectronics, circuit/electronic assembly, medical devices, and optical materials