Materials Engineering Research Laboratory Ltd.
89-91 Tamworth Road
Hertford SG13 7DG  
U.K.

Mike Samulak
Tel. +44 (0)1992 510814
msamulak@merl-ltd.co.uk

MERL, established in 1986, is an independent British research organisation based in Hertford, England. MERL is the leading independent research organisation world-wide that specialises in fatigue life determinations of polymeric engineering materials, systems and components. MERL is a member of AIRTO (the Association of Independent Research Organisations), which is a member of EACRO and is involved in a wide range of research activities as well as activities to disseminate advanced technology to SME's.

Twenty five specialist, professional technical staff are employed at MERL with postgraduate research experience in polymeric materials, including adhesive systems. This includes specialists in designing and building dedicated test equipment for accelerated enironmental durability testing of adhesive systems. Senior staff at MERL have been responsible for a wide range of scientific publications relating to the automotive industry. MERL has an extensive range of laboratory test equipment with state of the art equipment for evaluating adhesives, from low level cyclic fatigue to high strain rate impact testing. Finite element services at MERL are available to compliment laboratory testing.

BMW is an industrial partner whose main business interests are in the production of high performance automobiles an motorcycles. The BMW headquarters is located in Munich and the main production sites are in Munich, Regensburg, Dingolfing, Landshut and Berlin (motorcycles and car components). Beyond these German plants there are also production sites in South Africa and USA.

BMW uses adhesive bonding technologies in their cars since the 1980s. Adhesives are used in hang-on parts like doors and hoods mainly, but structural bonds in the car body are growing more and more important over the last few years.

The department TK-310 "Technology Surfaces – Planning adhesive-, sealing-, sound deadening processes“ will do all work and research within the LTD-BAMS project.

Personnel:
Dr. Ing. Martin Eis (mechanical engineering)
Dr. Eis did his doctorate on the technology of adhesive bonding. He is employed as specialist for adhesive-, sealing,- and sound deadening-processes at BMW since 2000. Several publications regarding bonding processes in the automotive industry.

HENKEL is an internationally operating Company with a widely diversified product portfolio that includes among others adhesives, household cleaners, body care products, products for surface treatment and industrial cleaning, and chemical products. The HENKEL Group is managed by HENKEL KGaA in Düsseldorf, Germany. At the end of June 2000 HENKEL employed more than 57,000 people world-wide, 42,000 of who worked for the Company abroad. HENKEL prides itself as one of the most global players, conducting the majority of its business outside of Germany.

HENKEL's Adhesives business sector operates all over the world in three distinct arenas: industrial adhesives, engineering adhesives and consumer and craftsmen's adhesives. More than 3000 different adhesives and sealants are sold in 140 countries. Seventy-five years after it was established, this business sector, with a workforce of about 12,000 people all over the world.

Incorporated into Engineering Adhesives are the industrial adhesives and automotive aftermarket repair products of Loctite, the Teroson automotive after products and the engineering adhesives of HENKEL. These products are marketed in approx. 50 different countries. In 1998, this unit achieved an increase in sales of 3 percent. The engineering adhesives product group covers industrial reactive adhesives and also high-performance sealants and sealing systems for the automotive and electronics industries. In the year under review, Henkel were successful with a number of important product launches in the form of chip adhesives for the electronics market, and high-performance sealants for the automotive market. These products are based on developments by the Loctite Corporation. In addition, the acquisition of the Chemical Products Division of the Fel-Pro Corp. in the USA enabled us to introduce a range of speciality products onto the market. Henkel’s automotive after products business concentrates mainly on Europe. In the more mature markets where the number of vehicles on the road only increases at a very slow rate overall and where the quality of vehicle manufacturing has also improved in recent years, the level of growth which occurs in the aftermarket is limited. In the USA, therefore, Henkel are currently negotiating the sale of this business. Their engineering adhesives enjoy a strong market position, particularly in Europe. In 1998, a Working Group was formed with the objective of exporting the successes achieved in Europe to other regions of the world, particularly North America, Latin America and Asia. Thanks to the strength of our technologies, we consider that our market opportunities are excellent in these regions.

Hydro Aluminium is an integrated international aluminium company with its main office in Oslo Norway. Hydro Aluminium's activities are organised in four divisions, with an integrated value chain from raw materials through primary metal production, semi-fabricated products to downstream fabrication of a significant range of products. Hydro Aluminium had gross sales of 2.8 billion € and produced about 663,000 tonnes primary and 389,000 tonnes re-melt aluminium products in 1998. The company has 15,000 employees. Hydro Aluminium is a part of and fully owned by Norsk Hydro ASA which has more than 38,000 employees around the world. The company is the largest supplier of aluminium extrusions in Europe, with a strategic interest in the automotive and other transport sectors.

Hydro will supply materials and perform tests and analysis. Hydro Aluminium R&D Materials Technology will be responsible for the work. This department employs 130 people, about 40 with a PhD. Roald Lilletvedt will be key person involved. Mr Lilletvedt has been employed since 1991, in charge of adhesive bonding and corrosion and is now manager of the laboratories.

The SIKA Group is a leading global specialty chemical Company in construction chemicals and industrial materials. Founded in 1910, the Swiss parent company and its worldwide subsidiaries have concentrated their activities in seven selected areas:

Concrete and mortar admixtures
Waterproofing systems
Repairs, protection and maintenance
Floorings and surfacing for industry, transport and sport
Application equipment
Underground construction
Adhesive and acoustic systems

In the early 1980s, SIKA diversified into the chemistry of elastic adhesive bonding for industrial applications. With production centres on three continents, SIKA is now the world's largest manufacturer of polyurethane adhesives and sealants. The products and services of the SIKA Industry division are marketed to the following market sectors, where it is the leader in the following market fields: transportation, marine, domestic appliances and industrial equipment, building components.

SIKA's international network of production and marketing companies has now extended its operations to over 50 countries around the world. This global market presence enables the Group to adapt its highly specialized know-how quickly and efficiently to the changing needs of local markets. The company's central R & D facility in Switzerland is supported by regional Technology Centres in Germany, France, the USA and Japan.

Within the frame of the LTD-BAMS project the SIKA Group is able to contribute all the adhesives for the tests, and all the technical support around these adhesives. The waveband of adhesives reaches from the soft and high elastic elastomers up to the high strength structural bonding systems. Available are one- and two-component systems; partly with a special hot curing option.
SIKA brand names such as SIKAflex®, SIKATack®, SIKAPower®, SIKALastomer®, SIKATransfloor® and SIKABlock® are now firmly established in the international marketplace, where they are the expression and embodiment of a unified, marketing-oriented corporate philosophy.

Volvo Cars is a specialist manufacturer in the car industry with products in the upper segment of the market and with approx. 1% of the total world market for passenger cars.
Volvo Cars is owned by Ford Motor Company

Volvo Cars product strategy is based on sedan-, estate wagon-, coupé- and convertible-models. The guiding core values are safety, quality and environmental concern. R&D work is concentrated on systems development and integration and the development of concept vehicles for systems evaluation.