SIMALFA® – the best adhesive for upholstery

We put our expert for upholstery adhesives, Mariusz Stróżak, on the new SIMALFA® 825 and he put the new type through its paces.

Mariusz’s conclusion: „The best adhesive for foam bonding in the upholstery industry I have ever worked with.“

  • Super fast application
  • Immediate processing
  • Numerous application possibilities
  • Remains repositionable

Adhesives are a central component in the manufacturing of upholstered funiture

Hello Mariusz. You have been working at SIMALFA® and in the upholstered furniture industry for a long time. That means that you have already glued a lot. What makes you an expert in bonding in the upholstery industry?

That’s right. I have been working in the upholstery industry since 1998 and have been working with adhesives for this industry since 2004. Adhesives are a central component in the manufacturing of upholstered furniture and are used in various places. In my work I have already processed, tested and compared quite a few brands of adhesives from different manufacturers.
Especially when it comes to upholstering high-quality products in the furniture industry, the demands on adhesive application and processing are particularly demanding. Certain intricate shapes in furniture design are unattainable without a high-class adhesive. The perfect adhesive can easy be processed and has a high durability in the end product.

Requirements of the industry for adhesives

  • High instant tack
  • Bonding under high tension
  • Repositionable during processing
  • Bonding with various types of wood
  • Bonding with various types of plastic
  • Compliance with environmental regulations
  • Odorless
  • Soft glue lines

Materials used that are bonded with SIMALFA® 825:

  • Polyurethane foam
  • HR-foam
  • Moulded foam
  • Wood
  • MDF
  • Chipboard
  • Plastics
  • Quilting cotton
  • Corovin
  • Cardboard

Demands towards adhesives for the upholstery industry

You are talking about the high demands towards the bonding. How are these requirements being met today?

In the upholstered furniture industry, solvent-based products are used for many bonds, which are still widely used. On closer inspection, however, we see some disadvantages for the processor as well as for the end consumer.
Once the materials to be bonded are put together, it is no longer possible to reposition them. This means that the processor can no longer make any corrections to the workpiece.
In the end product solvent-based adhesives remain sticky and quickly lose their flexibility. This lost elasticity of the bonded adhesive film causes the adhesive seam to begin to crumble. It is obvious that this has a negative effect on the quality of the upholstered furniture.
And of course, we all know that the volatile solvents are harmful to the environment and therefore have a negative impact on the health and safety of processors. The solvent residues can also be found in the end product.

SIMALFA® 825 is the first water-based adhesive, that I know, that remains really repositionable even with upholstered products.
Mariusz Stróżak, SIMALFA® Upholstery Expert

Water-based adhesives in the upholstery industry

It seems like this doesn’t convince you. What about water-based adhesives?

There are applications in which classic water-based adhesives are used and also work well. But here, too, are restrictions that must be taken into account.
Since the foam absorbs high tension during bonding, water-based adhesives also have to adhere quickly. Up to now, bonding under tension could only be carried out to a limited extent, as a high initial tack is required. This means that workpieces cannot be repositioned, or only to a limited degree.
In addition, classic water-based adhesives have only a limited area of application in the upholstery industry. This has to do with the fact that not all materials used in this field of application can be bonded using adhesives based on water.

The best adhesive for foam bonding in the upholstery industry I have ever worked with.

Mariusz Stróżak, SIMALFA® Upholstery Expert

How does SIMALFA® 825 meet these demands?

We have been using the new SIMALFA® 825 at various customers in the upholstery industry for quite some time. This is a water-based 2-component adhesive that even convinced me. And that doesn’t happen too often.
The speed at which the adhesive can be processed, the ability to quickly tackle further production steps and the wide range of application possibilities with SIMALFA® 825 are just remarkable. The adhesive bonds the materials used in the upholstery industry with ease. And SIMALFA® 825 comes out on top with the industry-typical bondings of foam on wood. We tested everything on wood that we could get our hands on. Hardwood, softwood, plywood, chipboard, HDF, MDF, OSB etc. Even if the foam is glued under extremely high tension, SIMALFA® 825 can withstand the stress without any problems.
Bonding to plastic is also no problem.
But it gets even better. We talked about repositioning. SIMALFA® 825 is the first water-based adhesive, that I know, that remains really repositionable even with upholstered products. This is a crucial help for every upholsterer.

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SIMALFA® 825 inspires upholsterers thanks to its outstanding performance

So everything an upholsterer’s heart desires?

You could say that (laughs). I am very convinced of the new SIMALFA® type. Well, you will say that as a SIMALFA® employee I am biased, and you may be right. Let me explain it this way:

We were in the production of one of our customers. The production manager said to me that SIMALFA® 825 is the first water-based adhesive with which he can completely replace his solvent-based products. So, if he had to remove solvents from his upholstery overnight, he knows that he can sleep better thanks to SIMALFA® 825. And that means something.

Expert opinion of Mariusz Stróżak. He started his career in the upholstered furniture industry in 1998. Since 2004 he has been working with adhesives for the foam industry, the last years as adhesives expert for SIMALFA®. Through his career he knows what is important for adhesives in the upholstered furniture industry and why the demands on the adhesive are especially high.

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