A Trifecta of New Podcasts

It started out in a cube last year about this time. The usual Monday morning rehash review of website maintenance, strategies, metrics reviews…yawn. In an uncharacteristic burst of synapses (undoubtedly fueled by three Venti quad-shot lattes), the Webmaster mumbles something about adding podcasts about adhesives to the Ellsworth website. Marketing Manager mumbles something back about trying it to see what happens.

Fast forward to August, 2008. Over 1,300 (and growing every day) iTunes subscribers download Ellsworth “Ask The Glue Doctor” podcasts – an unprecedented achievement in the adhesives industry and a milestone in making the Ellsworth website the best it can be for our customers. Bite-sized, take-it-anywhere, content-rich educational content? For free? You betcha!

So…with no expense spared, we decided to give you, esteemed listeners, MORE podcasts! What kind of program topics, you’re wondering? Read on…

1. When it comes to talking about hot melt adhesives, you couldn’t find a more knowledgeable guy than Glue Factory VP of Sales and Marketing, Bruce Church. In this twelve-and-a-half minute episode, Bruce talks about hot melt adhesive technology for the packaging industry. Great information for anyone involved in hot melt adhesive applications. Check it out!
2. Being the potentate of adhesive and specialty chemical distribution means that we have to offer our customers a selection of product with the industry’s greatest depth and breadth to satisfy ALL adhesive applications. That means offering products from companies like Dow Corning. Naturally, Dow Corning is staffed with Ninja-level experts in adhesives. We were lucky to capture one such conversation with Director of Global Marketing, Electronics Division, David Hirschi about thermal bonding and adhesive applications. Listen and learn!
3. Here’s what happens when one of our listeners takes a minute out of his or her day to send in a question or topic suggestion to Ellsworth – we use it! In this case, faithful listener Dean Cuadra of San Diego, California, who works in the electronics industry, wanted to know more about oxygen Inhibition. We grabbed our new Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff Payne and picked his brain about this phenomenon. Jeff has been in the adhesives industry forever. To say he’s a walking textbook on all things adhesive might be an understatement. This podcast gives you seven minutes and three seconds of Jeff’s insight into oxygen inhibition. Don’t miss it!

And don’t forget – when you have a question about adhesive applications, or want to suggest a topic for our next series of podcasts, just drop us a line. If we use your question or suggested topic, not only do you get the cool Glue Doc bobblehead (see the entry below, “Could Anything Be Cooler?”), but you’ll also get a mention on the program. Just ask Dean Cuadra…you think fame and fortune, instantly thrust upon you, is an easy thing to deal with? Don’t YOU want to know? Sure you do.

Of course, we realize that sometimes you just HAVE to an answer NOW. Dear readers, I would be errant in my ways if I failed to mention our ultra-cool “Ask The Glue Doctor” live chat. Our Applications Experts, sitting at their computers in a Zen-like state, drawing from the industy’s deepest well of adhesive knowledge, serenely tapping their keyboards with responses to your questions. Don’t feel social? No problem. Just fire off information about YOUR adhesive application dilemma into our Glue Doctor Application Analysis form and we’ll get a solution back to you post haste! Don’t stress over those unanswered adhesive applications questions…the Glue Doctor is here to make YOUR life serene!

Enjoy the new podcasts, y’all! Thanks for making our program a great success. It’s your support that makes us the uncontested leaders in the adhesive and specialty chemical industry. Can you feel the love? We hope so!

Boldly Going Where No Adhesives Distributor Has Gone Before!

Bruce Springsteen said it best: “57 Channels and Nothing On.” Been there, done that. How many times are YOU sitting in front of your 60-inch Plasmatronic ultra-hi def, BluRay-capable, 7.1 Dolby-enabled, 1080p flat screen, mindlessly flipping through the channels – bored with “Ice Road Truckers,” Rachel Ray, “The World’s Dirtiest Jobs,” Suze Orman, Craig Kilpatrick, Big Brother, reruns of “South Park,” and everything else on MSNBC, CNN, FoodTV, DIY, VH-1, and on and on and on?

At some point, guilt starts to creep in. You sit on your couch with Cheeto-stained yellow fingers on the remote and a carbohydrate-induced glaze across your face. You can’t go on like this, day after day, any longer! You suddenly come to the conclusion that you need to do SOMETHING with your life! Yes…something fulfilling, something meaningful, something rewarding…perhaps even (gasp!) something educational!

Far be it from us to want you to go cold turkey. We’d hate to tear you away from your high definition-induced nirvana. We know that sudden withdrawl can be catastrophic, and our lawyers have STRONGLY advised us not to do ANYTHING that will jeapordize your physical and mental wellbeing. So…what if we could GENTLY transition you from your, um, dependence (addiction is SUCH an ugly word) on cable-fed diversion, to an online activity that could give you all the sensory input and satisfaction you crave while allowing you to expand your horizons, rejuvinate your brain cells and LOSE the guilt and shame of couch-bound inactivty? We’re betting you’d give it a shot if we made it easy. And we have, Dear Readers…we HAVE!

Enter the first exciting chapter in Ellsworth’s history of online educational video! There..we said it – educational. Yet another facet of the curriculum available from Glue Doctor University, Ellsworth Adhesives’ online educational resource. It’s time to get up off that couch, fellow Cable Drones and FREE YOUR MINDS! FREE YOR REMOTE HANDS! And save what precious brain cells you have left from video-induced atrophy! Can I get an ‘AMEN!’ Brothers and Sisters?

Think of this as your very own Adhesives Cable Network channel…a GlueTube, if you will. Except that you can now find our educational video content on the Glue Doctor University page linked to our very own channel on YouTube. And if you don’t have a link handy, all you need to do is go over to YouTube and type in “Ellsworth Adhesives,” and you’ll find us immediately.

The beauty of this learning process, is that we’re taking complex adhesive dispensing applications and breaking them down into easily-viewed segments that will fill your need to be stimulated with video, while expanding your knowledge of adhesives. How GREAT is that?

This month, we’re posting eleven brief examples of automated, precision adhesive dispensing applications for your review. Easy to watch and so much to learn with a small investment of your time. And best of all – NO EXAMS! Next month, we’ll put up more content, so stay tuned! As a matter of fact, just sign up as a subscriber to the EllsworthAdhesives channel on YouTube, so you can stay in the loop any time new content is added. Just be sure to wash that Cheetos stain off your fingers before you start using your keyboard and mouse, alright?

By the way – be sure to keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for two NEW upcoming podcasts: “Oxygen Inhibition,” and “Hot Melt Optimization.” Quick, bite-sized educational tidbits that you can listen to and take anywhere your iPod or mp3 player can go. Stay tuned!

At Ellsworth, we believe the best customers are informed customers, so watch for our newest podcasts here.

Having Green Moments

Has this happened to you? You’re sitting in line at the local PetroSuperCornerDeliAllinOneStop waiting to tank up your SupremoGigantoLuxoMax all-wheel drive SUV CUV SAV MPAV truck, hoping that gas prices don’t spike another 15 cents per gallon before the pump nozzle hits your fuel spout, and then it hits you: “I HAVE to replace this beast with something more environmetally friendly!” You, my friends, have had a Green Moment. Besides, you realize that your kids’ college education, your next vacation to Puerto Vallarta, or retirement is vaporizing every time you plant your foot to the floorboard to merge into rush-hour traffic. Not good, my friends. Not good at all!
 
It’s happening to us here at Ellsworth, too. As we gaze out at the forest greenery and pastoral rolling hills dotted with gentle, grazing cattle, deer, wild turkey, hawks and cranes that surround us here in Germantown, Wisconsin, we’re starting to have Green Moments, too. We know the importance of keeping the land, air and waters that surround us AND you, pristine.

Let’s look at some examples of our Green Moments, shall we?

We know that whenever you pull your vehicle out and drive to a destination, you’re leaving a big ol’ messy carbon foot print. What are WE doing to help YOU minimize this phenomenon? Glue Doctor University to the rescue!

When we created Glue Doctor University, we decided rather than having you fly in from all corners of the Earth (or drive from all corners of the Upper Midwest) to participate in our learning experience here in Germantown, Wisconsin, we’d build it online, so you could learn from the comfort of your office or home. Heck, you might take it one step further and listen to one of our podcasts or webcasts on your iPod while WALKING to the grocery store or riding your bike to the library! How GREEN is THAT? All the benefits of higher education without ever having to consume fossil fuels or emitting hydrocarbons! It’s definitely a win-win situation. You learn from our growing library of white papers, case studies, application guides, webcasts and podcasts and we BOTH help the environment. Definitely an example of a Green Moment!

Here’s another example of one of our Green Moments: We KNOW that all the products we sell meet stingent government requirements, but with everyone focusing more on preserving the environment, reducing global warming and conserving resources, we KNEW that there had to be companies out there developing products that went beyond compliance and were also beneficial to the environment – environmentally friendly, sustainable, green products.

So – we diligently searched until we found EcoGlue Green Solutions Extreme Adhesive and Sealant and EcoGlue Green Solutions Premium Adhesive. You want GREEN? You want ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY? With these products, you’re covered! How about this: EcoGlue Extreme boasts NO SOLVENTS, less than TWO PERCENT VOC and PROP 65 compliance! EcoGlue Premium boasts less than ONE PERCENT VOC, contains NO SOLVENTS, IT’S INSTANT GRAB, MOISTURE CURE, ODOR FREE, NON-SHRINK, PAINTABLE  AND…it’s NON TOXIC! Both products are extremely strong AND suitable for a wide variety of applications. You want more information? Check out Eclectic’s EcoGlue products right here – grab an EcoGlue Extreme info sheet or an EcoGlue Premium info sheet.

We also have a spot on our site where you can view ALL of our low VOC products - adhesives, sealants and conformals. Not only will these products get the job done, but you’ll feel just as good about using them as we will selling them to you. AND, you can be sure that when we DO add more environmentally-friendly products to our online store, we’ll be keeping you in the loop! If you want to catch breaking news from our site, sign up for our eNewsletter.

Finally, from the “Once In a Blue Green Moon” file, something to SAVE you some GREEN! If you’ve never seen our warehouse area, it’s like something out of the last scene from Indiana Jones and The Raiders of The Lost Ark - it goes on FOREVER. Except that ours is well lit, meets all OSHA standards and everyone working there jokes and smiles a lot. But every once in a great while…an item gets moved from one spot to another and might get, shall we say, FORGOTTEN. In this day of computer-monitored inventory, we’re not sure now it happens, but then, who can explain Area 51, UFO sightings and American Idol results? 

The other day our warehouse manager stumbled upon the MOTHERLODE of hot melt adhesive inventory. How this inventory ended up hidden right under our noses, we’ll never know, but to say that we’d like to move it out NOW would be a mild understatement. If you’re looking for some REALLY special pricing on great general purpose hot melt, now’s the time to act! It’s hot melt from The Glue Factory – perfect for a wide variety of applications that require durable adhesive bonding. Go take a look – you just might be surprised how much GREEN you’ll be saving!

Don’t forget – if you have any suggestions for our “Ask The Glue Doctor” podcasts, send ‘em on in here. If we use your suggestion, you just might end up with your very own Glue Doctor Bobble Head! If you have an application question, click here to chat live with The Glue Doctor – when it comes to adhesive applications, his encyclopedic knowledge will find your solution!

That’s it for now! So step AWAY from the computer and get outside! With Spring upon us, there’s plenty of green out there to take in and it always looks better in person than on a monitor!

Greetings From Your New Alma Mater!

Remember those glorious days in college? The all-night keggers? Student Loans? Frat parties gone out of control? Pulling all-nighters fueled by fear, caffeine and Ding Dongs? Chemistry experiments going terribly wrong? Programming exercises that temporarily assumed control of the university mainframe’s student records? Living on mac’n'cheese and sardines for weeks so you could pay tuition? How about working a “part-time” thirty-five hour-a-week job while taking a full credit load so you could pay for books, rent, gas, and beer? Remember those nice, peaceful naps in the back of a lecture hall while your micro-cassette recorder chugged away preserving the professor’s weekly babblings? Ahh…those were the days! Just thinking about all those magic moments makes me warm and fuzzy…how about you? I’ll bet anything you’re still getting those friendly letters from the Alumni Association beseeching you for a tithing of your annual income, right? Preserving the legacy and all that?

With a flourish of brass and a rimshot, Ellsworth Adhesives is excited to announce the opening of our very own Ivy-covered halls in cyberspace! With the push of a couple buttons and a nervous breakdown by our Webmaster, we’re proud to open the doors to Glue Doctor University!

‘Wondering what this is all about? It’s a natural extension of Ellsworth Adhesives’ leading roll as the “Expert in Adhesives!” Sure, we can and WILL keep supplying the world with adhesives, sealants, coatings, encapsulants, dispensing and UV curing, products all from our vast inventory. But, with over 30 years experience in adhesive applications we’ve learned quite a bit. Now it’s time to begin sharing our knowledge with you. Our Glue Doctor U “professors” are pulling all the requisite study materials and lectures together for you to peruse and learn from at your convenience. That’s right! No tuition, kissing up to the professors, running from lecture hall to lecture hall or anything else that made your four-year sentence happy days in academia so (ahem) challenging.

Please consider this your invitation to stop by for a “campus” tour. Our very first class is our first-ever webcast: Thermal Conductivity - Bond-Line Thickness And Integrity In The Importance of Delivering Thermal K.  Class starts Thursday April 17, 2008 at 1 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific. Your professor: Phillip Canale, PhD and VP of Technologies for Techfilm, LLC. And unlike waiting in line at the last minute to squeeze a class into your schedule, all you need to do to register is click here, your syllabus is waiting! Sign up! It’s fast. It’s easy. And best of all, no financial aid paperwork to fill out! First-class educational opportunities without the high-costs.

Stay in the loop as Ellsworth’s Glue Doctor University grows and grab our eNewsletter. We’ll soon be adding white papers, more Podcasts and self-paced presentations for you to review at your leisure…all without the agony of pulling all-nighters. You’ll get the 4-1-1 as soon as new materials are added, making it easy for you to participate in our online learning community. Ellsworth is dedicated to providing quality learning resources to help you grow in your career. For FREE. How great is that?

Don’t forget! If you send in questions or suggestions for topics for our “Ask The Glue Doctor” podcasts, you COULD win a legen…wait for it…DARY Glue Doctor Bobble Head! The perfect addition for your dorm room or car’s dash board!

Hey…gotta run. It’s two-fer tappers over at the student union! Anyone care to join me?

Could Anything Be Cooler?

For months I’ve been inundated by email requests from visitors to our site who’ve heard about the legendary Glue Doctor Bobble Head. “How can I get one for my very own?” they ask. I’ve been bribed with offered stock options, roles in Hollywood A-list movies, exotic cars…it’s amazing what people will do for one of these things!

For those of you who don’t understand what the fuss is all about, let me explain. Briefly, the Glue Doctor Bobble Head is the 3-D, concrete (resin, actually), embodiment of the cartoon representation of our online technical support staff. Got that? Yet there’s a far deeper purpose to this coveted item.

The concept of The Glue Doctor was the collective concept of upper-level management here at Ellsworth Adhesives – far before on-line chat clients ever came to fruition on the Web. Being as far-sighted as management is, they knew there would be a day when Internet technology would mature enough to offer site visitors the opportunity to chat on-line with our in-house technical professionals to get answers on the ever-complex world of adhesives, conformal coatings, sealants, UV curing, lubricants, encapsulants, dispensing equipment, specialty chemicals and much more.

Because our Technical Support Staff possess different areas of expertise, collectively, they became The Glue Doctor. As soon as chat clients came up to speed to offer real-time conversations, our “Ask The Glue Doctor” feature was introduced on our site – a resource for site visitors that has grown exponentially since the introduction over two years ago.

To promote this great resource, The Glue Doctor Bobble Head was created. It became an instant hit. Engineers, buyers and students from around the world clamored to get their hands on one. Reports from lucky recipients reported an instant coolness factor as soon as one of these Bobble Heads was placed on their desk, the back window of their car, in a dorm room window or lab work area. The lucky owners became the center of attention, they won lotteries, they became more attractive, they soon possessed wisdom about all things adhesive far beyond mere mortals*. Heck…tap the little guy’s head and he’ll agree with anything you say! Small wonder that the demand for these things went through the roof.

Alas, there were only so many created and when they were gone, they were gone. A Black Market for Glue Doctor Bobble Heads soon appeared. The occasional appearance on eBay brought in untold riches to the owners foolish enough to let go of this talisman.

About two weeks ago, in an ancient warehouse in Glasgow, Scotland, bound for demolition, a cache of Glue Doctor Bobble Heads was discovered. How they ended up there is a total mystery. Perhaps a diabolical plot to subvert the supply for nefarious purposes? We’ll never know. While we’re not sure exactly how many were in that find, we DO know they’re on their way back to Germantown, Wisconsin under heavy armed guard on a steam freighter bound from Liverpool.

What does this mean to you? It means that all of our blog subscribers and Podcast listeners will have an extremely RARE opportunity to possess one of these treasures for their very own. We won’t go as far as saying that having one of these Bobble Heads will fund your 401k – but you never know*. “So – what’s the drill?” you may be asking yourself. “How can I possess a Glue Doctor Bobble Head?”

The answer, my friends, is quite easy. To build momentum on our blog and podcasts, we need YOU to send in your adhesive, specialty chemical and UV questions, your suggestions for adhesive-related topics, compliments and (constructive) criticism suggestions. All you have to do is click this link to send us those questions, suggestions and comments. We promise to read every one.

Those that are selected will be awarded with their very own Glue Doctor Bobble Head. The power, at last, will be yours. So don’t delay! When word of this unbelievable offer permeates the blogosphere, I know our mail servers are going to take enormous hits. Don’t procrastinate! Your well-being hangs in the balance!

*These claims have not been substantiated by the FDA, SEC, FCC or any other governmental regulatory office – only by those owning Glue Doctor Bobble Heads.

One More Thing…
Keep your eyes on this blog and our website for the roll-out of another great resource – Glue Doctor University! This section of our site will offer white papers, application videos, podcasts and much more. This educational resource will benefit the engineering, purchasing and student communities by offering a wealth of educational materials, beginning with UV Curing. Again, your suggestions and comments are always welcome. We’re looking forward to the launch…we hope you are, too!

Test! Test! Is This Thing On?

The Glue Doctor (actually, Dave or Tim) sits at his computer chat console five days a week and answers questions about adhesives, sealants, conformal coatings, encapsulants, dispensing products and UV curing. He’s recognized as an expert…a wellspring of knowledge, if you will. The more questions he answers, the more knowledge he accrues. He learns as much from chatting with people as they do from his recommendations. But what can he do with all of the information he gathers from chatting with people from all over the world? Set it free, of course! How? How about using that wonderful technology know as Podcasting?

It’s time. With a drum roll and rimshot (take my Podcast, please!), Ellsworth Adhesives‘ Glue Doctor is happy to introduce the first in a series of Podcasts dedicated to educating engineers, students and buyers about specialty chemicals with an emphasis on adhesive applications.

This month, Glue Doctor Host Lance Braun chats with Dow Corning Advanced Technologies and Electronics Senior Field Applications Engineer Barry Ritchie about conformal coatings and what’s new at Dow Corning*.

So grab your iPod and fire up iTunes – open the iTunes store and type in “Glue Doctor” to find us and subscribe. ‘Don’t have iTunes? No problem! Just head on over here to subscribe via RSS feed and have a listen. Anytime we release a new program, you’ll be notified! Easy, yes?

In the coming months, Host Lance Braun will be chatting with experts on UV curing, medical adhesives, and much more. As a matter of fact, if you have a question for the good Doctor, send it here. If we use your question or subject recommendation, you’ll be the winner of some great Ellsworth gear – possibly even one of our legendary Glue Doctor Bobble Heads (you can’t believe what these things are going for on eBay – if you can find one!). You’ll also receive a mention during our show. Andy Warhol was right – EVERYONE gets fifteen minutes of fame!

Ellsworth Adhesives is dedicated to creating informational resources for the engineering, purchasing and educational communities. “Ask The Glue Doctor” is a service offered by Ellsworth Adhesives for answering questions about adhesive, sealant, conformal coating, encapsulant, dispensing and UV curing product applications. ‘Can’t wait until the next Glue Doctor podcast? Talk with the good Doctor now. If you’re looking for specific product data, don’t miss our library of MSDS and TDS documentation.

We hope you become a subscriber and a regular visitor. We’re looking forward to your participation and comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Glue Doctor

*Legal disclaimer: Dow Corning believes that any product use recommendation or product information presented is an accurate description of the typical characteristics or uses of the product, but it is your responsibility to thoroughly test the product in your specific application to determine its performance, efficacy, and safety under your conditions of use. Suggestions of uses should not be taken as inducements to infringe any patent. Unless Dow Corning provides you with a specific written warranty of fitness for a particular use, Dow Corning’s sole warranty is that the product as supplied will meet Dow Corning’s then current sales specifications. DOW CORNING SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY OTHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your exclusive remedy and Dow Corning’s sole liability for breach of warranty is limited to refund of the purchase price or replacement of any product shown to be other than as warranted, and Dow Corning expressly disclaims any liability for incidental and consequential damages.

Can We Quote You On That?

How often are you sitting in front of your computer, away from your phone and you suddenly realize that you forgot to call your friendly Ellsworth Adhesives Customer Service Rep to get pricing on the items you need for your latest project? No worries! We hear it all the time! And since we know that even in today’s ever-plugged in cellular world, you’re not, we’ve decided to make life easy for you.

How? Why, with the new online Quote Request Form built into our site! Trust us…it’s really convenient. Get the pricing you need, either via phone or conveniently sent to your Inbox, just by plugging in the specs, color, quantity and a few other tidbits of information into our online form and you’re on your way. As the industry’s leading global distributor of adhesives, sealants, coatings, encapsulants, dispensers and specialty chemicals, we’re committed to providing sterling customer service. This new online quote form will make life considerably easier for new customers, as well as our current ones, too.

If you have any questions while filling in the form, just click the Ask The Glue Doctor link and via Live Chat, you’ll have a vast wellspring of knowledge at the other end of your computer’s connection. When it comes to adhesives, sealants, coatings, encapsulants, dispensers and specialty chemicals, The Glue Doctor has you covered.  By the way, if you need a TDS or MSDS document, be sure to visit our technical documents library. Visit our library, enter your product information and you’ll find what you need!

Be sure to stop back soon! We’re working to bring our first Podcast online in the very near future and we’ll let you know as soon it goes live! Product experts, application tips and so much more. If you’d like to be updated, subscribe to our blog via your RSS reader and you’ll be in the know when the Glue Doctor goes worldwide. 

‘Looking forward to chatting on all things glue!

All the best,
The Glue Doctor

adhesives	surface preparations
encapsulants	specialty chemicals
sealants	maintenance and repair
lubricants	dispensing equipment
tapes	conformal coatings
soldering products	UV curing products