Adhesives and sealants
Adhesives and sealants bond and seal packaging, buildings, furniture, cars and electronics; a roughly $77 billion formulated industry led by Henkel, with Pidilite dominant in India.
Specialty chemicals · Coatings, adhesives & colourants · No. 83
- Product family
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 20 Mt a year (indicative, basis: $77 billion at about $3.5-4/kg; no free volume figure found)
- 2.0 t CO₂e per t
- HS 350691
In India, Fevicol is simply the word for wood glue, and its maker earns margins most chemical firms envy.
Chart: Illustration: Adhesives and sealants
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Most adhesives start as oil- and gas-based monomers; white PVAc wood glue needs about 400-500 kg of vinyl acetate monomer per tonne.
Three things to know
- Henkel's adhesives arm sold about EUR 10.67 billion in 2025, roughly 16% of the whole world market.
- Hot melts are applied molten at about 120-180 C and set in seconds as they cool.
- Pidilite earned a 24.6% standalone EBITDA margin on Rs 13,437 crore of sales in FY26.
The journey
- 1 MonomersVinyl acetate, acrylates, isocyanates, epoxy resins
- 2 PolymersEmulsions, hot-melt bases and reactive resins
- 3 FormulationMixed with tackifiers, fillers and additives
- 4 Packaging, retailDrums, pails, pellets and consumer tubes
- 5 Bonded goodsCartons, furniture, tiles, cars, electronics