The major development flagged up by Collano of Switzerland was the launch of its new engineered wood adhesives business Purbond, a 50/50 joint venture with the US adhesives giant National Starch and Chemical.

“Customers will now have access to market leading adhesives and technical support for engineered wood applications wherever they are,” said the manager designate of the new business, Walter Stampfli.

Purbond 181, an adhesive with a 120-minute open time, designed for use with large dimension laminated beams, was also launched.