Franklin International is among the largest privately held manufacturers of adhesives and sealants in the United States. The firm opened in 1935 as the Franklin Glue Company with the first of what would be a long line of adhesive solutions. To address a major concern in the furniture manufacturing industry, we developed the first ready-to-use liquid hide glue. It could be applied at room temperature instead of the 140°F required for traditional hide glue, and it allowed for 20 minutes of assembly time instead of two. Its liquid hide glue is still widely used for interior woodworking, musical instruments and antique restoration. Today, Franklin Glue Company is known as Franklin International to reflect our global distribution across 60 countries on six continents around the globe.
At Franklin International, we do more than sell adhesives. The firm solve technical problems, and our solutions improve quality, enhance safety, accelerate manufacturing cycles, cut delivery times and, on occasion, provide the basis for strategic marketing advantages and new-product categories. Just as important, we do it quickly and cost-effectively. Committed to having the latest environmentally friendly adhesive technology, we devote an unusually high percentage of our resources to research and development. That’s where defined solutions become reality and where advances in adhesive technology are converted into practical applications.
Franklin integrates its core competency – emulsion polymerization – into a broad product offering, including adhesives, glues, hot melts, binders and sizing compounds for use in construction, wood furniture manufacturing, millwork, paper converting, pressure-sensitive paper products and fiberglass reinforcement. The company maintains two major divisions. The Adhesives & Polymers division provides wood adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives and specialty polymers for industrial manufacturers of wood products, labels, fiberglass, non-wovens and more. The company's Construction Building Products division provides Titebond glues, adhesives and sealants for use in woodworking, general repairs, home construction and flooring installation. Franklin International employs approximately 350 in its laboratory, R&D center, sales/marketing groups and manufacturing facility, at its corporate headquarters Columbus, Ohio; at eight distribution centers across the United States; and at a new plant in Guangzhou, China.
