Want to know more about what to expect when working with Forgeway? You are in the right place. This article will answer the questions we typically receive about ourselves.
You are probably reading this article because you have stumbled across our website or you heard about us on LinkedIn. Maybe you have done neither of these things.
However, we know for sure you want to find out a little more about Forgeway.
You likely have a ton of questions about us that you want to find out before you spend time assessing whether we are the right option.
You’re in luck! This article will cover the majority of the questions we get asked about ourselves here at Forgeway. This will leave you with the facts so you can make your own opinion about whether we are the right option to provide a solution to your problem.
We aren’t promising to answer every question though. And before we get started, we need to know a little more about you so we know you’re at the right place to start considering Forgeway as an option.
Before considering working with Forgeway ask yourself: Do you have buy-in; are we ready for the change?
Before we work with any company we always have one big question. “Are you ready to change from your existing joining method or adhesive supplier and implement a Forgeway solution in its place?”
If the answer isn’t a resounding “YES” we may not be able to help provide the right solution you need.
There needs to be universal buy-in, company-wide before we can promise a solution.
If there isn’t buy-in, it is likely you will face several stumbling blocks along the path to ‘problem solved’.
Taking the Beckhard-Harris change model, we usually say the need for change must be greater than the resistance to change. If it is not, you are likely not ready to start considering Forgeway as able to provide a solution to your problem.
Nonetheless, if you are able to honestly say “we are ready for the change”, it makes the process a whole lot easier.
As you may have guessed already, we sell glue (or adhesives). But now you want to know what type of glue we provide, our approach, how we got here etc… You know, all the cliche stuff about companies that is actually (sometimes) useful to know.
I’m aware that companies usually present this ‘cliche’ information in a way that makes it difficult to decipher between facts and opinion.
I will do my best to present the facts about Forgeway and leave you to make your own opinion.
Forgeway’s history
So where did it all begin? Even though you may not have heard much about us before, we have actually been around for a while.
Forgeway was founded in 1994 when the founders started the company based on three core values.
- Wanting to make a difference
- Passion for supplying high-quality products that lasted
- The goal to become a manufacturer of those products and educate the industry on those products
These three core values were the original mission, vision and values.
Forgeway first started in 1995 by distributing a variety of different products to a variety of different industries.
One of those products was adhesives which they supplied to the manufacturing industry. The founders noticed a growing need for specialist adhesives to replace mechanical fastening. So, between 1995 and 1996, Forgeway worked on creating their own adhesive product and specialising in that industry.
In 1996, the founders had created their own adhesive product they deemed ‘specialist’ which was then sold to a manufacturer in the aviation industry.
I am unable to say the name of the aviation manufacturer for privacy reasons, but I would consider them to be one of the largest aviation manufacturers globally. It gave the founders confidence that their product was very high-quality. That isn’t a fact though. That’s my opinion.
After this success, Forgeway then began to focus purely on supplying adhesives. Their passion for supplying a product that lasted and could make a difference was coming to fruition.
Their goal wasn’t quite complete yet though. Yes, the founders had manufactured their own adhesive products, but Forgeway wasn’t manufacturing all the adhesive products they supplied.
Forgeway were still supplying products from other adhesive manufacturers such as Henkel and Permabond etc…
So, over the years, Forgeway has worked towards its goal of manufacturing its own product and becoming an educational voice for the industries in which we supply our products.
When I say “industries” let’s just clarify a bit more specifically. The manufacturing industry is one of the main industries that purchase our products. In particular, automotive manufacturers (such as caravan/motorhome, bus and coach), aviation manufacturers, and solid surface (countertop) manufacturers.
The construction industry and electric vehicle sector also make up a large percentage of Forgeway’s customer base.
Forgeway noticed a growing demand for knowledge and education about adhesives in these industries.
Fast forward to today where Forgeway manufacture over 3000 tonnes of adhesives every year. So it’s fair to say that the goal of manufacturing our own product is very much achieved. That is a fact.
The goal of educating the industry is more subjective though. Our goal is to tell you what you can (and can’t) do with glue. We like to think we are achieving that goal, but we will leave you to be the judge of that.
We are trying though. That is a fact.
Our approach here at Forgeway is to position ourselves as the adhesive experts who also manufacture adhesives. We aren’t saying we are adhesive experts, that’s our opinion.
Although, we deal with adhesives every day and have done for the best part of 30 years. So we would like to think we know most of the things there are to know about adhesives.
You have probably heard from multiple companies that they ‘take a consultative approach’. Yet we know that this is rarely the case and they are just trying to sell you their product.
So what am I trying to say after all this? Effectively here at Forgeway, we like to try and approach things a little differently.
You will have one point of contact throughout the sales process. There will rarely be an occasion where the consultant you first met will not be the same consultant to guide you through the entire process.
If we are able to provide solutions to someone’s problems, we will do our best to work with that person. If we don’t supply the solution to the problem, or our products aren’t the best fit, we will point the client elsewhere.
That is how we like to work with companies, and we expect that honesty in return.
The products we manufacture and supply are technical and structural adhesives. They are intended for industrial-scale situations.
The automotive industry is an example of where we typically supply our products.
Over the years we have primarily sold our products to the manufacturing and construction industry.
However, our products are not confined to certain industries or situations.
Anywhere a plastic, metal or composite material needs joining, our product is suitable.
Instead of giving you the vague “we manufacture and supply a wide range of adhesive solutions for a range of different industries” answer, I will summarise our adhesive products into six categories.
Formoa is our range of truly primerless MS polymer-based adhesives. Whilst they don’t require primers, we would always recommend using a surface activator when applying any adhesives, not just Formoa. This is particularly the case if the substrate you are bonding is known to be difficult to bond.
Aerok is our epoxy-based range of adhesives. They are used for void-filling and structural bonding.
Purok is Forgeway’s (mostly) Methyl Methacrylate range (MMAs). There are a few Purok products that aren’t Methyl Methacrylate-based. However, all the MMA’s we sell are in the Purok range. These MMA’s are structural adhesives for a range of applications, such as solid surface and composite bonding.
Pyrok is our range of polyurethane and water-based adhesives. These aren’t just structural adhesives and can be used for general bonding and sealing.
Forbond is a range of tape products that we supply. These tapes are typically used to hold substrates in place while the adhesive cures.
Fist is our protective coating range, used to protect the product’s surfaces while they are being manufactured.
We are also able to supply these products in the customer’s branding. In fact, we have supplied some of the largest adhesive companies globally with our products.
For many of our customers, we provide a warranty for 10 years with a life expectancy greater than 20 years.
This is tied to the substrate specification, the application process, the end-use, and the environment. There are many factors that can affect what warranty we provide, but have peace of mind knowing there is a warranty.
Initially, it may appear an onerous task for our customers. But this process has led to issue-free bonding for many years with our customers.
The initial setup, detail, and pain will be worthwhile in the long term.
You may be wondering if we supply any other products and services too. The answer to that question is “yes we do”.
We know that the adhesive product itself is only one part of the bonding process. There are multiple other products that you will also need to ensure the bonding process is successful.
Application equipment, surface preparation chemicals, and training are all products and services you may require.
These are examples of where adhesive manufacturers can catch you unaware by not informing you of these ancillary items that you will require. They will then charge you extra for these products or services further down the line.
Here at Forgeway, we always inform our customers of any ancillary items that they may require before they purchase the product. This then allows the customer to plan ahead . It can frequently occur, so we wrote an article about what to look out for when comparing the costs of adhesives.
We also provide an auditing service. If the customer’s circumstances warrant the auditing service (such as a very large manufacturing line that requires monitoring to uphold quality), we would offer two options:
- Either the company can have visits from a member of our technical team. The technical expert will assess the bonding process to see whether it is performed correctly.
- The other option is a ‘self-auditing’ device. The tablet or computer will have software installed. This software allows the company to go through the checklist and assess itself.
Privacy is a big thing for us at Forgeway. We understand that our customers are often competitors. Those companies don’t want their competition to find out anything about them.
That’s why we don’t shout about the names of customers we have worked with. They prefer it to remain confidential and we will always respect that.
Even if you aren’t worried about competition, if you work with us and would like us to respect your privacy, we will. That’s a promise we take very seriously.
I expect that it may sound like an opinion, but it’s not. It’s a fact.
We know it’s not always easy to tell if someone is a good fit based on reading about their values and products etc…
At this point, you will have seen the main products and services we are able to offer. But what about the products and services we don’t supply?
It is sometimes easier to determine if someone’s a good fit based on what they don’t provide.
This section will go over some of the things we are not able to offer you that may help you decide if we aren’t a good fit for you.
First things first, we are an SME.
Forgeway isn’t just a few founders sitting around a small office with one adhesive machine pumping out our products.
We also aren’t an international conglomerate that has offices and manufacturing facilities around the world.
We are an SME, which means we are somewhere in the middle.
Whilst we would say this to our advantage, some may see this as a weakness.
Let me tell you the facts and you can decide for yourself.
We do have a manufacturing facility, two office facilities, and a storage warehouse in the southwest of the UK. These resources give us the capacity to produce over 3000 tonnes of adhesive products every year.
Also, ever since we worked with the large aviation manufacturer, we have always maintained our AS9100 quality standard. Whilst we won’t get into the specifics of AS9100, it provides our customer’s the peace of mind that our internal processes have been audited to a high standard. It demonstrates that our products are of sufficient quality for the aerospace industry and that our processes have already been audited.
However, we don’t have the same amount of staff as the massive, global adhesive manufacturers like Henkel and 3M.
But, although we aren’t as big as them, we know our products are as good as, if not better than theirs. We have the testing data to prove this. It’s a fact.
We also believe that the likes of 3M and Henkel are not adhesive specialists. Whilst they do supply high-quality adhesive products, their product range is too diverse. Here at Forgeway though, we purely focus on manufacturing and specialising in adhesives. We have a team of development chemists who are responsible for researching and developing new products.
After the product has been developed, it will go through a rigorous process; it gets tested, upscaled, and then tested again before it hits our main production.
I have already mentioned our approach to the sales process. But I will now explain in more detail, one consultant will be your point of contact throughout the process.
The consultant guides the customer through a simple question and answer process. The customer then becomes the self-diagnosing expert on the ground and can decide on the best solution.
All too often, we see smaller (yet not small) companies that aren’t taken seriously by the massive adhesive manufacturers. These companies have multiple points of contact with the adhesive manufacturer and struggle to find answers to their questions. It can be difficult to come to a solution.
So, we know we are a lot smaller than some of our competition. And this means we aren’t able to offer you certain things that larger adhesive manufacturers can, like having a team of account managers, or offices in every continent. But we see it as an advantage, rather than a drawback.
However, that is our opinion.
So you have read about the products that we supply. You will also have read that we supply mostly to the manufacturing and construction industry.
However, we don’t sell to the average consumer. We supply to the B2C distributors who sell our products to the end consumer. Forgeway is a B2B supplier and manufacturer of adhesives.
We have also introduced a minimum order quantity to minimise wastage and maximise efficiency.
Non-pigmented (uncoloured) adhesives have a minimum order quantity of one box. Obviously each product comes in different forms, but one box would typically contain 12 cartridges or sausages.
Pigmented (coloured) adhesives usually have a minimum order quantity of 48 cartridges or sausages. This is only if we don’t have the colour in stock.
We don’t sell general woodworking adhesives either.
I’m sure most companies are facing similar issues to us at the moment because supply-chain issues are widespread.
We know the humanitarian crises that are causing these supply issues are much more important in the grand scheme of things.
But Covid and the horrific war in Ukraine have impacted our supply chain causing some raw materials to become very difficult to find.
If you haven’t already established what our main goal is, allow me to explain.
“Telling you what you can do with glue” has been our aim over the years.
In simpler terms, our goal is to educate the industry. There are so many questions about which type of glue is best, what glue lasts longest, how to apply glue etc. We know there are so many more questions just like that which aren’t difficult to answer.
We want to answer those questions. We want to share the knowledge that we have learned over the years and we want to make that knowledge widely available.
Our opinion as an adhesive specialist may differ from your opinion as a potential customer. But by presenting the facts and figures, we know you will become a more informed buyer.
Once you have become an informed buyer, you will be able to determine which solution will best suit your needs.
Our main goal is to make you, the buyer, knowledgeable to the point that you will not need our help to choose the correct solution.
You will know what you need before you speak to us.
Don’t worry, we aren’t expecting you to have reached the point where you know what you want.
We ultimately want to help you. If we think we aren’t a good fit, we will tell you who we think could provide a solution.
However, upon reading this article, you may feel as though we would not be a good fit for you.
If you feel this way and want to look elsewhere, we wish you all the best. We would advise you to read our article about what can affect the cost of adhesives as it will show you what you need to look out for when choosing the right supplier to work with.
Nonetheless, you may have read this article and decided Forgeway would be a great fit. If that is the case, we would love to meet and work with you.
But, before you come into the discovery call with us, we would still like you to read the article mentioned above. Reading the article will maximise the effectiveness of the session as you will know what else you may require.
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