Apollo Turns 50!
Published: 07 March 2022
Apollo, the group to which Apollo Roofing belongs, is excited to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.
Apollo is excited to be celebrating 50 years of innovation. The development of innovative products through customer collaboration, as well as delivering excellent customer experience, has always been at the heart of that Apollo does.
Here we take a look at Apollo’s beginnings, provide a snapshot of what it has brought to its customers and markets over the last 50 years and what its hopes for moving forward.
1970s
Born in 1972, Apollo was driven to offer the industrial markets something different than its competitors. It was keen to become a bespoke, flexible adhesive manufacturer. A company that was capable of listening to the needs of its customers.
In fact, with a name inspired by the exciting NASA space program, Apollo began innovating and addressing market needs long before its market-focused strategy was conceptualised.
Economics was a great concern for many in the 1970s, and one of Apollo’s first innovations was moisture-curing adhesives. These were more economical than traditional solvent-based adhesives. Their excellent aging and weathering properties are the main reason they are still extremely popular within industrial, as well as construction markets, today.
1980s
In the 1980s, Apollo develops high solid adhesives, which assist with helping customers to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
It also became the first adhesive manufacturer to meet ISO 9001 quality standards. With the rise of the service sector during this decade, Apollo was quickly recognising that its service was just as important to its industrial customers as high-performance adhesive products.
1990s
Throughout the 1990s, concerns over the use of solvents and the requirement for ‘greener’ products were increasing. Apollo quickly began responding to such emerging trends by pioneering a sprayable solvent-free two-part PU adhesive, enabling its customers to react to environmental issues and minimise costs.
Apollo also introduces polyurethane coatings as a superior alternative for high-friction intersections, pedestrian crossings and roundabouts, helping to reduce stopping distances. Such developments allowed Apollo to offer its newer markets, construction and roofing, innovative solutions. Both of which would become key market sectors for Apollo throughout the 2000s.
2000s
With the excitement of a new millennium, the first decade of the 2000s is known for its many innovations. Think smartphone.
Apollo has a lot of enthusiasm during this decade too - especially with the launch of its innovative award-winning Fastack adhesive, which helps to reduce solvent use and running costs for the industrial market due to its: one-to-one open to press time (long working time/short press time) and extremely fast cure, allowing for a continuous line.
With environmental issues remaining a key focal point, Apollo helps to ease its customers’ concerns by becoming one of the first chemical manufacturers to gain the ISO 14001 accreditation.
Excitingly, Apollo also adds polyurethane roof coating to its portfolio, an exciting expansion beyond its traditional adhesive range and a move that is fitting for, its yet to be created, brand promise, ‘More than adhesives’.
2010s
Innovation was still moving at a fast pace during the second decade of the 2000s. Think about how streaming took off.
Apollo also ups its innovation game. Its desire for market knowledge results in the launch of its specific market brands, company vision and brand promise. This creates tailored service based on market sector.
This leads to the development of its canister range. In fact, it’s the first adhesive manufacturer with the expertise to create a moisture-curing (polyurethane) PU in a canister. This was a big development for Apollo and its markets. The canisters revolutionise application techniques within the roofing industry, resulting in cost-savings. They also reduce solvent emissions by 75%, in comparison to traditional application techniques.
And once again, Apollo is the first adhesive manufacturer to conduct independent dynamic wind uplift tests for its roofing products and gain the revised ISO 9001, putting customer experience at its heart.
2020s
Like all businesses, as it enters the 2020s, Apollo tackles the impact of Covid. The focus is on ensuring that its able to support its customers during the pandemic and in a post-covid world.
To do so, Apollo quickly secures its supply chains and accelerates its plans to digitalise its customer communications. With the aim of sharing its adhesive knowledge, it launches a new roofing website packed full of insightful blogs and videos, and a bespoke customer area, which enables individual customers to access information on all of the products they take, with speed and convenience.
Now as part of the global and well-respected manufacturer, H.B. Fuller, Apollo excitedly looks to the future. Its aim is to allow customers to thrive in a challenging and changing environment through fostering relationships and developing innovative product and service solutions.
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