DOING BUSINESS WITH US
We help make your products better
Our greatest strength is developing individualized solutions to help our customers make better products and grow their business. Our wood adhesive product line provides superior strength and reliability in applications ranging from general assembly to edge gluing to packaging.
Customization based on your application
Our chemists have more than 60 years of experience in the wood adhesive industry and have created dozens of customized products that help our customers improve productivity and deliver high quality results. We formulate and create our polymers and adhesives in-house which translates faster delivery times, excellent customer service and support, and if needed, the ability to create customized formulations for specific applications.
Our lineup at a glance
Through our parent company Specialty Polymers, Roo Glue’s industrial wood adhesive product lineup has been serving the wood manufacturing industry for more than 45 years. We have wood adhesives for most applications – from general assembly to finger jointing and edge gluing to hot and cold press plywood applications and packaging. We have products designed for wet and dry use that conform to ASTM and industry standards.
Learn more about our product line.
Highly Responsive
We’re faster at delivering customized solutions than anyone else in the industry. We have two Research & Development labs which allow us to deliver unique, customized solutions for our customers. We empower our teams to do what’s necessary for our customers and don’t bog them down with bureaucracy and multi-level management approvals.
Need your product quickly? No problem! Our streamlined order processing can get most inventoried product out within 24 hours. Need a little or a lot, we don’t require minimums volumes.
Who do we serve?
We firmly believe gaining a customer is gaining a relationship, one we’ll diligently maintain, whether you’re an industrial powerhouse or emerging business. We get to know our customers through frequent face-to-face interactions and have built our reputation on exceptional customer service.
ABOUT US
Ready to meet the needs of our industrial wood customers
Roo Glue is a family-owned manufacturer of environmentally friendly water based adhesives. As a division of Specialty Polymers, Inc., Roo Glue is formulated based on the latest adhesive polymer technology developed in-house. Our diverse product line is truly technology driven.
Roo Glue products are designed to meet the most demanding needs from customers around the world, and our employees are committed to providing the best customer service in the industry. With a fully equipped wood glue testing lab and manufacturing sites on the East and West Coasts, Roo Glue is ready to provide solutions for any adhesive needs.
OUR VALUES
Since our inception in 1969, these values have made us who we are today:
- Integrity and honesty
- Respect for one another, our customers and our suppliers
- Continually learning and trying new things
Customer service is at our core
We firmly believe that gaining a customer is gaining a relationship. One we’ll diligently maintain, whether you’re an industrial powerhouse or emerging business. We get to know our customers through frequent face-to-face interactions and have built our reputation on exceptional customer service. Our core values pave the way by fostering maximum:
Innovation

We help make your products better
Our greatest strength is developing individualized solutions to help our customers make better products and grow their business. Our wood adhesive product line provides superior strength and reliability in applications ranging from general assembly to edge gluing to packaging.
Customization based on your application
Our chemists have more than 60 years of experience in the wood adhesive industry and have created dozens of customized products that help our customers improve productivity and deliver high-quality results. We formulate and create our polymers and adhesives in-house, which translates to faster delivery times, excellent customer service, and expert technical advice.
Responsiveness

We’re faster at delivering customized solutions than anyone else in the industry. We have two Research & Development labs which allow us to deliver unique, customized solutions for our customers. We empower our teams to do what’s necessary for our customers and don’t bog them down with bureaucracy and multi-level management approvals.
Need your product quickly? No problem! Our streamlined order processing can get most inventoried product out within 24 hours.
Flexibility

With no required minimum volumes, we can help whether you need a pail, drum, tote tank wagon or railcar. Our facilities house multiple reactors, allowing us to make batches ranging from 30 gallons to 6,000 gallons. We’ll never discontinue your product and always fill your order, even during raw material shortages.
Our Team
There is a story and a customer behind every polymer and adhesive we create. Meet the people who make it happen!
CAPABILITIES
What we make, how we make it, and who we make it for.
Specialty Polymers’ production and R&D facilities located in Chester, SC, and Woodburn, OR have a combined annual production capacity of 250 million pounds. And, with a 20-person R&D team and fully-equipped labs for polymer synthesis, applications, formulations and wood testing, our limitations are slim to none.
Our expertise in emulsion technology includes:
- Vinyl Acetate
- Vinyl Acrylic
- Acrylic
- Styrene Acrylic
- Hybrids
That expertise in polymers allows us to serve a diverse market:
- Architectural
- Building & Construction
- Caulk & Sealant
- Adhesives
- Industrial Maintenance & OEM
- Ink
- Craft & Hobby
- Dust Control
- Sport Surfaces
- Roofing
- Textiles
Whatever you’re gluing, we have the adhesive to get it done right.
- Plywood (curved or flat)
- Engineered flooring
- Veneer splicing
- Edge gluing (cold, RF)
- Finger jointing
- General assembly
- HPL to particleboard
- Panel to frame
- Paper and packaging
HISTORY
1969

Ray Southwell starts Specialty Polymers in his garage in Salem, Oregon
1973

First production building in Woodburn, Oregon with a 3,000-gal reactor
1985
Polymer development lab built
1989
Built Second production building in Woodburn
1997

Roo Glue becomes part of the Specialty Polymers’ family
1998

Ray’s daughter Sheryl joins the company
1999
Ray’s son Jeff joins the company
1999

The Company built a new green field production facility in Chester, South Carolina
2005

Ray Southwell passes away at the age of 78
2005
Expanded footprint in Woodburn with addition of new warehouse and administration building
2005
New polymer development and applications lab, and warehouse built in Chester; further expanded this building in 2013
2007
Specialty introduces TorZo Surfaces
2010
Ray’s grandson Chris Coduto joins the company
2015

Chester production site expanded to add capacity
Today
Specialty Polymers is still owned by the Southwell family; with more than 140 employees and two production sites, the company is poised for the future.
- 140+ employees
- Over 500 products
- Serving more than 25 markets
- Still privately held, with family owners active in the company
- Celebrating 50 years in 2019
Committed to the Future
In a climate of consolidation, we maintain the same name, same ownership, and same philosophy after nearly 50 years of investment and innovation.
Learn more about Roo Glue’s parent company, Specialty Polymers and our sister company TorZo Sustainable Surfaces!