It's not uncommon for an electrical manufacturer or distributor to announce a sponsorship of a race car. But one manufacturer of sealants, adhesives and coatings has entered an entirely new marketing arena with the sponsorship of a BattleBot.

In a show of support for what one dedicated fan called “the ultimate guy show,” Loctite Corp., Rocky Hill, Conn., is sponsoring “Vlad the Impaler,” a BattleBot, and one of the robot-vehicle combatants in the popular BattleBots show on Comedy Central Network.

In BattleBots, contestants design and build radio-controlled robots that employ an array of fiendish weaponry to defeat opponents in one-on-one combat within a hazard-filled, Plexiglas-enclosed arena.

Jase Doane, manager of MRO marketing with Loctite, says the decision to sponsor a BattleBot competitor made perfect sense for the company. “Our industrial customers can really relate to the challenges these BattleBots competitors face,” says Doane. “Just like maintenance technicians, BattleBots builders are using Loctite adhesives, sealants and other specialty products to keep their equipment together in the most brutal environments and repair them in between battles.

“When we were first introduced to BattleBots, we learned that most, if not all of the competitors used Loctite products on their robots,” he says. “They use threadlockers and sealants to prevent failures and shutdowns. Since it's a single-elimination tournament, if their vehicles fail for even a few seconds, they could be out for the season.”

For the second season of the hit cable series, Loctite sponsored the past robot champion of the heavyweight division, “Vlad the Impaler.” Within Vlad's tempered aluminum body is a powerful electric drive secured to an alloy steel frame on four polyurethane wheels. Extending from the front is a compressed carbon dioxide powered forklift, the prongs of which are sharpened for maximum stabbing ability.

At the National Manufacturing Week trade show held in Chicago in March, Loctite's booth brought aisle traffic to a standstill as BattleBots devotees (mostly grown men) watched Vlad compete in another fight to the death.

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