H.B. Fuller Company is an American adhesives manufacturing company supplying industrial adhesives worldwide. The company is also controversial for its role in a glue-sniffing epidemic in Latin America in the 1990s.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Adhesives, coatings, and sealants |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Founder | Harvey Benjamin Fuller |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 81 (2023)[1] |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Celeste B. Mastin (president and CEO) John J. Corkrean (CFO) |
| Services | Manufacturing |
| Revenue |  US$3.51 billion (2023)[1] |
 US$355 million (2023)[1] | |
| US$145 million (2023)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$4.72 billion (2023)[1] |
| Total equity | US$1.76 billion (2023)[1] |
Number of employees | 7,200 (2023)[1] |
| Divisions | Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives, Engineering Adhesives, Construction Adhesives |
| Website | hbfuller |
As of 2018, the company ranks 873 on the Fortune 1000.[3]
History
editH.B. Fuller was founded in 1887 by Harvey Benjamin Fuller in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a one-person company making glue for wallpaper.[4][5] By the 1890s, Fuller's inventions included wall cleaners and the company had business throughout the United States.[6] It incorporated in 1915, and in 1921, Harvey Jr. took over as president.[7][5]
In 1941, Elmer L. Andersen, purchased the company from the Fuller family.[8] Sales at the time of Andersen's purchase totaled US$200,000 annually; by 1959, sales had increased to US$10 million annually.[5] H.B. Fuller expanded its position in the consumer goods market in 1956 with the construction of a plant in Minneapolis to make packing tape.[9] By 1962, H.B. Fuller was one of the three largest adhesives manufacturers in the United States and had 20 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., South America, and Canada.[5] H.B. Fuller acquired the Costa Rican company Kativo Chemical Industries in 1967, expanding its portfolio to include paints and inks.[10] The company went public and made its initial public offering in 1968.[11]
Elmer L. Andersen's son, Anthony, became company president in 1971. Under his leadership, H.B. Fuller sales increased from US$60 million in 1971 to approximately US$800 million in 1991.[12] In 1976, H.B. Fuller and 22 other companies joined together to form the Minnesota Keystone Program, a group of corporations that agreed to donate a portion of their pre-tax profits to charity.[13] The company became a member of the Fortune 500 in 1983 and was recognized by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz as one of the "100 Best Places to Work in America".[14][15] By 1995, the company sold its products globally and had more than 10,000 adhesives in its catalog.[4] That year, the company expanded into powder coating with the construction of a new facility in Oakdale, Minnesota.[16]
In 2022 the company won an Adhesives and Sealants Council Innovation Award for "Low Monomer/Emission Reactive Hot Melt Adhesives."[17]
Glue sniffing controversy
editIn the 1990s, the company faced controversy over the glue-sniffing epidemic among street children in Latin America. A Fuller company brand, Resistol glue, was abused among these children to a sufficient extent that glue-sniffing children were called "resistoleros" regardless of the brand of glue being abused.[18] A lawsuit filed against the company over the death of a Guatemalan teenager from sniffing glue was dismissed in 1996 due to lack of jurisdiction.[19] The controversy eventually led to the company's withdrawal from the Latin American market. [2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "FY 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. January 24, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Weissert, Will (16 Jul 2000). "We Live for the Glue". The Item. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ "Largest U.S. Corporations". Fortune. June 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ^ a b Henriques, Diana B. (November 26, 1995). "Black Mark for a 'Good Citizen'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Quarfoth, Hal (February 6, 1962). "St. Paul's H.B. Fuller CO. was just pot of paste 75 years ago". The Minneapolis Star.
- ^ A Fuller Life: The Story of H.B. Fuller Company, 1887-1987. H.B. Fuller. p. 2.
- ^ "History". H.B. Fuller. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Bjorhus, Jennifer (November 9, 2006). "H.B. Fuller CEO quits to lead Ohio firm: Volpi will succeed Stroucken on Dec. 1". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ^ Inskip, Leonard (February 27, 1956). "Work to begin in March on Fuller plant". Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
- ^ "H.B. Fuller acquires firm in Costa Rica". The Minneapolis Star. October 25, 1967.
- ^ "H.B. Fuller Co. files statement for first public stock offering". The Minneapolis Tribune. February 11, 1968.
- ^ Peterson, Susan E. (March 29, 1993). "Shift at the top has gone smoothly at H.B. Fuller". Star Tribune.
- ^ St. Anthony, Neal (November 13, 1998). "Award salutes a different kind of business growth". Star Tribune.
- ^ Cohen, Ben (September 23, 2005). "H.B. Fuller Co. leader Anthony Andersen dies". Star Tribune.
- ^ Hodges, Jill (January 26, 1993). "Seven Minnesota employers make book's top 100". Star Tribune.
- ^ Davis, Riccardo A. (March 29, 1995). "Fuller to open powder coating plants in Oakdale; Company reports 49% gain in earnings". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- ^ "Innovation Awards - Adhesive and Sealant Council". www.ascouncil.org. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Henriques, Diana (26 November 1995). "Black Mark for a 'Good Citizen'". New York Times. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
- ^ Silver, Beth (24 September 1996). "Federal Judge Dismisses Glue Sniffing Lawsuit Against H.B. Fuller". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
External links
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