H. B. Fuller
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| H.B. Fuller | |
|---|---|
| Type | Public (NYSE: FUL) |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Headquarters | Vadnais Heights, Minnesota |
| Key people | Michele Volpi, Chairman, President & CEO |
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Revenue | ▲$1.410 billion USD (2007) |
| Employees | ~3,200 |
| Website | www.hbfuller.com |
H.B. Fuller Company (H.B. Fuller) NYSE: FUL (incorporated 1887) H.B. Fuller is a 121-year-old manufacturer that provides specialty chemical products and services to a variety of markets, including construction, packaging and personal care. The company’s adhesives, sealants, paints and other products are used to create hundreds of brand name goods across the globe.
H.B. Fuller has approximately 3,200 employees in 32 countries and reaches customers in nearly 100 nations. The company’s corporate headquarters and a 225,000 square-foot R&D facility are located in St. Paul, Minn. H.B. Fuller also has plants, service centers and regional product development labs around the world.
In recent years, H.B. Fuller has focused on delivering profitable growth. In 2004, the company introduced Lean Six Sigma (LSS) to reduce waste and eliminate process variability, and in 2007, LSS delivered an estimated $20.3 million in benefits.
Performance
H.B. Fuller’s net revenue in 2007 was $1.4 billion, with 48 percent of that total coming from North American operations, 29 percent from Europe, 15 percent from Latin America and 8 percent from Asia Pacific.
The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticket symbol FUL and has paid dividends on its common stock every year since it went public in 1968. In 2007, for the third consecutive year, Forbes magazine named H.B. Fuller one of the best-managed big companies in America.
Organized
H.B. Fuller operates under four geographic regions to support the local execution of its global business strategies: North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Through the following business lines, the company serves a broad customer base in an increasing number of markets around the world:
Packaging Solutions
• Packaging Adhesives
• Package Design
• Process Consulting
Construction
• Flooring
• Door
• Panel
• Window
• Building Products
• Woodworking
• Paints
Family and Personal Care
Assembly
• Filters
• Footwear
• Textiles
Additional:
• Graphic Arts
• Bottle Labeling
• Aerospace
The Company’s Brand Promise
In addition to providing quality products, H.B. Fuller strives to develop strong, collaborative customer relationships by delivering on its brand promise—a commitment to Performance, Differentiation and Innovation.
The company listens closely to its customers and follows a disciplined body of methods and procedures, such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Total Cost of Ownership to develop a pipeline of new and improved products and solutions that deliver superior results.
In turn, H.B. Fuller has been rewarded with valued, long-term business relationships. In fact, some customers have been with the company for more than 100 years.
A Commitment to Innovation
In the past five years, H.B. Fuller and its subsidiaries have been granted 66 U.S. patents and filed 82 new U.S. patent applications, in addition to filing and securing patents globally for newly developed technologies. While innovation is often driven by chemists and technicians, at H.B. Fuller, the commitment for proposing new ideas is shared throughout the company.
Serving Communities
In 2007, H.B. Fuller allocated 2 percent of its 2006 worldwide pretax earnings to charitable giving and community activities. Through 27 Community Affairs Councils in 17 countries in North America, Latin America and Europe, employees develop and implement community projects and make local grants. In addition, through the H.B. Fuller Foundation, the company administers charitable grants to nonprofit organizations, with a focus on preparing the youngest, most vulnerable members of our communities to be productive, successful adults.
The Foundation’s philanthropic focus in its headquarters community of Minnesota, and throughout the United States supports programs that enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.
H.B. Fuller also supports a nearly 300-acre nature preserve, where its corporate campus is house. The Willow Lake Nature Preserve boasts a diversity of natural communities, promoting natural resource management, and providing a setting for environmental education and recreational programs for employees.
Executive Committee
The company’s leadership group is referred to as its Executive Committee, and is composed of the following officers:
Michele Volpi; President and Chief Executive Officer
Fabrizio Corradini; Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Jim Giertz, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kevin Gilligan; Vice President, Asia Pacific
Timothy Keenan; Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Jan Muller; Vice President, Europe
Ann Parriott; Vice President, Human Resource
Ramon Tico; Vice President, Latin America
Brief History
• 1887 – Harvey B. Fuller begins manufacturing wallpaper paste
• 1941 – Elmer Andersen purchases company (sales: $250,000)
• 1968 – Sale of equity to public investors
• 1968 – Establishment of Latin American operations
• 1972 – Establishment of European operations
• 1974 – $100 million worldwide sales
• 1976 – Establishment of Asia/Pacific operations
• 1987 – Company’s centennial
• 1994 – $1.1 billion worldwide sales
• 2002 – Moved trading of public stock to NYSE – ticker symbol FUL
• 2005 – Forbes magazine named H.B. Fuller to its Platinum 400 list of best managed big companies in America, and one of the top 10 companies in the chemical industry
• 2007 – Company celebrates 120-year anniversary
Presidents
Harvey B. Fuller I: 1887 – 1921
Harvey B. Fuller ll: 1921 – 1941
Elmer L. Andersen: 1941 – 1960 (left for several years to serve as Governor of Minnesota) 1966 – 1971
Elmer A. Vigard: 1960 –1966
Anthony L. Andersen: 1971–1992
Walter Kissling: 1992 – 1998
Albert P.L. Stroucken: 1998 – 2006
Michele Volpi: 2006 – present
Additional information on H.B. Fuller can be found on the company’s Web site at www.hbfuller.com
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