H.B. Fuller Company
St. Paul, MN/USA
www.hbfuller.com
PUBLIC COMPANY
HEADCOUNT: 3,100
YEAR ES TABLISHED: 1887
ADHESIVES/SEALANTS/COATINGS REVENUES:
$1.391 bil.
TOTAL REVENUES: $1.391 billion
SEGMENT BREAKDOWN
• North America: 45%
• Europe: 30%
• Latin America: 16%
• Asia Pacific: 8%
KE Y PEOPLE
Michele Volpi, president and CEO; James Giertz, senior
VP and CFO; James Owens, senior VP, North America;
Kevin Gilligan, VP, Asia Pacific; Jan Muller, VP, Europe;
Ramon Tico, VP, Latin America; Barry Snyder, VP and chief
technology officer.
H.B. Fuller Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of adhesives and
other specialty chemical products.
The company is managed through
four regional operating segments—North America, Europe,
Latin America and Asia Pacific.
The largest business component in
each of the regional segments is
adhesives. H.B. Fuller posted sales
of $1.391 billion in 2008.
During 2008 H.B. Fuller completed
the acquisition of Egymelt, a manufacturer and marketer of hot melt
and specialty water-based adhesives
18
Hempel A/S
Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
www.hempel.com
PRIVATE COMPANY
HEADCOUNT: 3,879
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1915
COATINGS REVENUES: $1.347 billion
TOTAL REVENUES: $1.347 billion
Last year was the biggest year of investment in Hempel’s history, and results show that
the company’s strategy, One
Hempel—Everywhere, is paying off
despite the economic slow down.
Hempel had a decent year in 2008,
despite the downturn in the global
economy that affected much of the
coatings industry. Still, revenues
and profits were down on 2007,
mainly due to lower sales in the container segment, which accounted for
$117 million (€80 million) in lost
revenue for the group.
In 2008 a total of 273 million liters of
paint were sold, compared to 289 million
headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
Egymelt had net revenue in 2007
of approximately $4 million. The
principle assets acquired include a
manufacturing facility, equipment
and inventory. The results of this
business will be included in the company’s European operating segment.
The acquisition of Egymelt estab-lishes H.B. Fuller’s geographic presence in one of the fastest growing
regions in the world.
The company also announced during the year that it will invest further in its Asia Pacific region operations through the building of a new
hot melt moisture cure (HMMC) and
polyisobutylene (PIB) manufacturing facility in China.
Construction on the new facility
commenced in early 2009 with production expected to begin in early
2010. The new facility, together with
the company’s new Asia Pacific technology center, will enable H.B.
Fuller to more fully serve the needs
of its customers in the region. The
facility will produce specialty adhesives for textile and performance
wood applications, which include
insulating glass, textile lamination
and footwear. ;
SEGMENT BREAKDOWN
• Marine
• Protective
• Container
• Yacht
• Decorative
KEY PEOPLE
Pierre Yves Jullien, group president and CEO; Kim Junge
Andersen, group executive VP and CFO; Key managers:
Jannik Allentoft, marine; Sueno Johnsen, protective; Lars
Hermansen, container; Christian Ottosen, yacht; Soren
Nyburg Rasmussen, technical director.
liters in 2007. Group revenues fell by
one percent to $1.347 billion (€916 million). The biggest event for Hempel in
2008 was the $220 million (€150 million)
acquisition of Hempel-Hai Hong from
joint venture partners China Merchants
Holdings (International) Co. Ltd. The
acquisition, which went through on
January 5, 2009, gives Hempel full control of its operation in China.
Hempel also acquired overall control of its operations in Croatia and
Morocco in 2008 and committed to
new factories in Poland and China
(both should come online in 2010).
Most business segments grow during 2008, the company said, with the
business divided into two sections for
Hempel, especially its container segment, which was strong at the beginning of 2008, before sales declined considerably in the latter part of the year.
However, net sales for all Hempel’s
other segments increased. Largely
driven by the Asia-Pacific region, protective experienced the largest
increase in volume at 12%, demonstrating faster growth than the market. Marine also performed well,
despite a slowdown in the second half
of the year. Decorative grew, mainly
driven by the construction industries
of China and the Middle East. The
yacht segment remained steady. ;
