Coatings World - July 2014

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 $2.074 billion in 2013.

“We are pleased with our 2013 financial results which demon-
strate solid operational improvement and another step towards our
2015 targets,” Jim Owens, H. B. Fuller president and chief executive
officer stated in its end of year report. “In the midst of a major busi-
ness integration and weaker than expected end-market conditions
in some key markets, our team delivered solid results. We delivered
record revenue and grew organically for the fourth year in a row
with stronger organic growth at the end of the year.”
The company recently opened a new $10 million manufactur-
ing facility to support the expansion of its business in the Andean
Region of South America. The plant is located in Rionegro, approxi-
mately 36 kilometers east of Medellin, Colombia.

H.B. Fuller has had a strong presence in the Andean Region’s adhesives market, operating from a manufacturing facility in Itagui before moving to its new plant in Rionegro. The new site will provide increased production capacity, a new technical laboratory for hygienic products and better access to the country’s second largest airport. The Rionegro facility will supply hot melt and water-based adhesive technologies for the hygienic, packaging and corrugate and assembly markets. In addition to production, the facility houses administrative offices, labs, and receiving and dispatching.Rionegro is the most recent example of how H.B. Fuller is investing in its capabilities globally. In the past few years, the company has built manufacturing facilities in Nanjing, China, and Pune, India.

PUBLIC COMPANY YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1887

REVENUE: $2.074 billion s (2012: $1.886 billion))

MARKETS SERVED

• Adhesives

KEY EXECUTIVES

Jim Owens, president and CEO; James Giertz, senior VP and CFO; Joan Schuller, VP, AsiaPacific; Steven Kenny, senior VP, EIMEA; Barry Snyder, VP and chief technology officer.

14H.B. Fuller Company St. Paul, Minnesota, USA www.hbfuller.com

Asian Paints had sales of $2.08 billion for 2013. Architec- tural/decorative comprised 90 percent of sales and indus- trial and automotive comprised the rest. Asian Paints has

23 manufacturing facilities worldwide: 13 in Asia, 5 in the Middle East, 2 in the South Pacific and 3 in the Caribbean. Key brands in India include for exterior walls: Apex, Ace, Apex Ultima, Apex Ultima Protek and Apex Duracast; interior walls: Royale, Royale Aspira, Royale Play, Tractor, Premium Emulsion, Apcolite and Utsav; metal surface: Utsav, Premium Enamel and wood: PU, Touchwood and Polyester.

Asian Paints recently entered into a binding agreement with
ESS ESS Bathroom Products Pvt Ltd and its promoters, to acquire
its entire front end sales business including Brands, Network and
Sales Infrastructure, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions
precedents and applicable statutory approvals. ESS ESS Bathroom
Products Pvt Ltd. is a prominent player in the bath and wash busi-
ness segment in India and has high quality products in this segment.

Asian Paints signed an agreement with the shareholders of Kadisco Chemical Industry PLC, Ethiopia, to acquire directly or through its subsidiaries 51 percent of the equity share capital of Kadisco. This acquisition is subject to applicable regulatory and other approvals. Kadisco is engaged in the manufacturing and selling of paints, other coatings and adhesives in Ethiopia.

PUBLIC COMPANY YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1942

REVENUE: $2.08 billion s (2012: $1.99 billion)

MARKETS SERVED

• Architectural coatings • Industrial coatings • Automotive coatings

KEY EXECUTIVES

K.B.S. Anand, MD and CEO; Amit Syngle, president architectural coatings, India; Jalal Dani, president international operations; Jayesh Merchant, CFO and company secretary, president, industrial JVs India.