Adhesives: less is more

H.B. Fuller strengthens its position as a global supplier of adhesives through the acquisition of the "industrial adhesives" arm of the Forbo Group, completed in March 2012, and has reorganized its activities throughout the EIMEA area. Products and projects.

On December 5th H.B. Fuller opened the doors of its German plant in Lüneburg (destined to become one of the main centers of excellencefor hot-melt worldwide) and outlined plans for the future.
The big adhesives producer has in fact planned overall investment of 70 million euros, in a program that will bring radical change to the plants not only in Europe but also in the Middle East, Africa and India (at Pune, for example, a hot melt and waterbased adhesive production plant counting on the most advanced technology has been created from scratch).
«In the EIMEA area - said Elizabeth Staab, HB Fuller marketing manager for Europe - we plan to build new technical and expertise centres to optimize the flow of supply, but also to dedicate team of experts supported by specialists in various applications and establish and set up shared services centers, to guarantee a better global efficiency».

The latest expansion at the Lüneburg site responds to this process of reinforcement, where 1,000 sqm will go towards the new technical center, another 450 sqm will go towards laboratories and offices and 150 sqm to conference and meeting areas.

«In the works, which already produce adhesives and coatings for packaging, labeling, graphic arts, converting, nonwovens, we will also be installing new thermoplastic adhesive production lines, including various formats.
The Lüneburg technical and R&D center is able perform the analysis of finished products, training on the use of hot melt and feeding systems, studies on the optimization of packaging, as well as waterbased label testing and training».

HB Fuller is hence wagering much on Europe, choosing to invest resources to further enhance its presence on the market and focusing strongly on research and development. «A choice - said Per-Olof Algotsson, EIMEA packaging solution Business Director - which conveys our longterm vision: increase in efficiency to ensure the best possible support to customers, who will be able to rely on high added value and safe products».
 
Not products but solutions
The high-performance adhesives developed by HB Fuller are recommended for all food and beverage packaging sectors: case and carton sealing, tray forming, wraparound packaging, bag-in-box, sealing of caps, application of handles, packaging reams, the labeling of returnable and one-way glass bottles, PET containers, cans and other plastic containers, using all stock (paper, metalized paper, plastic; stack- and roll-fed labels).

The flagship range of hot melt adhesives for packaging sealing operations, the new Advantra® series (based on a patented polymer technology) ensure clean application, superior bonding and lower consumption. «In fact, we have reduced the total cost in use by 40% - Per-Olof Algotsson pointed out - while improving the effectiveness online.

The Advantra® family includes various types of adhesives designed for specific uses, which ensure excellent sealing performance regardless of operating conditions and temperatures of use. And among other things they have been tested and certified according to the European legislation on food contact».
In particular, thanks to the experience built up by the company in the field of legislation and safety in food contact (the company’s internal "Regulation" office constantly monitors the updates regarding the same) HB Fuller can advise the customer and suggest the best product to minimize migration problems on the basis of the packaging to be used.
 

EXPERIENCE AND KNOW HOW. H.B. Fuller has been operating for 125 years in the field of adhesives used in the packaging-, hygiene, paper production and converting, assembly, woodworking, and consumer goods sectors. With corporate headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA) and European HQ in Zurich (CH), the company is present in 43 countries and has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Strongly innovation oriented, it aims its research in the development of solutions that can also anticipate the needs of the market. And the innovation does not stop with products: each H.B. Fuller solution has been designed to optimize the use of adhesives on the production lines, all this with an eye to sustainability. Technical support guides the customer in choosing the most appropriate formula to ensure the desired performance.