The History of H.B. Fuller

• 1887 Harvey Fuller moves to St. Paul, manufactures flour and water paste
• 1901 Harvey Fuller invents unique scaffolding
• 1915 H.B. Fuller Company incorporates
• 1921 Harvey Fuller Jr. assumes H.B. Fuller presidency
• 1924 H.B. Fuller expands product line with new formulas for canning
• 1929 H.B. Fuller sales reach unprecedented revenue level at $157,000
• 1934 Elmer Andersen joins H.B. Fuller, specializing in advertising and sales
• 1938 Ray Burgess develops revolutionary new hot pick-up adhesive
• 1941 Harvey Fuller sells company to Elmer Andersen
• 1946 H.B. Fuller sales reach $1 million
• 1949 Elmer Andersen becomes candidate for Minnesota State Legislature
• 1950 H.B. Fuller establishes seven branch plants; growth rate skyrockets
• 1953 H.B. Fuller’s 11th facility opens in Portland, Oregon, U.S.
• 1956 H.B. Fuller produces 600 adhesive products; sales reach $6 million
• 1959 H.B. Fuller begins international expansion in Canada and the Bahamas; H.B. Fuller sales reach $10 million
• 1961 H.B. Fuller’s international markets span South America, Europe, Africa and Asia
• 1964 H.B. Fuller merges its nine independent companies
• 1965 Record sales hit $20.8 million as company reorganizes into four geographic regions
• 1968 Sales at H.B. Fuller increase to new high of $36.6 million
• 1968 H.B. Fuller holds first public stock offering
• 1971 Tony Andersen becomes H.B. Fuller President
• 1974 H.B. Fuller sales top $100 million, even during recession
• 1977 H.B. Fuller distributes 100-percent stock dividend
• 1978 H.B. Fuller purchases 180 acres in St. Paul (Vadnais Heights), Minnesota, U.S., for future headquarters
• 1980 Sales of $296 million set new records
• 1981 Construction begins at Willow Lake in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., site of new H.B. Fuller lab; H.B. Fuller reorganizes, focusing on strategic business units
• 1982 H.B. Fuller acquires Isar-Rakoll Chemie; expands European presence
• 1982 H.B. Fuller institutes 14-step quality control program
• 1982 H.B. Fuller Willow Lake research facility opens
• 1984 H.B. Fuller named to Fortune 500 based on 1983 performance
• 1985 H.B. Fuller signs joint venture agreement with Guangdong Province, China
• 1986 H.B. Fuller reaches $500 million sales goal 
• 1986 H.B. Fuller establishes the H.B. Fuller Company Foundation in support of its philanthropic vision and commitment to the community
• 1994 H.B. Fuller reaches $1.1 billion worldwide sales
• 2002 Trading of public stock moves to NYSE – with the ticker symbol FUL
• 2005 & 2006 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
• 2009 H.B. Fuller celebrates the grand opening of its new Asia Pacific Regional Technology Center in Shanghai, China
• 2010 H.B. Fuller acquires Revertex Finewaters Sdn. Bdh. in Malaysia, strengthening the company’s presence in Southeast Asia
• 2010 H.B. Fuller announces expansion to India with a $12 million manufacturing facility being built in Pune, India
• 2010 H.B. Fuller opens its manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China, the first adhesives manufacturing facility of its kind in the Asia Pacific market focused on reactive technologies
• 2011 H.B. Fuller acquires Liquamelt Corp., and patented Liquamelt™ adhesive system
• 2011 2011 H.B. Fuller worldwide sales reach $1.56 billion
• 2012 H.B. Fuller acquires the global industrial adhesives business of Forbo Group