HB Fuller to take over African adhesive producer

St. Paul, Minnesota — HB Fuller Co. has signed an agreement to purchase Continental Products Ltd., a provider of industrial adhesives firm in Nairobi, Kenya.

HB Fuller said the business will generate about $2.81 million in revenue for fiscal 2014 and will be included in H.B. Fuller’s Europe, India, Middle East and Africa operating segment.

“With this acquisition, we will take a significant step forward in our plan to grow in Africa,” Steve Kenny, HB Fuller’s senior vice president, EIMEA, said in a statement. “HB Fuller has a strategic focus on growth in emerging markets, and the Continental business will enable us to deliver specialty adhesives products to key customers in the East and Central African regions.”

Continental was founded in 1996 and develops adhesives for a variety of industries — including paper converting, printing and packaging, labeling, laminating, bookbinding, automotive assembly, footwear and construction. HB Fuller said the addition of this business will enable it to capitalize on access to local infrastructure in Kenya.