hb fuller - Construction In Focus Magazine

A STICKY SITUATION
HB FULLER
AS FEATURED IN AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION FOCUS
FOCUS ON: HB FULLER
HB FULLER
Headquartered in Minnesota, in the United States, HB Fuller
has a worldwide turnover of some US$1.4 billion and 36
manufacturing facilities; the company splits its business into
three regions, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific...
Written By John Boley
HB Fuller products can stick almost
anything to almost anything else. In
terms of the construction industry,
the company’s twin focuses are on
providing high quality adhesives
and sealants for the DIY and trade
sectors. As far as the rest of HB
Fuller’s interests are concerned,
the ‘industrial’ division sticks a complete catalogue of things together
– the ends of toilet rolls, labels to
beverage bottles, sealing cartons
– hot-melt glues in particular are
used extensively in consumer products and that accounts for around
2
half of the Australian business of
this global company.
Headquartered in Minnesota, in
the United States, HB Fuller has
a worldwide turnover of some
US$1.4 billion and 36 manufacturing facilities; the company splits
its business into three regions, the
Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific,
with the latter division’s head office in Shanghai.
Given the firm’s substantial presence in China – not to mention
the various other factors such as
the strength of the Aussie dollar,
HB FULLER - A STICKY SITUATION
labour costs and environmental
considerations – it is a small surprise to find that HB Fuller has a
significant manufacturing base
here in Australia: Dandenong, to
be precise, where we talked to
marketing manager Rod Harry.
He explained that the company
actually exports, to areas including New Zealand, India and Singapore (a major constructionindustry market in its own right,
of course), the Middle East, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea,
and even to China.
Indeed, HB Fuller recently signed
up with the Australian-Made association and proudly
proclaims its logo. Rod says, “It’s not an easy matter
to compete, manufacturing in Australia and exporting
into China. But there are certain performance requirements that can’t be met with the products they manufacture there, which is where we have the edge here
in Victoria.” He says the Chinese have considerable
respect for the technology contained in the Australianmade construction adhesives, sealants and coatings
and they are used to great effect in the booming China
building trade. “They take container loads of our products – our formula works and they respect it.”
HB Fuller also manufactures products for the DIY market, the building trade and hardware and industrial outlets, with more than 200 products that can be found
in Mitre 10, John Danks Hardware, Masters, Natbuild
& HBT group stores as well as independent construction and engineering outlets. “We have an extremely
comprehensive range of products from gap fillers to
solvent construction adhesives and extending to our
latest modified silyl polymer (MS) technology.”
The majority of these products are supplied in 300ml
cartridges and 600ml sausage packs. “That’s where
we come to the construction side of the business,”
says Rod, “which is our forte. We have some terrific
construction sealants that are recognised throughout
Australia and abroad as the best for the job.”
tic sealants and high structural strength adhesives that
are used in the manufacturing environment for applications such as recreational vehicle assembly and portable building construction.
Rod explains that “we have so many products in our
range because there are so many different substrates,
so many different environmental conditions and so
many different performance requirements.” For optimum performance the compatibility between substrate and adhesive needs to be carefully considered
– this may sound obvious, but as most of us know,
around the house we will stick two pieces of timber
together with the same adhesive we would use to
repair a shoe, and often unknowingly accept a compromise in performance. Naturally that kind of compromise is unacceptable when you’re fixing an architectural panel to the side of a building, or an exterior
skin on a caravan or motorhome.
Careful calculation goes into determining the appropriate compound to be used in any situation, not
only taking account of the adhesion to the substrates,
but also external factors such as the wind loading
the structure is specified to withstand and other variable climatic conditions such as temperature and hu-
“... THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF
CHANGE HAS BEEN ‘GREEN’
BUILDING AND THE GROWTH OF
THE GREEN STAR INITIATIVES.”
“HB Fuller products can stick
almost anything to almost
anything else.”
Construction products are broken down into two main
categories: products for residential use and products
for commercial use. Products supplied to the residential building sector include the likes of plasterboard
stud adhesives, sub-flooring and timber flooring adhesives, wet area sealants, silicones and coloured caulking compounds. Well known brands include Maxbond,
Floorbond XMS, Toolbox and Caulk in Colours. On the
commercial side of the business HB Fuller offers a wide
range of sealants for waterproofing applications in
areas such as architectural cladding, glazing and general residential or commercial waterproofing. “We
also have specialised sealants that are used for sealing expansion joints in concrete panel structures, and
sealants for ensuring the fire and acoustic integrity of
buildings. Well known commercial brands include Firesound, Fulaseal and HBF-100 Architectural sealant.”
This range also extends into higher performance elas-
midity. It is vital to know what the minimum bonded
surface area requirements are to meet those wind
loadings, with an appropriate engineering safety factor based on the ultimate bond strength recorded in
pre-testing. This is not only for the purpose of ensuring the adhesive and cohesive integrity of the chosen
adhesive, but also for minimising the risk of substrate
failure. “These calculations are all things we perform
and once we know what the bonded surface needs
to be, we can specify the application requirements
to achieve a system that performs. If a panel requires
20 fixings for example, there needs to be research
into determining the strength of each fixing and how
many you need. It’s a different way of doing things but
the requirements are the same.”
AS FEATURED IN AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION FOCUS
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FOCUS ON: HB FULLER
This is not something to leave to the customer. HB
Fuller offers training – “it’s something we do very well.
We provide our customers and distributors with the
knowledge required to sell and use our products. We
also provide technical support, of course – it’s not as
simple as selling a product and saying ‘there you go’.”
Customers come to know the products they need. Contractors tend to be fairly specialised, says Rod: “they
could be in interior fitout, or construction joint sealing
for example, and that is their expertise and they have
products they regularly use. Often there are products
that are specified by architects or engineers so they
know what is required.”
“We provide our customers
and distributors with the
knowledge required to sell
and use our products.”
Not only Australian but global standards apply to all
kinds of sealants and adhesives, although the details
can vary from country to country. Mainly, they govern
emissions – of things like volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) or isocyanates, which are ever more closely
controlled in the search to end global warming, maintain indoor air quality, and ensure the health and safety
of users. HB Fuller has a laboratory at its Dandenong
factory which gives it the capability to formulate products and assist customers to find the ideal solution
for bonding and sealing a large variety of building systems. “We have a test facility in the laboratory where
we can perform any number of required performance
pre-tests on adhesives or sealants and come up with
appropriately performing systems. As such, other companies may specify our sealant or adhesive as a component of their building system. That may be anything
from weatherproofing joints in aluminium panels on
the external façade of buildings right through to structurally bonding the panels onto the sub-frame of the
building without the use of any mechanical fixings.”
Adhesives have become increasingly popular for securing the visible parts of buildings, largely for aesthetic reasons and speed of application, says Rod.
It obviates the need for mechanical fixings through
a panel on the outside of a building. “If you can use
an adhesive system, you can achieve a flatter finish; there are fewer or no visible mechanical fixings.”
There is also the advantage that an adhesive bond can
achieve a very high structural integrity – in many cases
4
HB FULLER - A STICKY SITUATION
“ADHESIVES HAVE COME
A LONG WAY IN THEIR
CAPABILITIES, NOT JUST
IN TERMS OF IMPROVED
VERSATILITY BUT ALSO IN
TERMS OF ACHIEVING HIGH
PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES
WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT IN MIND.”
you would require a large number of mechanical fixings
to achieve the equivalent strength.
Rod explains that there is a good deal of innovation in the
building industry and a steady stream of new or different
ways of doing things. “Adhesives have come a long way
in their capabilities, not just in terms of improved versatility but also in terms of achieving high performance
properties with environmental impact in mind. In this respect the construction industry has followed the lead of
the industrial sector. Recently – in the last six or seven
years – the biggest driver of change has been ‘green’
building and the growth of the Green Star initiatives. In
Australia the council concerned has formulated requirements for the different product categories. “They classify
products as being environmentally friendly or friendly to
the indoor air quality environment, and as such we have
a full range of products that meet the bonding and sealing requirements of Green Star rated structures. I can
confidently say that as a company we are ahead of the
pack in terms of our understanding of the requirements
of the Green Building Council when it comes to the use
of solvents and the VOC requirements.”
Another arm of HB Fuller’s global business is the Foster
Products division, which makes coatings, adhesives and
sealants for construction applications. The adhesives are
used primarily for bonding of insulation, such as cold water pipe insulation, and sealants are manufactured for that
type of insulation as well. Foster also offers exceptionally high performance anti-microbial coatings that can be
used in areas where the requirement is to actively prevent mould growth: areas like commercial food preparation rooms, or breweries. There are also coatings for use
in commercial buildings within the air conditioning ductwork that are designed to prevent sick building syndrome
caused by mould and microbial detritus growing in wet and
humid areas. These high performance coatings are guaranteed, some for as long as 10 years, to prevent mould, and
can be used in wall cavities, for remedial work in flood
affected areas or inside air conditioning ducts.
HB Fuller has a commitment not only to performance,
says Rod, but also to the environment. “We are part of
the Australian packaging covenant which is all about
reduction of waste, recycling and what impact a company in Australia can have on the environment of Australia.” Summing the company up, Rod says: “We are
trying to be the leader in technology of environmentally friendly products whilst meeting the various
performance needs of the construction.”
AS FEATURED IN AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION FOCUS
5
H.B. Fuller Australia Pty Ltd
16-22 Red Gum Drive,
Dandenong South, Victoria 3175
AUSTRALIA
Telephone: 1800 423 855
au.query@hbfuller.com
www.hbfuller.com.au
675 Victoria Street, Abbotsford | Victoria 3067 | Ph: 03 8682 0423 | ABN 93 143 238 126