H.B. Fuller Acquires UK-based HS Butyl
In a move to accelerate its expansion into the $15 billion global waterproofing tape market, US adhesives major H.B. Fuller has acquired HS Butyl, the UK’s largest manufacturer and distributor of butyl tapes for a wide variety of applications within the construction, infrastructure, automotive and renewable energy industries. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
In 2022, H.B. Fuller grew its existing technology platform for butyl tapes through the acquisition of GSSI Sealants, a North American-based manufacturer with a strong portfolio of butyl tapes. Now, the company wants to leverage these capabilities and its global distribution network to further grow HS Butyl’s innovative technologies in Europe, where the waterproofing tape market is twice as large as in North America, H.B. Fuller said in a statement.
“This acquisition establishes H.B. Fuller’s presence in the European waterproofing tape market, expanding our position as a solution provider to existing customers and our relevance to more markets,” commented Celeste Mastin, H.B. Fuller’s president and CEO. “HS Butyl’s innovative technology platform not only complements and completes our existing butyl product line for Construction Adhesives customers, it creates compelling opportunities to deliver new, in-demand solutions for our customers in the Engineering Adhesives market, given the technology’s relevance to multiple high-value applications,” Mastin added.
HS Butyl is a family-owned business with headquarters in Lymington, England, and was founded in 1964. With more than $23 million in annual sales, HS Butyl exports to more than 50 countries around the world. The new business will operate within H.B. Fuller’s Construction Adhesives global business unit.
