H.B. Fuller opens R&D facility in India

H.B. Fuller this week opened a new business office and research-and-development center in India, part of a $20 million investment in the region.

A new state-of-the-art R&D facility is an expansion to an existing manufacturing site in Shirwal, India, and a new business office consolidates about 50 existing customer support and administrative employees at an office in nearby Pune, India.

The 5,000-square-foot R&D facility is an expansion of the Shirwal manufacturing facility that was built in 2011. The R&D center features areas for experimentation, demonstration and training of Fuller's hot melt, water-based, anaerobic and cyanoacrylate technologies.

"We are pleased to be expanding our footprint in India. We are optimistic about the new opportunities our new business office and R&D center will provide us ­— and our customers," CEO Jim Owens said in a statement.

H.B. Fuller may make additional investments in the area if business in the India region continues to grow as expected, a company spokesperson said.

The latest investments in the area will give the Vadnais Heights-based H.B. Fuller more capabilities to partner with customers in that region.

In the news release on the R&D center, Kamal Johari, a managing director of Nobel Hygiene, a global maker of disposable hygiene products with manufacturing facilities near Shirwal, said the facility "will be a key competitive advantage for our company."