H.B. Fuller Launches Business Incubator

Business Wire, March 9, 2001

Business Editors

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2001

H.B. Fuller Company today announced the launch of a business incubator initiative called EntreGrow. Through EntreGrow, H.B. Fuller will provide services, business mentors and laboratory space at the company's St. Paul headquarters to emerging companies with innovative technologies. In exchange, H.B. Fuller will gain access to these technologies, according to EntreGrow Team Leader Steve Zitnick.

"Business incubators like EntreGrow can shortcut time to market for entrepreneurial companies by 12 to 18 months," says Zitnick. "H.B. Fuller is an ideal incubator for these companies because they can leverage our internal expertise and facilities. In return, we get in on the ground floor of technologies that will permit us to enter new markets or expand existing customer relationships."

H.B. Fuller will seek companies with technologies in engineering, materials science, surface chemistry, surface modification, and related fields to participate in EntreGrow. The initiative will operate as part of Full-Valu, an H.B. Fuller marketing group focused on providing solutions to customers through integrated products, services, knowledge and other capabilities.

"EntreGrow will act as a technology development catalyst for Full-Valu," says Walter Nussbaumer, vice president and general manager of Full-Valu. "In exchange for offering mentoring expertise and laboratory space, we will negotiate for rights to further develop, manufacture and distribute products and services resulting from the entrepreneurial company's activities."

EntreGrow will be a boon for local inventors and entrepreneurs, says Doug Johnson, co-director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. "The lack of scientific incubator space has definitely hindered technology commercialization in the Twin Cities," Johnson says. "Lab space is expensive and hard to find, and there are not a lot of property development people out there who understand the unique needs of scientific companies. They require a more sophisticated space than a technology start-up like a dot.com company."

To jump-start EntreGrow, H.B. Fuller has signed a partnership agreement with Genesis Business Centers, Ltd. This eight-year-old business incubator and consulting firm in Columbia Heights, Minn., will identify and qualify a limited number of entrepreneurial partners for EntreGrow. "For inventors and entrepreneurs, the key is getting their idea to the proof-of-concept stage, where they can demonstrate some technological milestone," explains Harlan Jacobs, president of Genesis. "H.B. Fuller can provide the necessary lab space, instrumentation and equipment, and also help them scale-up for production, once the concept is developed."

Entrepreneurs who are interested in learning more about EntreGrow are encouraged to contact Steve Zitnick at 651.236.5457 (steve.zitnick@hbfuller.com) or Harlan Jacobs at 763.782.8576 (HarlanJacobs@GenesisCenters.com).

H.B. Fuller Company is a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of adhesives, sealants, coatings, paints and other specialty chemical products, with fiscal 2000 sales of $1.3653 billion. Common stock is traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol FULL. For more information about the company, visit the Web site at http://www.hbfuller.com.