H.B. Fuller has announced that the company received a Best Innovator China 2015 Award in the Innovating through Chinese M&A category. This award recognizes H.B. Fuller, a global leader in industrial adhesives, for its work to fast-track engineering adhesives innovation in the automotive, electronics, solar, wind, MRO, appliance and heavy machinery markets from China to the rest of the world following the company’s acquisition of TONSAN Adhesive, Inc. in 2015.

With TONSAN, H.B. Fuller is helping manufacturers unlock new design possibilities and gain access to global channels. H.B. Fuller now delivers more choice and value to customers looking for a high level of collaboration through TONSAN’s established manufacturing relationships in China and H.B. Fuller’s global expertise and supply networks.

“For nearly 130 years, H.B. Fuller has been partnering with customers to innovate and solve some of the world’s biggest adhesion challenges. With the addition of TONSAN, a leading Chinese engineering adhesive innovator, we are committed to leveraging our global reach, technical expertise and market knowledge to support our growth around the world,” says Pat Trippel, senior vice president, H.B. Fuller. “Working together, we will respond to changing market demands, develop breakthrough adhesive technology and improve customers’ product performance.”

Since 2003, A.T. Kearney has conducted the Best Innovator program in more than 15 countries around the world, and 2015 marks its second year in China. The award program aims to increase the innovativeness of participating companies through better understanding and sharing of innovation best practices. “Most multinational firms acquire companies in developing markets, especially in China, to tap into their domestic customer base and sell products into that country. H.B. Fuller’s acquisition of TONSAN is a very rare case where a global firm bought a local entrepreneurship team for its innovative products and R&D capacity, and not for its market share or reach. Furthermore, the local team built a competitive start-up and its R&D technology now has become the core innovation of the mother company,” says Dan Starta, managing partner at A.T. Kearney, Greater China.