Amid anti-trust concerns, the company had proposed selling some of the liquid finishing businesses that it recently acquired from Illinois Tools Works, but the Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed order that would require it to divest all of them.
Manufacturing
The latest closures and job cuts will occur across Europe and are part of the company’s efforts to streamline its operations in the region and consolidate them with the industrial adhesives business of Forbo Group, which H.B. Fuller recently acquired.
The Monday fire also resulted in substantial damage to the plant; a cause has not yet been determined.
Round Lake-based Farley’s & Sathers Candy Company and Forest Park, Illinois-based Ferrara Pan Candy Company did not release many details—including where the combined company will be based—but said that the post-merger company will be headed by Ferrara Pan’s current CEO.
The company has agreed to buy Brazil-based food company Yoki Alimentos, S.A., for about $859 million, thus confirming rumors that surfaced earlier this year.
The state's 2011 exports increased $1.4 billion, or 7.3 percent, from the previous year.
H.B. Fuller has agreed to sell its paints unit, which is based in Central America, to a Colombia-based company so that it can focus on its adhesives business.
The upgrade, which will increase the mill's production capacity, will also help retain jobs in St. Paul, according to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
A company spokesman said that the cuts are not specific to a single function or department, and he declined to disclose how many Minnesota employees are affected.
The acquisition includes the light construction and "hardscape" product assets of New York-based Stone Construction Equipment, Inc.
Eden Prairie-based Phillips & Temro Industries is closing a plant in Canada and moving some of its operations to Minnesota-which will result in 80 new local jobs.
The closings, which are connected to H.B. Fuller's recent acquisition of the industrial adhesives unit of Forbo Group, will not affect jobs in Minnesota.
AAR Corporation plans to occupy 152,000 square feet in the former Northwest Airlines' maintenance facility in Duluth.
By consolidating some of its European offices and relocating its Texas distribution operations to the Twin Cities, the company expects to reduce annual operating expenses by up to $2.8 million beginning in 2013.
St. Jude Medical wants a recently published article retracted, calling it a "biased analysis." But Douglas Zipes, managing editor of the online journal that published the article, said that's "not going to happen."
With CD sales softening, music production house Noiseland Industries found a surprising new revenue source.
Graco plans to close its acquisition of Illinois Tool Works' finishing businesses next week, but regulators might require the company to sell some of the acquired units due to antitrust concerns.
Production has ramped up at the mill, which resumed production in August, and the owners are aggressively cultivating more business.