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WE WILL EXPAND OUR PRESENCE IN EXISTING MARKETS AND PROMOTE OUR BRAND IDENTITIES. WE WILL LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER PENETRATE EXISTING MARKETS, FOR INSTANCE, BY EXTENDING OUR PRODUCT LINES, OR BY BROADENING OUR PRESENCE IN A GEOGRAPHIC REGION TO BETTER REACH CUSTOMERS.
IN ASIA/PACIFIC, WE ARE IMPROVING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIGH-GROWTH CONDITIONS THAT EXIST THERE, PARTICULARLY IN CHINA. IN JAPAN, WHERE WE HAD STRUGGLED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, WE CHANGED OUR APPROACH AND ACHIEVED SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN 2003. IN AUSTRALIA, OUR CONSUMER PRODUCTS BUSINESS EXPERIENCED A RESURGENCE UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP AND WITH A WELL-EXECUTED NEW STRATEGY.
AS A RESULT OF OUR INTENSIFIED FOCUS IN THIS REGION, OUR VOLUME THERE INCREASED NEARLY 16 PERCENT LAST YEAR, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER. WE WILL CONTINUE TO CAPITALIZE ON THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY ASIA PACIFIC.
IN LATIN AMERICA, AS I ALSO MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE INCREASED VOLUME MORE THAN 6 PERCENT LAST YEAR. WE HAD SOLID GROWTH IN OUR ESTABLISHED LIQUID PAINTS BUSINESS, AND EXPANDED OUR BRANDED PRODUCT OFFERINGS INTO GUATEMALA, NICARAGUA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS AND BELIZE. WE ALSO OPENED SIX NEW PAINT STORES IN GUATEMALA.
WE WILL EXTEND OUR REACH GEOGRAPHICALLY AND THROUGH NEW BUSINESSES.
LAST MONTH, WE ANNOUNCED THE ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN BUSINESSES OF PROBOS, A COMPANY LOCATED IN PORTO, PORTUGAL. PROBOS, WHICH SERVES THE PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH MARKETS, AS WELL AS MARKETS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND EASTERN EUROPE, HAD BEEN A LICENSEE OF THE H.B. FULLER RAKOLL BRAND SINCE 1984. THE ACQUISITION STRENGTHENS OUR RAKOLL BRAND, SOLIDIFIES OUR PRESENCE ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA, AND PROVIDES US WITH ADDITIONAL CHANNELS INTO THE MIDDLE EAST AND EASTERN EUROPE.
TO HELP US EXTEND OUR BUSINESS IN NEW DIRECTIONS, WE FORMED H.B. FULLER VENTURES TO IDENTIFY AND SELECT INVESTMENTS IN SEED TO EARLY-STAGE COMPANIES THAT CAN OFFER STRATEGIC VALUE AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES TO US. IN 2003, WE MADE TWO INVESTMENTS.
NANOSYS IS A LEADING COMPANY IN THE GROWING NANOTECHNOLOGY FIELD. IT IS FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS THAT EXPLOIT THE UNIQUE CHEMICAL, ELECTRONIC, OPTICAL AND PROCESSING PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS, AND IS EXPLORING COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS IN SEVERAL AREAS. THESE INCLUDE ADVANCED ADHESIVES AND SURFACE COATINGS, SUCH AS GECKO-FOOT-LIKE ADHESIVES. AS ITS NAME IMPLIES, THIS NEW ADHESIVE HAS A SURFACE THAT LOOKS LIKE THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOT OF A GECKO. A GECKO HAS LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF TINY NANOFIBERS ON THE BOTTOM OF ITS FOOT, EACH OF WHICH BIND TO A SURFACE WITH A VERY WEAK ELECTROSTATIC INTERACTION. THE SUM OF ALLL THOSE BINDING FORCES IS EXTREMELY STRONG. THE NANOSTRUCTURED SURFACES BEING MADE AT NANOSYS MIMIC THE BOTTOM OF A GECKO’S FOOT.
ECOSYNTHETIX IS A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY THAT CREATES BIO-BASED TECHNOLOGIES. THE COMPANY HAS DEVELOPED A FAMILY OF NEW STARCH ADHESIVES THAT POSSSESS UNIQUE PROPERTIES THROUGH THE USE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. ULTIMATELY, THIS COULD RESULT IN ADHESIVES WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES BASED ON RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR US.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEEK SIMILAR OPPORTUNITIES TO GAIN INSIGHTS INTO NEW AND EMERGING MARKETS AND TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL AVENUES FOR GROWTH.
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, OUR FULL-VALUE BUSINESSES HAVE FOCUSED ON THE CONCEPT OF SOLUTION SELLING – OFFERING A CUSTOMER A COMPLETE PACKAGE INCLUDING PRODUCTS, SERVICES, KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY. THIS CONCEPT, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO MORE PROFITABLE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR US, IS GAINING MOMENTUM WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. A FEW MINUTES AGO, I MENTIONED AN INNOVATIVE PROJECT WITHIN OUR WINDOW UNIT. OUR ADALIS BUSINESS IS PENETRATING THE VALUE CHAIN IN A SIMILAR FASHION BY MARKETING THEIR KNOWLEDGE IN THE PACKAGING AND PLYWOOD INDUSTRIES.
FOR INSTANCE, PLYWOOD MILLS, PARTICULARLY IN NORTH AMERICA, NEED TO BECOME LEANER, WASTE LESS WOOD AND BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE IN ORDER TO AVOID CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION. TO ASSIST THEM, ADALIS IS FOCUSING ON BECOMING A VALUE-ADDED PARTNER FOR THE MILLS, OFFERING CONSULTATION IN THE AREAS OF EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION, MODIFICATION AND DESIGN, TRAINING PROGRAMS, AND CONSULTING TO ADVISE MILLS ON IMPROVING THEIR PROCESS EFFICIENCES AND PROFITABILITY. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SHIFT FROM FOCUSING MERELY ON PRODUCT SALES, ONE WHICH OPENS UP ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR US.
WE WILL EXECUTE OUR STRATEGIES WITH URGENCY AND DISCIPLINE. WE ARE COMMITTED TO ATTAINING OUR PLANS, ACHIEVING RESULTS, AND OPERATING IN A DISCIPLINED FASHION. LET ME USE E-BUSINESS AS AN EXAMPLE.
INCORPORATING E-BUSINESS INTO OUR OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS CAPABILITES HAS BEEN A KEY OBJECTIVE FOR US IN RECENT YEARS. WE CONTINUE TO USE E-BUSINESS TO FACILITATE TRANSACTIONS. AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, 2004, MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF OUR GLOBAL BUY-SIDE AND MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF OUR GLOBAL SELL-SIDE TRANSACTIONS WERE BEING ACCOMPLISHED ELECTRONICALLY.
ADDITIONALLY, WE RECENTLY DEVELOPED AND LAUNCHED A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CONNECTION WITH A MAJOR CUSTOMER IN CANADA. THE NEW APPLICATION UTILIZES A DEMAND FORECAST FROM THE CUSTOMER TO CONSOLIDATE AND AUTOMATICALLY EXECUTE TRUCK LOAD ORDERS, RESULTING IN A 40 PERCENT REDUCTION OF FINISHED GOODS INVENTORY. IT IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW WE’RE MOVING BEYOND OUR TRADITIONAL TRANSACTIONAL FOCUS.
TO FURTHER HELP US TAKE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY BEYOND THE TRANSACTIONAL LEVEL, WE RECENTLY HOSTED AN “E DAYS” EVENT, FEATURING GUEST SPEAKERS AND PARTICIPANTS FROM SEVERAL WELL-KNOWN GLOBAL COMPANIES. WE WILL USE THE COLLECTIVE WISDOM AND EXPERIENCE SHARED THERE TO HELP US FINETUNE OUR E-BUSINESS STRATEGIES.
