All children spread their wings and fly the nest at some point. After more than 80 years in the Fuller family, that time has now come for the air pollution control business. The group began life in 1941 as the Filter Laboratory at Fuller Valby works with the first recorded sale of an Fuller electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for dedusting alumina in Sweden.
From those humble beginnings, the APC business has grown to be a global provider of environmental solutions and air pollution control technologies with a reputation for technical excellence. Along the way, it has also outgrown its home with Fuller: most of the global installed base of more than 2500 ESPs is outside cement in adjacent industries, notably the pulp and paper, iron and steel, and non-ferrous metallurgical sectors.
As Flemming Jensen, Managing Director of Air Pollution Control, explained, this divergence underpinned the decision to divest. “While we celebrate our APC’s significant contribution to the history of Fuller, the divestment will allow us and our talented employees to grow the business in ways that were not previously possible. We’re excited to begin this next chapter of our story. With the support of Rubicon Partners, we are confident we can deliver our clear strategy for growth, expanding our leading role in the critical air pollution control market.”
Upon closing, this sale will complete the three previously announced divestments under the pure-play strategy, following the sale of MAAG Gear in 2024 and the AFT filter business in 2023. Fuller also recently announced an agreement to divest Fuller to an affiliate of Pacific Avenue Capital Partners.