Fuller Industries ended production at its Great Bend plant Friday Nov. 6, a week after selling its chemical business to Betco, which plans to move the work to Ohio.
The sale, which the company said took effect Oct. 30, follows Fuller’s sale of its brush division to Power Brushes Inc. of Toledo, Ohio, at the beginning of October. In an email to the Tribune on Oct. 15, General Manager Joe Mann said Fuller was “focused on our core business, which is chemical.” The chemical sale took effect 15 days later.
In a news release Friday, Fuller said Betco will move production of the acquired product lines to its plant in Bowling Green, Ohio. All employees at the Great Bend plant have been invited to apply for positions there if they are willing to relocate. The release did not say whether those positions are guaranteed.
Fuller CEO Craig Rudin said in the release, “This was a difficult decision, and we know it affects our employees, their families and the Great Bend community, which has been home to Fuller for decades. We are grateful to our team for their hard work and dedication. Betco is a strong home for these products, and we are glad our employees have the opportunity to continue with the business if they choose.”
In a phone interview Friday afternoon, Mann declined to say how many people worked at the plant or how many are affected, saying the company had no further public comment beyond the release. At a November 2024 ribbon-cutting, Mann said the workforce had grown from about 75 to 80 employees to 120. Current figures have not been released.
A relative of a Fuller employee told the Tribune that workers were informed at an 11 a.m. meeting Friday that the plant was closing. The Tribune has not independently confirmed what was said at the meeting, and the company has not commented on it.
Fuller will continue to own the Great Bend facility, which the company said has two tenants. A third is expected to take occupancy in January 2027. The company said it remains committed to keeping the property productive and thanked the city, Barton County and local partners for their support.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act generally requires employers with 100 or more full-time workers to give 60 days’ notice before a plant closing affecting 50 or more employees. Fuller has not said how many full-time workers it employed in Great Bend or whether it filed such a notice. A Kansas Commerce rapid response coordinator told the Tribune that no WARN notice had been filed as of Oct. 13. The Tribune has asked the agency whether one has been filed since and had not received a response as of Friday afternoon.
Brush sale eliminated four positions
When Fuller sold its brush division, Mann confirmed that four positions were eliminated and that all four employees entered into agreements with the new company. Oct. 16 was the last day for the brush division employees in Great Bend.
A plant with deep roots
Fuller traces its Great Bend history to 1972, when the plant was built and all Fuller Brush manufacturing and distribution was moved from Connecticut to central Kansas. At its peak, the plant employed more than 600 people. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012, when the workforce was down to about 200. A group of local investors bought its assets and kept the plant in Great Bend and Fuller Industries LLC took possession in late 2012.
In September 2021, the company joined with Superior Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. of LaSalle, Quebec, and Fuller Industries LLC became Fuller Industries, Inc.
Under that ownership, the company expanded.
At a November 2024 ribbon-cutting with the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, Rudin said Fuller was poised to be a larger player locally, nationally and internationally. The company had consolidated a sister factory from Canada into Great Bend and added about 200 new products, including dish soap, laundry detergent and commercial cleaning chemicals.
The Tribune has contacted Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Megan Barfield, who had not responded as of Friday afternoon. Great Bend Economic Development Executive Director Jason Kuilan said in an email that he had no comment beyond the company’s news release. The Tribune will update this story as more information becomes available.
