H.B. Fuller has agreed to sell a surfactants, thickeners and dispersants business for $71 million. The unit makes chemicals for use mainly in the floor covering, detergent and beauty industries.

St. Paul-based H.B. Fuller, a global adhesives provider, acquired the Dalton, Ga., business in 2017 as part of its $1.6 billion acquisition of Royal Adhesive.

"The business being sold is a nonstrategic, non-adhesive business, which was purchased as part of the Royal acquisition," said Jim Owens, president and chief executive of H.B. Fuller, in a news release. "Our focus is to shift our portfolio to more highly specified adhesive solutions, and the surfactants, thickeners and dispersants business is not part of our strategic vision."

Proceeds of the sale, which is expected to close in the third quarter, will be used to pay down long-term debt.

The business is being sold to another Dalton, Ga., company, Tiarco LLC. Tiarco is a subsidiary of Textile Rubber and Chemical Co. Inc., a private company that was founded in 1951 to produce latex and other specialty chemicals for the carpet and rug industry and has since grown into a global supplier of specialty chemicals.

H.B. Fuller's surfactants, thickeners and dispersants business has annual revenue of about $25 million and earnings of about $8 million, according to Fuller's release.

For its most recent year ended Dec. 1, Fuller had total revenue of $3 billion and earned $171.2 million. Its stock closed up 1.29% Wednesday at $43.57. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $39.22 and $52.58.

Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926