Hilti at a glance: products and EPD coverage

Who Hilti is in construction

Hilti sells far more than red tools. In the US, they span anchors and fasteners, injectable adhesives, passive fire protection, drywall and exterior screws, timber connectors, and modular MEP support systems. It is a broad portfolio that competes across many trades rather than a single product niche. Their sustainability positioning is published openly on Hilti’s site, including targets and circularity initiatives (Hilti Sustainability, 2024).

Product range breadth

Across North America, Hilti participates in dozens of product categories and offers roughly hundreds of SKUs in core construction materials. The biggest commercial levers for EPDs sit in five buckets that end up inside the building rather than in the gang box: 1) post‑installed anchoring and rebar, 2) mechanical anchors and screws, 3) cavity barriers and firestop materials, 4) modular MEP supports, 5) specialty fixings for timber and envelope.

EPD footprint today

Hilti has published several dozen current EPDs globally across anchors, anchor rods, adhesive mortars, firestop sealants and blocks, cavity barriers, insulation fasteners, drywall and self‑drilling screws, timber connectors, and select MT system components. Many of these are live through 2029 or 2030 via operators such as EPD Hub and IBU. That breadth already allows project teams to keep using well known Hilti SKUs without falling back to generic defaults in carbon accounting.

Why it matters commercially. Owners and design teams increasingly prefer product‑specific declarations to avoid conservative assumptions that can push a spec off the table. The broader EPD ecosystem is large and growing, with the International EPD System alone listing well over 8,000 current construction EPDs in 2025 (EPD International, 2025).

Where coverage looks strong

• Post‑installed adhesives and rebar systems, including HIT‑RE and HIT‑HY families, are well represented with declarations under EN 15804 Part B categories.
• Mechanical anchors and threaded elements, including HST2 wedge anchors, HUS4 screw anchors, and HIT‑Z rods, are covered with long validity horizons.
• Passive fire protection shows depth, from acrylic and intumescent sealants to preformed blocks, sleeves, and façade cavity barriers.
• Screws for drywall and metal framing have product‑level EPDs that help interior packages avoid generic values.

Likely gaps that cost specs

Two areas look thinner relative to Hilti’s commercial footprint:

• Direct‑fastening consumables. Collated concrete or steel nails and powder loads see heavy volume on jobs yet are harder to find with product‑specific EPDs in public listings. If a spec requires declarations for all permanently installed fixings, that forces buyers to hunt alternatives.
• Modular supports. Hilti’s MT system has at least one EPD representing galvanized connection components, which helps. Competitors in the same application, like Gripple, publish multiple product‑specific EPDs for their prefabricated trapeze bracket family, giving MEP designers an easier path to document entire hanger assemblies end‑to‑end. That can tilt a decision when schedules are tight and documentation is a checklist item.

If a best‑seller lacks a declaration, a rival that does publish one becomes the safer pick in projects chasing portfolio‑level carbon targets or LEED v5 credits. That swap usually happens quietly in the submittals phase.

Competitive set on most bids

• Anchors and adhesives: Simpson Strong‑Tie, fischer, ITW Red Head, DEWALT Powers.
• Firestop and façade cavity barriers: 3M, Specified Technologies (STI), ROCKWOOL, Siderise, Tenmat.
• Modular supports and hangers: Unistrut/Atkore, Gripple.

These are not one‑for‑one in every detail, yet they are the usual alternatives that estimators and engineers price and compare in healthcare, higher‑ed, offices, and industrial work.

What specifiers actually need from Hilti‑class EPDs

• Product‑specific, third‑party verified EPDs that match the exact SKU families getting submittals.
• Clear PCR alignment with what competitors use so the numbers are comparable in the model. A good LCA partner will map the prevailing PCRs in the category and recommend the most strategic fit, then publish with the operator of choice without adding workload to engineering or plant teams.
• Coverage across the top movers. Think the 20–30 highest volume SKUs per category. That keeps change‑order risk low and avoids last‑minute substitutions that frustrate the field.

A practical playbook for closing gaps fast

• Start with anchors and firestop where Hilti already publishes widely. Extend to direct‑fastening nails and the full MT support kit so hangers, brackets, and connectors are all documented as installed systems.
• Publish prospective EPDs for new or updated SKUs where volumes are still ramping, then true‑up after a full year of production. That keeps specs moving while staying compliant.
• Pick program operators your customers already recognize in their markets. UL and SCS are familiar in the US, IBU and EPD International are common in Europe. The specific operator matters less than speed, ease, quality and completeness for busy sales and technical teams.

Sustainability stance

For teams that want to align vendor selection with corporate policies, Hilti publishes targets and progress on decarbonization, circularity, and tool fleet refurbishment. Their US sustainability page is a useful starting point for procurement checklists (Hilti Sustainability, 2024).

The specability verdict

Hilti already covers many of the installation‑critical products with EPDs, which keeps them in the conversation on projects that screen for declarations. Extending coverage across direct fastening and the complete MT support ecosystem would remove remaining objections and reduce substitution risk. In a market where documentation can be a tie‑breaker, having the right EPD at hand beats arguing in submittals, every single time. And yes, that enviromental paperwork can actually help win the job.