Henkel

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the adhesive technologies, beauty care, and laundry and home care businesses worldwide. The company's Adhesive Technologies segment offers adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings for various business areas, including packaging and consumer goods; automotive and metals; electronics and industrials; and craftsmen, construction, and professional industries. This segment markets its products primarily under the Loctite, Technomelt, Bonderite, Teroson, and Aquence brands. Its Beauty Care segment provides hair cosmetics; and body, skin, and oral care products, as well as operates professional hair salons. This segment distributes its products through brick-and-mortar stores, hair salons, third-party online platforms, and direct-to-consumer channels primarily under the Schwarzkopf, Dial, and Syoss brands. The company's Laundry & Home Care segment offers heavy-duty and specialty detergents, fabric softeners, laundry performance enhancers, and other fabric care products; hand and automatic dishwashing products; cleaners for bathroom and WC applications; household, glass, and specialty cleaners; and air fresheners and insect control products for household applications. This segment markets its products primarily under the Persil, Bref, Purex, all, and other brands. Henkel AG & Co. KGaA was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The company was founded in 1876 in Aachen as Henkel & Cie by Friedrich Karl Henkel and two more partners who were owners of a factory producing sodium silicate . They marketed his first product, "Universalwaschmittel", a universal detergent based on sodium silicate.In 1878, Henkel bought out the two partners, and the first German brand-name detergent appeared: Henkel's Bleich-Soda , an affordably-priced product supplied in sturdy paper bags. Made from sodium silicate and soda, it was the result of Fritz Henkel's own research. The soda was obtained from Matthes & Weber in Duisburg . That year, to take advantage of the better transport links and sales opportunities, Henkel relocated his company to Düsseldorf on the Rhine . Düsseldorf was the gateway to the Ruhr region, which became the most important industrial area of the German Empire from the 19th century onward.

In 1879, Fritz Henkel was entered as the sole owner in the register of companies. Sales of Henkel's Bleaching Soda increased so rapidly that within just one year the rented factory on the Schützenstraße in Düsseldorf was unable to meet the demand. Fritz Henkel decided to build his own factory with a direct link to the railway network.In 1883, to improve liquidity and make better use of the company's travelling sales staff, Fritz Henkel decided to sell merchandise in addition to his detergents. Sales started in 1884. The range included the colorant ultramarine , gloss starch, a liquid cleaning agent, a pomade for cleaning, beef extract, and a hair pomade. Very soon Henkel developed its international presence—in 1886, Henkel opened its first international sales office in Austria. Carl Pathe had gone to Vienna as a representative the year before. In 1893, Henkel established its first business links with England and Italy.

In 1903, Schwarzkopf, founded by Hans Schwarzkopf , launched a powder shampoo. Persil came in 1907 as the first "self-acting laundry detergent."

Henkel has been a family-run business since the beginning. In 1893, Fritz Henkel Jr. joined the firm as an apprentice. After receiving commercial training he became his father's right-hand man in commercial matters. He put Henkel's brand-name product business on a sound footing, developed its already successful advertising still further and was responsible for the company's field service. On 25 July 1904, he became a partner in Henkel, which was transformed into a general commercial partnership. By this time, 110 people were employed at the Holthausen site. On 25 April 1905, Dr. Hugo Henkel , the youngest son of Fritz Henkel Sr., joined the company as a chemist. He was in charge of Chemical Products and Technology. Over the years, he laid the foundations of systematic research and introduced advanced technologies and new raw materials. In 1908, he became a personally liable partner in the company.

In 1912, total production in Düsseldorf-Holthausen rose to 49,890 tons. At 19,750 tons, Persil laundry detergent accounted for 40% of this, just five years after its market launch. The number of employees increased by 89 relative to the previous year, resulting in a total workforce of 1,024. Around half were female. A first-aid center was set up in the plant and a full-time nurse was employed. In the previous year, Henkel had installed ball fields and play areas to encourage exercise during break times. Female employees could attend the plant's own housekeeping school during the lunch break.

On 11 January 1923, troops from France and Belgium occupied the Rhineland. The occupation made delivery of adhesives from suppliers used for the packaging of Persil unreliable. The disruption caused Henkel to internally manufacture adhesives for its own needs. Henkel found there was a demand for adhesives on the market, and on 22 June 1923, the first adhesive shipment left the plant.In 1930 Hugo Henkel took charge of the company. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and served as a member of the Düsseldorf City Council. In the following years, the Henkel company received several awards by the regime and was designated a National Socialist Model Enterprise by the Beauty of Labour organization.

After being pressured by the local party chapter, Hugo Henkel stepped down as managing director in 1938. Werner Lüps, the oldest grandson of company founder Fritz Henkel, took his position until his death in 1942. Lüps was a fervent supporter of the National Socialist cause even before 1933 and used the fact that Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, was a distant paternal relative, to be promoted. During his rule, the company increased its shares of Degussa AG significantly, especially after the Kristallnacht in November 1938.During World War II, several hundred foreign civilian slavery workers and prisoners of war were working for the company.

On 16 April 1945, American troops occupied Henkel's Düsseldorf site. On 5 June, the British military command in Düsseldorf took over from the Americans. From 20 July, the British military government gradually granted permission for the production of adhesives, P3 and water-glass by Henkel, and for soaps and detergents as well as shoe polish by Thompson. In February 1946, Matthes & Weber in Duisburg was given permission to process available raw materials into soda. On 20 September 1945, five members of the Henkel family and another seven members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board were interned.

In 1949, the launch of Schauma shampoo by Schwarzkopf marked the start of the most successful German shampoos.

In 1954, Henkel-subsidiary Dreiring launched Fa soap, a new type of toilet soap. From 1970 onward it was joined by a series of Fa deodorants, shower gels and bubble baths, making Fa one of the best known umbrella brands in the toiletry sector.

Pritt, the world's first glue stick, made its debut in 1969. Over the years, other products were introduced under this brand, underlining Henkel's importance in the office and stationery supplies sector. Exports of Pritt began in the same year, eventually making this Henkel's most widespread global brand. Vernel fabric softener and enzyme-based bioactive Persil 70 appeared.

Starting in the 1960s, Henkel has combined organic growth with strategic company acquisitions:

In 1960, by acquiring Standard Chemical Products, Inc. , Henkel entered the U.S. chemical products market.

In 1962, Henkel acquired Sichel-Werke AG, Hannover, its main German competitor in the adhesives sector.

In 1974, Henkel acquired shares in The Clorox Company to facilitate the production and sale of certain products developed by Henkel for household and bulk consumers .

In 1983, Henkel acquired the AOK facial care range from the company von Heyden GmbH and thus strengthened its position in the cosmetics retail trade.

In 1991, Henkel acquired Teroson of Heidelberg and integrated it into its Adhesives and Surface Technologies business sectors.

In 1995, Henkel acquired the cosmetics company Hans Schwarzkopf GmbH.

In 1996, Henkel acquired Thiem Automotive, a division of National Starch and Chemical Company. The acquisition included a manufacturing plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

In 1997, Henkel purchased the Loctite Corporation.

The purchase of The Dial Corporation in 2004 was Henkel's biggest acquisition in its history at the time. This renowned American personal care and household cleaning products company gave Henkel a strong foothold on the North American market.

In 2004, Henkel also acquired the American cosmetics company Advanced Research Laboratories , that has developed and marketed hair cosmetics.

Also in 2004, Henkel acquired Orbseal. The former Orbseal plant in Richmond, MO was converted to a Henkel plant.

In April 2008, Henkel acquired National Starch, the adhesives and electronic materials businesses previously owned by AkzoNobel. In 2007, the two business segments of National Starch generated sales of £1.25 billion . The purchase price was £2.7 billion .In 2008, Henkel KGaA became Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. That same year, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehner retired from his position as Chairman of the Management Board of Henkel KGaA. He was succeeded by Kasper Rorsted. In September 2009, Simone Bagel-Trah was elected as new Chairwoman by the Henkel Shareholders' Committee as well as Henkel's Supervisory Board. The retirement of Albrecht Woeste, who had been member of the Committee since 1976 and its president since 1990, marked the transition from the fourth generation of the Henkel family to the fifth.

On 5 May 2011, Jyothy Laboratories bought 50.97% stake in Henkel India. It has offered to buy 20% more in Henkel India through a compulsory open offer mandated by SEBI norms.In 2014, Henkel offered to buy French-based laundry aids-to-shoe polish manufacturer Spotless for 940 million Euros in cash. The deal would slightly increase Henkel's share of the $82 billion global laundry care market to 8.7%, still well behind Procter & Gamble's 26.6% and the 14.8% market share held by Unilever, which sells Persil detergent—a Henkel brand—in some markets. The takeover, which was subject to approval from antitrust authorities, was completed in May 2015.Effective 1 May 2016, Hans Van Bylen took over the position as Chairman of the Henkel Management Board. Also in 2016, Henkel acquired the laundry and home care company Sun Products for 3.2 billion euros , thus becoming No. 2 supplier in the North American laundry care market, and presented its new strategic priorities and financial ambition for 2020.In 2017, Henkel announces to manage its Corporate Venture Capital activities in a dedicated unit to invest up to 150 million euros in start-ups with digital or technological expertise. In the same year, Henkel buys Darex Packaging Technologies and Sonderhoff Group, expanding the Adhesive Technologies business. With the acquisition of Nattura Laboratorios in 2017, Henkel also expands its footprint in the US and Latin American professional hair care market. On September 7, Henkel inaugurates its new North American Consumer Goods headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. This move is part of the integration of The Sun Products Corporation, which Henkel acquired the year before. In December 2017, Henkel also closes the acquisition of Shiseido's North American hair professional business, including brands like Joico and Zotos.In October 2019, Carsten Knobel was appointed to succeed Hans Van Bylen as CEO of Henkel as of January 1, 2020. In November 2019, Henkel acquired hair care company DevaCurl from a fund managed by Ares Management Corporation.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Adhesives, Beauty Care and Laundry & Home Care

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