Henkel

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Henkel in Düsseldorf-Holthausen (aerial view 2005)

Henkel is an international company with brands and technologies with Headquarter in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The company has four business sectors operating in the three strategic areas of competence – Home Care (with household cleaning products such as laundry detergent and washing-up liquid), Personal Care (with beauty and oral products such as shampoo, toothpaste, hair colorants and shower gel), and Adhesives, Sealants & Surface Treatment for consumer and industrial purposes.

With presence in 125 countries in the five continents, is highly concentrated in Europe and North America.

It controls leader brands like, Persil^{[#endnote_Persil]} washing powder, Spee washing powder, Vernal/Slian fabric softener, Somat/Glist dishwasher tablets, Pril washing-up liquid, Schwarzkopf haircare, Schauma shampoo, Fa shower gel and deodorant, Dial shower and hands gel , Pritt glue sticks and Duck industrial tape. Its most famous product is Persil, by being the first washing powder. Before that it was only either soap flakes or actual bars of soap.

Its main competitors are in the cleaning division, Unilever, Procter and Gamble and Reckitt Benckiser. In its beauty division, its competitors are Unilever, Procter and Gamble and L'Oréal.

History

The company was founded in 1876 inAachen as Henkel & Cie by Fritz Henkel (a 28 year-old merchant who was interested in science) and two more partners. They marketed his first product, "Universalwaschmittel", a universal detergent based on silicate.

In 1878, to take advantage of the better transport links and sales opportunities, Henkel relocated his company to Düsseldorf on the Rhine (its present site). Düsseldorf was the gateway to the Ruhr region, which became the most important industrial area of the German Empire from the 19th century onward. That year, the first German brand-name detergent appeared: Henkel's Bleich-Soda [Bleaching Soda], an affordably priced product supplied in sturdy paper bags. Made from water-glass and soda, it was the result of Fritz Henkel's own research. The soda was obtained from Matthes & Weber in Duisburg (Henkel bought this company in 1917 and sold it in 1994).

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 railway link.

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 [laundry bluing agent], gloss starch, a liquid cleaning agent, a pomade for cleaning, beef extract, and a hair pomade. Very soon Henkel develops its international presence: 1886, in Austria, Henkel opened its first sales office outside Germany. 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, it launched Schwarzkopf, a powder shampoo. Persil came in 1907 as the first “self-acting laundry detergent”.

A family business since the beginning: the 17-year-old Fritz Henkel jun. (1875 - 1930) 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 July 25'1904, 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. A little after, on April 25, 1905 Dr. Hugo Henkel (1881 - 1952), the youngest son of Fritz Henkel sen., joined the Company as a chemist. He was in charge of Chemical Products and Technology, 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 accounted for 40 percent 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 created sport and games areas to encourage employees to exercise during work breaks. Female employees could attend the plant's own housekeeping school during the lunch break.

On June 26 1923, Henkel enters in the adhesive market: a glue was sold to a neighboring company for the first time. Henkel ambitiously decided to conquer the interior decorating and wallcoverings markets, where Sichel was the market leader, in addition to the packaging industry.

On April 16, 1945 American troops occupied Henkel's Düsseldorf site and confiscated one third of it. On June 5, the British military command in Düsseldorf took over from the Americans. From July 20, 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 September 20, 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 shampoo.

In 1954 launched Fa soap, a new type of toilet soap made from high-quality vegetable oils and animal fats. 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 course of time 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.

Specially from the 60's Henkel has combined organic growth with strategic company acquisitions: in 1960 by acquiring Standard Chemical Products Inc (known as Henkel Inc from 1971), Henkel entered the USA chemical products market. In 1962 Henkel acquired Sichel-Werke AG, Hannover, its main German competitor in the adhesives sector. In 1974 Henkel acquired a shareholding in The Clorox Company, USA, 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 Teroson in Heidelberg (in existence since 1898) was acquired and integrated into Henkel's Adhesives and Surface Technologies business sectors. Later it purchased Loctite in 1997. The purchase of The Dial Corporation is the biggest acquisition in the history of the company to date: this renowned US detergent and cosmetics manufacturer gives Henkel a strong foothold on the North American market. Henkel also acquires the American cosmetics company Advanced Research Laboratories (ARL), that has developed and marketed innovative, high-quality hair cosmetics for over 20 years.

Latest Official results

According to the Official 2005 Anual report, the sales of Henkel rose by 13.0 percent to 11,974 million euros with all our business sectors and regions contributing to the increase. Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 16.7 percent to 1,162 million euros. Earnings per preferred share increased to 5.31 euros from 5.24 euros in the previous year.

Note

1. ↑ In an agreement with Unilever, the Persil brand is only used by Henkel in mainland Europe, while Unilever only uses the brand in the UK, Ireland, Oceania and other markets.

External links

• [Company Homepage]
• [Homepage Henkel Smile Program]
• [Information and background stories on Henkel products]]

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