Persil: First Self-Acting Laundry Detergent

In 1907, Persil was launched as the world’s first self-acting laundry detergent, which has been the cornerstone for Henkel’s growth since then. The detergent’s success was two-fold: it cleaned and bleached laundry without chlorine, eliminating the physically strenuous task of scrubbing and washing by hand, which caused fabrics to wear, and also improved general household hygiene. These are directly tangible contributions that Henkel made to social progress. Today, Persil is Germany’s No. 1 laundry detergent and one of the top brands in the Laundry & Home Care business.

The First Henkel Adhesive

Early in 1922, in the cellar of the Holthausen packing department building, Henkel began to produce ready-to-use adhesives: Sula (paper adhesive), Desula (board adhesive), and Buba (packet adhesive). In the first year, a total of 123 tons of adhesives were produced for the company’s personal use. In 1923, glue was sold to a neighboring company for the first time. From 1928, Henkel started to export adhesives, to its European neighbors and in 1929 expanded its reach to Australia and South America.

The First Appearance of the “White Lady”
The “White Lady,” who was designed and brought to life by Berliner artist Kurt Heiligenstaedt, appeared for the first time in 1922 and has been a part of Persil’s history ever since.

Company Management Change

In the beginning of 1930, at only 55-years-old, Dr. h.c. Fritz Henkel Jr. died. In the same year, “Kommerzienrat” Fritz Henkel Sr., also died at the age of 81. Following their deaths, Dr. Hugo Henkel was left to take sole management power over the company.

Hair Salon Business

In 1930, Schwarzkopf began distributing its products to hair salons.

The Third Generation of the Henkel Family

The third generation of the Henkel family took over the management of the company in 1938. Dr. Hugo Henkel joined the newly formed Advisory Board and the Supervisory Board. His son, Jost; his nephew, Werner Lüps; and Fritz Henkel Jr.’s son-in-law, Carl August Bagel, became Managing Directors.

First Kindergarten at the Henkel Plant

Henkel opened a kindergarten at the Düsseldorf-Holthausen plant in 1940. Today it is known as Gerda-Henkel-KiTa.

Henkel Post-War

On April 16, 1945, US troops occupied the Düsseldorf-Holthausen site and seized a third of the production. On June 5th, the British military command took over. On July 20th, the British military government issued a production permit for various products. By September 20th, five members of the Henkel family and seven other members of the Management and Supervisory Board were arrested.

One month later, the British military government appointed Dr. Paul Schulz, a Henkel chemist, as the trustee and CEO of the company.

In the same year, in Hamburg, a British occupation zone, Schwarzkopf started a makeshift production of its products.

Reorganization of the Management and Advisory Board

On November 21, 1947, the Henkel family returned to the company and the former Management Board members were reinstated with their rights fully restored. On December 10, Henkel implemented a reorganization of the Management and Advisory Board.

Introduction of Pril Powder

Pril Powder, a household dishwashing detergent, was launched in 1951.

First Loctite Adhesive

Professor Vernon Krieble presented his adhesive, “Loctite, the liquid locknut” in 1956. Krieble promised that this adhesive would solve the problem of loose nuts and bolts in machinery. Together with his neighbor, Paul G. Haviland, he founded the American Sealants Company in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. In 1963, the company was renamed Loctite Corporation. In 1985, Henkel purchased just over 25 percent of Loctite’s ordinary stock from the Krieble family. Through incremental steps, Henkel’s stakes in the company rose to 35 percent by 1996. Henkel acquired Loctite entirely in 1997. Today, Loctite is the biggest brand in the world in the Adhesive Technologies business.

Launch of Pritt Glue Stick

Pritt, the first glue stick in the world, made its debut in 1969. Under this brand, more products were introduced overtime, which enhanced the importance of Henkel in the market of stationary and office supplies. In the same year, Henkel started to export Pritt, making Pritt the most widespread global brand under the Henkel umbrella.

Henkel Goes Public

On October 11, the company went public in the stock market and preferred shares without voting rights were issued. This was Henkel’s first worldwide financial statement.

First Public Annual General Meeting

In 1986, the first public Annual General Meeting of the Henkel KGaA at the Düsseldorf City Hall took place. The first Information for our Shareholders was also published.

Entering new markets

Henkel started entering the Eastern European market with various investments and the creation of joint ventures in countries such as Russia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. In addition to that, Henkel started its first joint venture in China with Shanghai Henkel Chemicals Ltd., a production facility in Gu Lang Lu.

Acquisition of Schwarzkopf

In July 1995, Henkel acquired Schwarzkopf. With the acquisition, Henkel was able to double the sales of its Beauty Care business unit. Schwarzkopf is now one of the leading hair cosmetics brands in the world and is one of the largest brand in the Henkel portfolio.

Acquisition of Loctite

In 1997, Henkel acquired all the shares of the Loctite Corporation. Loctite is, next to craft and household adhesives, the world’s leading specialist for engineering adhesives, especially for miniaturization like Chip-bonding and microelectronics. In 2002, Loctite India Private Limited (Incorporated in 1990) was renamed Henkel-Loctite India Private Limited. With the integration of Loctite, Henkel achieved, by far, the world market leadership in adhesives and improved the sales structure in the US and worldwide. Today, Loctite is the largest brand in the Adhesive Technologies business unit.

Henkel Central Asia & Caucasus was established in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as a regional hub for operations in the area.

Henkel opened a plant for the production of dry building mixes in Konaev, Kazakhstan.

Further Development of Corporate Culture

In 2010, Henkel defined a corporate culture in order to address the growing internationality and diversity within the company. A clear vision and shared values provided orientation, guidance, and identification for employees around the world. The vision of being “a global leader in brands and technologies” defined a clear ambition for every Henkel employee and in striving to achieve this goal, everyone at Henkel is guided in their daily activities by five values: customers, people, financial performance, sustainability, and family.

Opening of Largest Automated Storage Facility

At the Corporate Headquarters in Düsseldorf, Henkel opened its largest automated storage facility. Built on an area the size of two football fields, its ten-rack levels offer storage capacity for more than 25 million packs of laundry and home care products.

Henkel launched the production of dry building mixes in Tbilisi, Georgia.

New Strategic Priorities and Financial Ambition

On November 17, Henkel presented its new strategic priorities and financial ambition, with the objective to shape Henkel to 2020 and beyond – concisely named “Henkel 2020+.” Based on its strong foundation, Henkel aims to generate continued profitable growth by focusing on four strategic priorities: Driving Growth, Accelerating Digitalization, Increasing Agility, and Funding Growth.

Carsten Knobel new CEO and Marco Swoboda new CFO of Henkel

As of January 1, 2020, Carsten Knobel (50) is the company’s new CEO. He succeeds Hans Van Bylen, who is leaving the company after around 35 years with the company. Also effective January 1, Marco Swoboda (48) succeeds Carsten Knobel as Henkel's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Sustainable finance

Henkel is the world’s first company to issue a Plastic Waste Reduction Bond. The proceeds from this bond, which was issued in 2020, will be invested in projects for reducing plastic waste. The bon has a total volume of around 100 million euros and a maturity of five years.

Love Nature: the new clean

The plant-based detergent, dishwashing and cleaning products of our new brand Love Nature contribute toward more sustainability. They bear the EU Ecolabel, in most cases are certified with the ECARF seal as skin- and allergy-friendly, and contain only hypoallergenic fragrances. All Love Nature products are mare without ingredients of animal origin.

Global Innovation Center for Adhesive Technologies

Henkel has invested more than 130 million euros to erect a state-of-the-art building at the company’s headquarters in Düsseldorf. The facility allows more than 350 Henkel experts to develop new technologies and applications for a variety of industries. The building also serves as a global customer center, where Henkel presents new solutions for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.

Acquisition of Shiseido's hair salon business in Asia-Pacific

Henkel has signed an agreement to acquire the Asia-Pacific hair salon business of Shiseido. Included in the acquisition are leading hair salon brands such as Sublimic and Primience, which are marketed under the licensed umbrella brand Shiseido Professional.

Henkel's 2030+ Sustainability Ambition Framework

Henkel has further developed its sustainability strategy: this resulted in a new 2030+ Sustainability Ambition Framework, which also includes new, additional long-term ambitions that will help transform the economy and society toward sustainability.

Global Innovation Center for Adhesive Technologies

Henkel has invested more than 130 million euros to erect a state-of-the-art building at the company’s headquarters in Düsseldorf. The facility allows more than 350 Henkel experts to develop new technologies and applications for a variety of industries. The building also serves as a global customer center, where Henkel presents new solutions for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.

Merger of Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care into new Consumer Brands business unit

Henkel is merging its business units Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care into one business unit: Consumer Brands. With the new business unit, Henkel builds one multi-category platform for growth, combining its consumer brands and businesses under one roof, including many iconic brands such as Persil and Schwarzkopf, also comprising the hair professional business. Wolfgang König, previously Executive Vice President for Beauty Care and Laundry & Home Care on the Management Board, assumes responsibility for Consumer Brands.

100 Years of Adhesive Technologies

Henkel’s involvement in the adhesives industry was a coincidence which turned out to be a great fortune: Faced with a supply shortage of glue in 1922, Henkel began producing packaging adhesives for its own use. By 1923, Henkel began to market its adhesives and has since become the world's leading manufacturer of adhesive technologies for various products and industrial applications.

175th anniversary of Fritz Henkel

With his pioneering spirit, Fritz Henkel (1848-1930) laid the foundation for the success of our company. He was guided by his responsibility for the company, his employees, society and the environment. His role model continues to inspire us today to continue Henkel’s successful history. In a virtual exhibition, we accompany Fritz Henkel through his life: from his childhood, through his first experiences as a founder, to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Further information can be found here https://www.fritz-henkel.com

25th anniversary of “Make an Impact on Tomorrow”

Henkel's volunteering initiative “Make an Impact on Tomorrow” (MIT) has the aim to promote the voluntary engagement of employees and retirees in social projects. Over 17,300 projects in more than 100 countries around the world have already been supported. Launched in 1998, the initiative made Henkel one of the first German companies to make voluntary social engagement a key element of its sustainability activities. Henkel's support includes financial and in-kind donations as well as the opportunity to take paid time off to dedicate to a social project.

Henkel launched the production of laundry detergent in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.