Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organized into two globally operating business units (Consumer Brands, Adhesive Technologies) and is known for brands such as Loctite, Persil, Fa, Pritt, Dial and Purex, along with numerous other brands.
In the fiscal year 2022, Henkel reported sales of around 22 billion euros and an operating profit of 1.810 billion euros. Henkel holds 51,950 employees with 85% working outside of Germany.
History
The company was founded in 1876 in Aachen as Henkel & Cie by Friedrich Karl Henkel and two other 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. 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, a company that Henkel first bought in 1917 then sold in 1994. 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. Within a year, sales of Henkel's Bleaching Soda outpaced production at the rented factory on the Schützenstraße in Düsseldorf. 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. The range included the colorant ultramarine, gloss starch, a liquid cleaning agent, a pomade for cleaning, beef extract, and a hair pomade. In 1886, Henkel opened its first international sales office in Austria. Carl Pathe had gone to Vienna as a representative the year before, and in 1893, Henkel established its first business links with England and Italy.
In 1903, Schwarzkopf, founded by Hans Schwarzkopf (1874, Danzig – 12 February 1921, Berlin), launched a powder shampoo. Persil came in 1907 as the first "self-acting laundry detergent." In 1893, Fritz Henkel Jr. (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 business on a sound footing, developed its already successful advertising further and was responsible for the company's field service. On 25 July 1904, he became a partner in Henkel, which transformed into a general commercial partnership. By this time, 110 people were employed at the Holthausen site. On 25 April 1905, Dr. Hugo Henkel (1881–1952), 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 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, 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. 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.