At the beginning of the company's history in 1876, we meet a 28-year-old merchant who was interested in science – Fritz Henkel. On September 26, 1876 he and two partners founded the company Henkel & Cie in Aachen and marketed his first product, a universal detergent based on silicate.
Henkel’s history
More than 140 years of brand success.
During the following years, this German family of entrepreneurs and thousands of their employees built Henkel into a global company.
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.
Green electricity for all Henkel production sites in the USA
Henkel has signed a large-scale Virtual Power Purchase Agreement relating to a new wind farm in Bee County, Texas, USA. The agreed capacity equals 100 percent of the electricity demand of Henkel’s operations in the USA, which comprise more than 30 production sites across the country.
Persil launched in the U.S.
Henkel’s flagship brand, Persil, was successfully launched in the U.S. in 2015. The brand was introduced under the name Persil ProClean.
Henkel Family Extend Share-Pooling Agreement
In the beginning of 2014, the Henkel family extended its share-pooling agreement. The agreement was concluded for an indefinite term and can now only be terminated beginning December 31, 2033.
Henkel Announces New Acquisitions
In June 2014, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA signed an agreement with funds advised by BC Partners to acquire all shares in the Spotless Group SAS, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. The Spotless Group operates in the categories of laundry aid, insect control, and household care; the group also hold leading positions in established European markets such as France, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
In September 2014, Henkel signed an agreement to acquire The Bergquist Company, a privately-held leading supplier of thermal-management solutions for the electronics industry worldwide. The acquisition strengthened the position of Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies business as a global leader.
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.
New global supply chain organization
In line with the implementation of its Strategy 2016, Henkel continued to standardize production and logistics activities across all business units, and consolidated them with its purchasing operations into a global supply chain organization. The new organization started operations in early November 2014.
Acquisition of The Dial Corporation
Henkel purchased the U.S.-based company The Dial Corporation, a manufacturer of laundry detergents, household cleaners and body care products. The product portfolio includes bar soaps, liquid soaps and shower gels in the body care business, as well as laundry detergents and air fresheners.
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.
Expansion of Business in the Asia-Pacific
Henkel expanded the business, especially in the Asia-Pacific region with various joint ventures, stat-ups, and acquisitions. As a joint project of Henkel (China) Investment Co. Ltd. And Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Henkel Jiao Tong Management Training Center opened in Shanghai.
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.
Introduction of Henkel oval
The “Henkel Lion” disappeared from packaging, being replaced by the Henkel oval.
Poly Color hair colorant
The image above shows a Poly Color package from 1950. TheraChemie began marketing these liquid hair colorants in 1947. Henkel entered the cosmetics business through the acquisition of TheraChemie in 1950.
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.
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, which cleans and bleaches laundry without chlorine, not only eliminated the physically strenuous task of scrubbing and washing by hand, which caused the fabrics to wear, but also improved household hygiene. These were 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.
Foundation of Schwarzkopf
In 1898, the state-approved chemist Hans Schwarzkopf took over a dye, drug and perfumery business in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Schwarzkopf has been part of Henkel since its acquisition in 1995. Since 1898, the name Schwarzkopf has been synonymous with hair competence, and values such as modernity, high quality and innovative strength. This makes Schwarzkopf an ideal umbrella for a clearly differentiated brands portfolio serving both our consumer segment and our international hair salon business, Schwarzkopf Professional.
First success with a branded product: Henkel’s Bleich-Soda (bleaching soda)
In 1878, Henkel’s first branded product was launched. The result of Fritz Henkel’s own research, the bleaching soda, was made from readily soluble sodium silicate and calcined (water-free) soda. In the same year, Henkel also began exporting products abroad: 200 boxes of Henkel’s Bleich-Soda and 200 pounds of Universal-Waschmittel to Switzerland.
Relocation to Düsseldorf
Building on the success of his first branded product — Henkel’s Bleich-Soda (bleaching soda) — Fritz Henkel relocated his company to Düsseldorf in 1878. Initially, he rented a factory in the Flingern district, then went on to build his own factory in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk in 1880. In 1899, Fritz Henkel bought a piece of land in Holthausen, then a suburb of Düsseldorf. In the same year, he began building a bleaching soda factory, a sodium silicate factory, a boiler house with workshops, and an office building. In March 1900, Henkel was ready to start up production at the new site.
Fritz Henkel founded the laundry detergent company Henkel
On September 26 1876, the 28-year-old Fritz Henkel and his two partners founded the company Henkel & Cie in Aachen. The company’s product was a laundry detergent based on sodium silicate, which they named Universal-Waschmittel. Contrary to all similar products, which at that time were sold loose, this heavy-duty detergent was marketed in handy packets.
