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Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Düsseldorf, Germany
www.henkel.com
PUBLIC COMPANY
HEADCOUNT: 55,142
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1876
ADHESIVES/SEALANTS/COATINGS REVENUES:
$9.849 billion
TOTAL REVENUES: $20.791 billion
SEGMENT BREAKDOWN
• Adhesives Technologies: 47%
• Laundry & Home Care: 30%
• Cosmetics/Toiletries: 21%
KEY PEOPLE
Kasper Rorsted, CEO and chairman of the management
board; Thomas Geitner, executive vice president, adhesive
technologies.
In 2008, Henkel’s adhesives technologies business sec- tor increased sales by 17.3% to $9.8 billion (€ 6. 7 bil- lion). The rise is primarily attributable to the acquisition of National Starch. The adhesives technologies business sector serves a wide range of user groups with products comprising adhesives, sealants and surface treatment.
In the adhesives for craftsmen and consumers business,
Henkel posted a slight increase in sales despite the difficult
conditions in major craftsmen markets within Western
Europe, and despite the real estate crisis in North America.
This success was due to good performance in Eastern Europe
and Latin America. Bonding adhesives under the Pattex brand
and the launch of a number of innovations in the Loctite
instant adhesives range contributed to growth, particularly the
introduction of Loctite Flex Gel.
The growth of Henkel’s building adhesives business continued unabated. With double-digit rates of expansion, the biggest
boost came from Eastern Europe and Africa/Middle East. The
market in Western Europe on the other hand, continued to
decline. Aside from tile adhesives, product systems for thermal
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURER
KÖGEL REPLACES ZINC PHOSPHATING
In early 2008 Kögel Fahrzeugwerke, one of the major
European manufacturers of semi-trailers, switched to
Henkel’s new Tec Talis metal pretreatment in its production process instead of traditional zinc phosphating, the former standard for industrial conversion
coating. Technically, TecTalis, which recently won a
PACE Award, differs from zinc phosphating in that it
has fewer process steps and the baths no longer need
to be heated. Instead of heating the phosphating bath
to 60°C, TecTalis can run at room temperature. This
cuts energy costs significantly. The TecTalis process
uses a solution that contains zirconium. In chemical
terms, a pickling reaction occurs in the first step, shifting the pH at the surface of the metal substrate into
insulation in buildings continued to grow.
The packaging, consumer goods and construction adhesives
business was significantly strengthened as a result of the
National Starch acquisition. Expansion was also generated
through the Liofol adhesives for flexible packaging and adhesives for consumer goods with hotmelts under the Technomelt
Supra brand.
The specialty adhesives and surface treatment business
results came in slightly below last year’s due to market conditions. There was a decline in Henkel’s automotive business and
in operations serving manufacturers of durable consumer
goods. However, new innovations continued to roll out particularly with the launch of TecTalis, an innovative metal pretreatment product.
Also products for industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul under the Loctite brand underwent expansion in 2008. As
a result of the National Starch acquisition, Henkel was able to
expand its market position with respect to the metals industry,
with Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific exhibiting particularly
strong growth. ;
Source: Henkel’s annual report
the alkaline range. As a consequence, the metal ions
that will form the coating settle on the surface and
bond with it. A conversion layer is created, the components of which include zirconium oxide, a nanoceramic
material used in modern dentures.
