ag & company kgaa type kommanditgesellschaft auf aktien with aktiengesellschaft as partner with unlimited liability traded as fwb hen hen3 industry consumer goods industrial goods founded 1876 ; 140 years ago 1876 headquarters d sseldorf germany key people hans van bylen ceo and chairman of the executive board simone bagel trah chairwoman of the shareholders committee & supervisory board products laundry and cleaning products beauty care adhesives and sealants revenue 18.089 billion 2015 1 operating income 1.921 billion 2015 1 profit 2.645 billion 2015 1 total assets 24.71 billion 2016 2 number of employees 49 450 average 2015 1 subsidiaries henkel corporation website www.henkel.com henkel ag & company kgaa headquartered in d sseldorf germany is a multinational company active both in the consumer and industrial sector . founded in 1876 the dax 30 company is organized into three globally operating business units laundry & home care beauty care adhesive technologies and is known for brands such as persil and fa amongst others . in the fiscal year 2015 henkel reported sales of 18.1 billion euros and an operating profit of 2.9 billion euros . more than 80 percent of its about 50 000 employees work outside of germany . 3 contents 1 business areas 2 brands 2.1 laundry & home care 2.2 beauty care 2.3 adhesive technologies 3 history 4 sustainability 5 social partnership 6 henkel art award 7 miss fa beauty pageant 8 henkel innovation challenge 9 competitors 10 see also 11 notes 12 references 13 external links business areas edit the henkel company operates in three business areas laundry & home care with household cleaning products such as laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid beauty care with beauty and oral care products such as shampoo toothpaste hair colorants and shower products and adhesive technologies with adhesives sealants and surface treatments for consumer and industrial purposes . brands edit vintage persil advertising in wismar laundry & home care edit henkel s most famous brand is persil introduced in 1907 the first commercial self activated laundry detergent which means a bubbles forming bleach sodium perborate with a soap component silicate . the abbreviation of the names of the two main components perborate and silicate compose the product name . other laundry & home care brands include purex washing powder vernel silan fabric softener somat glist dishwasher tablets and pril washing up liquid . persil abaya shampoo or persil black is a liquid detergent that henkel introduced to the saudi arabian market in 2007 and later to other gulf cooperation council region markets . the company sells the liquid as a specialist detergent for abayas the loose traditionally black robe like garments worn by women in many islamic cultures . on june 24 2016 henkel consumer goods inc. a subsidiary of henkel ag & co. kgaa henkel has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the sun products corporation sun products a vestar capital partners v portfolio company . the transaction is valued at 3.6 billion . sun products based in connecticut has a portfolio of iconic laundry and household brands such as all sun wisk snuggle and sunlight . the company also develops and manufactures laundry and dish care brands for leading retailers in north america . in fiscal 2015 the company generated sales of approximately 1.6 billion in the us and canada . sun products employs approximately 2 000 people . 4 beauty care edit schwarzkopf haircare schauma shampoo fa shower gel and deodorant diadermine skin and body care dial shower and hand soap . the cosmetics company hans schwarzkopf gmbh was acquired by henkel in 1995 5 6 adhesive technologies edit loctite and lepage as well as unibond adhesives and sealants pritt glue sticks polyseamseal caulk and plastic padding chemicals . 7 history edit the company was founded in 1876 in aachen as henkel & cie 8 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 d sseldorf on the rhine its present site . d sseldorf 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 sch tzenstra e in d sseldorf 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 developed its international presence in 1886 henkel opened its first international sales office in austria . carl pathe had gone to vienna as a representative the year before . in 1893 henkel established its first business links with england and italy . henkel mural in berlin 1951 in 1903 schwarzkopf founded by hans schwarzkopf 1874 1921 launched a powder shampoo . persil came in 1907 as the first self acting laundry detergent . henkel has been a family run business since the beginning . 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 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 . on april 25 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 raw materials . in 1908 he became a personally liable partner in the company . in 1912 total production in d sseldorf holthausen rose to 49 890 tons . at 19 750 tons persil laundry detergent 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 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 january 11 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 june 22 1923 the first adhesive shipment left the plant . 9 during world war ii foreign civilian slavery workers and prisoners of war were working for the company . henkel was part of a large scale restitution settlement . henkel u.s. headquarters scottsdale arizona on april 16 1945 american troops occupied henkel s d sseldorf site . on june 5 the british military command in d sseldorf 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 shampoos . in 1954 henkel subsidiary dreiring launched fa soap a new type of toilet soap . 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 years 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 . starting in the 1960s 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 u.s. chemical products market . in 1962 henkel acquired sichel werke ag hannover its main german competitor in the adhesives sector . in 1974 henkel acquired shares in the clorox company usa to facilitate the production and sale of certain products developed by henkel for household and bulk consumers sold in 2004 . 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 1984 teroson of heidelberg in existence since 1898 was acquired and integrated into henkel s adhesives and surface technologies business sectors . cosmetics company hans schwarzkopf gmbh was acquired by henkel in 1995 in 1996 henkel acquired thiem automotive a division of national starch and chemical company . the acquisition included a manufacturing plant in oak creek wisconsin . 10 later it purchased loctite in 1997 . the purchase of the dial corporation in 2004 was the biggest acquisition in the history of the company until then this renowned u.s. personal care and household cleaning products company gave henkel a strong foothold on the north american market . in 2004 henkel also acquired the american cosmetics company advanced research laboratories arl that has developed and marketed hair cosmetics . also in 2004 henkel acquired orbseal . 11 the former orbseal plant in richmond mo was converted to a henkel plant . 12 in april 2008 henkel has taken over from akzonobel the adhesives and electronic materials businesses previously owned by national starch . in 2007 these two business segments of national starch generated sales of 1.25 billion about 1.83 billion . the purchase price was 2.7 billion about 3.7 billion . on may 5 2011 jyothy laboratories bought 50.97 % stake in henkel india . it has offered to buy 20 % more in henkel india through a compulsory open offer mandated by sebi norms . 13 in 2008 henkel kgaa became henkel ag & co. kgaa . that same year prof. dr. ulrich lehner retired from his position as chairman of the management board of henkel kgaa . he was succeeded by kasper rorsted . 14 in september 2009 dr. simone bagel trah was elected as new chairwoman by the henkel shareholders committee as