- Business
- Henkel AG & Co. KGaA operates as a global leader in adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings for industrial applications, consumers, and craftsmen through its Adhesive Technologies business unit; it also provides consumer brands in laundry and home care, including detergents, fabric softeners, and dishwashing products, as well as hair care, styling, and coloration solutions for consumers and professional hairdressers. The company manufactures reactive polyurethane and laminating adhesives, labeling for glass and PET bottles, corrosion inhibitors, surface treatments, soaps, skin care items, hair dyes, perfumes, glass cleaners, wallpaper adhesives, and roofing products under brands such as Loctite, Technomelt, Teroson, Bonderite, Aquence, Pritt, Ceresit, and Pattex. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, Henkel employs around 47,000 people worldwide, with operations spanning mature and emerging markets across more than 120 countries, holding leading positions in industrial and consumer segments of the chemicals and consumer goods industries. In recent developments, Henkel acquires Seal for Life Industries in 2024 to expand its maintenance, repair, and overhaul platform with protective coatings and sealing solutions for infrastructure in renewable energy, oil and gas, and water sectors, following the 2023 purchase of Critica Infrastructure; the company progresses the merger of its former Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care units into Consumer Brands, achieving faster-than-planned synergies in sales, marketing, supply chain, and cost savings by end-2025; it expands strategic partnership with Dow in 2025 to reduce emissions in hot melt adhesives for packaging via low-carbon materials and renewable energy; and announces a new share buyback program of up to 1 billion euros alongside a double-digit dividend increase proposal after strong 2024 results with 21.6 billion euros in sales.