Over the past four years, Henkel’s power brands have supplied proof of their capability to win - and keep - the Dakar Rally competitors' confidence.

Henkel remporte le Prix Allemand du Développement Durable

The MIT initiative (Make an Impact on Tomorrow) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The record is a proud one: More than 5,000 Henkel employees and retirees have been involved in some 7,000 projects in more than 110 countries. To mark this anniversary, Henkel will be providing special funding of 100,000 euros for a selected project.

Trois projets de réorganisation de Henkel Technologies France et de National Starch & Chemical SAS ont été présentés aujourd’hui aux représentants du personnel concernant les établissements de Châlons-en-Champagne, de Villefranche-sur-Saône et de Cosne-sur-Loire.

Succès de l’Offre publique pour la cession de la participation dans Ecolab

Le ‘Henkel Innovation Challenge’, concours international destiné aux étudiants de 11 pays européens, lance un nouveau défi.

Priorités stratégiques & objectifs financiers 2012 : amélioration des marges à 14 %

 « En dépit d’un contexte économique toujours aussi difficile, nous sommes aussi parvenus à une bonne croissance organique des ventes durant le troi-sième trimestre », déclare Kasper Rorsted, CEO de Henkel.
 

• Strong sales growth of 12.0 percent
• Growth regions: sales plus 24.1 percent
• Organic sales growth: 3.5 percent
• Adjusted operating profit (EBIT): plus 6.3 percent
• Adjusted earnings per preferred share: plus 3.5 percent

The first Henkel Innovation Letter in 2008 informs concisely about the different innovations made in the business sectors Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesives Technologies.

Coinciding with the start of the new academic year, the second ‘Henkel Innovation Challenge’, Henkel’s international student competition, is being launched. The challenge this time: competing students will be expected to act as creative business development managers and prepare a concept for a Henkel product from the company’s Cosmetics/Toiletries or Laundry & Home Care business sectors capable of generating success in the year 2050. The competition is open to students of all disciplines in eleven European countries, who are now invited to register at www.henkelchallenge.com. The closing date for enrolment is January 12, 2009. Among the prizes awaiting the winning team is an exciting trip.

Committing to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility includes tackling the issue of where the raw materials for production originate and how they themselves are produced. Palm kernel oil, a renewable raw material used in the manufacture of surfactants (surface-active substances used in laundry and home care and also cosmetic products) is a case in point. Together with independent partners, Henkel has helped to achieve recognition of certificates for sustainable palm kernel oil as issued for official trading by the ‘Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil’ – and bought the certificates for the new Terra Activ cleaners. The certificates serve to confirm sustainable palm cultivation in the countries of origin and contribute to protecting the rain forests. The process for trading these certificates, known as ‘Book & Claim’, functions in a manner similar to that applied to eco-electricity.

The fourth Henkel Innovation Letter in 2008 informs concisely about the different innovations made in the business sectors Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies.

Henkel a remporté le premier prix dans la catégorie  "Ajouter de la Valeur grâce à la Communication" .

Rotor blades have to withstand extreme stressing. In wind turbines, the tips of the blades whip through the air at peak speeds of up to 300 km/h. Their quality depends not least on the reliability of their adhesive bonds. Germanisches Lloyd has now certified a first polyurethane adhesive for the wind power sector: Henkel’s Macroplast UK 8340. With this product, Henkel is consistently pursuing its strategy of developing sustainable adhesives solutions that offer genuine value added in terms of ecology, quality and economy.

Paul de Bruecker, 45 ans, est à la tête de la branche Cosmétiques Grand Public de Henkel en France, depuis le 1er juillet 2008.

Avec des marques emblématiques comme Schwarzkopf, Diadermine, Fa et Vademecum, les Cosmétiques Grand Public du groupe Henkel se placent en 3ème position sur leurs segments de marché en France et ont réalisé en 2007 un CA de 243 millions d'euros avec une PDM de 10%.

10 foyers filmés en continu pendant 7 jours au sein même de leur salle de bains : ce projet "Caméra salle de bains" de Henkel France a séduit le jury des Trophées Marketing Magazine 2008, qui lui a décerné le premier prix dans la catégorie "Etudes de marché" parmi plus de 100 réalisations. Objectif de ce projet : étudier in situ l'utilisation réelle des produits d'hygiène et beauté par les familles françaises dans leur salle de bains, pour toujours mieux répondre à leurs besoins.

Pour faire partie de cet indice, les sociétés doivent prouver qu'elles mettent en oeuvre une politique exemplaire en matière de développement durable et qu'elles agissent au quotidien conformément aux principes du développement durable. Seules 10 % des 2 500 plus grandes multinationales du monde se trouvent classées dans l'Indice International Dow Jones lié au Dévelopement Durable (DJSI World).

Henkel’s annual report has received the highest award for the third time in succession in the competition for the world’s best annual report. The League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) presented the 2007 Henkel annual report with a Platinum award in the category “Consumer – Personal”.

The third Henkel Innovation Letter in 2008 informs concisely about the different innovations made in the business sectors Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies.

Henkel is a worldwide leading supplier of laminating adhesives and coatings used for flexible packaging. As a recognized partner for system solutions, Henkel is pleased to invite European customers to its Liofol Academy in Düsseldorf, Germany. Highlighting the agenda: the newest trends in laminating and coating technology, and the impact of legislation regarding Food Safety and REACH.

The doors of the world exhibition in Zaragoza, northern Spain, remain open until September 14, 2008. Henkel is an official sponsor of Expo 2008, the theme of which is “Water and Sustainable Development”.

With a total of 1,971 exhibitors and purchase contracts valued at over 10 billion euros having been concluded, print media show Drupa 2008 broke all records this year – more than fulfilling the expectations of the exhibitors. As a supplier of innovative adhesive systems for the graphic arts, flexible packaging and paper processing segments, Henkel also profited from the beneficial investment climate at this leading international trade fair.

The third Henkel Race Day featuring the coveted “Preis der Diana” will be held on August 3, 2008 in Düsseldorf-Grafenberg. The renowned thoroughbred trials belonging to Europe’s Group I horse race series will take place for the 150th time. Henkel looks forward to offering equestrian sports fans and their families a pleasant day out with many interesting attractions. Elegant horses, world-class athletes, numerous celebrities and a diverse range of fringe events promise to transform the race into an entertaining and unique top-notch event.

The “Henkel Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament 2008“ will begin on June 16th in Paris. Whereas the ball is being dribbled down the fields in Austria and Switzerland during the European Soccer Championship 2008, it will fly over the beach volleyball net in Paris from June 16 - 22, 2008. More than 130 teams from 40 countries will compete against each other. The matches are not only important to the athletes for the prize money involved, but as part of the qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Peking. Henkel will be present during the entire tournament promoting its corporate brand name and seven product brands. In addition to the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament in Paris, Henkel has also been sponsoring the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria on Lake Wörthersee.

Le Trophée des meilleures usines, organisé par l'Insead, l'institut de management allemand WHU, l'Usine Nouvelle et l'hebdomadaire allemand WirtschaftsWoche, récompense chaque année depuis 14 ans les meilleures usines françaises et allemandes. L'usine Henkel située à Louviers est la seule usine française primée car elle a notamment su expliquer et partager sa stratégie industrielle et commerciale au plus grand nombre.

Les pratiques de gestion corporate socialement responsables de la société Henkel ont une nouvelle fois été saluées par un organisme indépendant. Henkel fait en effet partie du classement des « Sociétés les plus éthiques du monde ». John Knudson, Président de Henkel Amérique et Brad Casper, Président Directeur Général de The Dial Corporation, ont reçu cette distinction lors d’un dîner de remise des prix qui s’est tenu le 3 juin dernier à New York.

Le Henkel Grand Chelem Beach Volley ? C’est du sport ! Une étape majeure du circuit mondial,
qualificative pour les J.O. de Pékin 2008.
Mais c’est surtout plus que du sport ! Animations originales et ludiques dans le village, jeuconcours
pour gagner ses vacances, café éphémère, terrains d’initiation, il y en a pour tous. Alors
avis aux sportifs comme aux non-sportifs, le Henkel Grand Chelem vous attend !

The socially responsible corporate management practices of Henkel have once again been recognized by an independent body. Henkel has been named to the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list. John Knudson, President of Henkel of America, and Brad Casper, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dial Corporation, accepted this honor at an evening awards dinner held yesterday in New York.

Starting on June 7, 2008, close to a million soccer fans are expected to descend upon football stadiums in Austria and Switzerland. Henkel has prepared a special fan guide in three languages in order to enable the sports-mad guests to have a particularly pleasant and comfortable stay and eliminate language barriers before they cause a problem. The Henkel Fan Guide accompanies soccer fans through 21 different practical scenes in Vienna, from their arrival, searching for a hotel, cheering on their favorite team at the stadium  to eating at the hot dog stand, flirting and departing the city. Every scene contains 10 suitable expressions – in “Austrian“, German and English to make sure people are able to communicate effectively in and around the stadiums.

At the Drupa 2008, the world biggest printing fair in Duesseldorf, Henkel once again presents innovative solutions for the packaging industry.  All press releases and images are available here for download.

Thomas Geitner (53), who has been a member of the Henkel Management Board since March 1, 2008, will assume responsibility for the Adhesives Technologies busiess sector, effective mid-June. As already announced in February 2008, Alois Linder (60), Executive Vice President Adhesives Technologies, will resign from his office at his own request.

In aircraft engineering, there is a growing trend toward lightweight construction. Novel materials are playing a key role here. Henkel's innovative Epsilon technology represents a milestone in the production of fiber composites.

Thomas Geitner, 53 ans, membre du Comité de Direction de Henkel depuis le 1er mars 2008, va prendre la tête du secteur d’activité Adhesives Technologies dès la mi-juin. Comme précédemment annoncé en février 2008, Alois Linder, 60 ans, Vice-Président Exécutif des Adhesives Technologies, quittera son poste à sa propre demande. 

Henkel has earmarked assistance totaling 150,000 euros to help the victims of the recent, devastating earthquake in China. Working closely with the Henkel sites in China, the company is already in the process of channeling a large portion of this emergency aid in the form of monetary and product donations via the Henkel Friendship Initiative e.V. (HFI) to the people in the regions affected. Building on this immediate assistance, a further portion of the total is to be invested in the next few months in specific reconstruction projects. The HFI is an independent charitable association founded by Henkel together with its employees and retirees in order to provide immediate aid to people worldwide who fall victim of crises or catastrophes. It is one of the pillars supporting the Henkel Smile program. All the company’s social involvement activities beyond its business operations – internationally known as corporate citizenship – come together under the Henkel Smile umbrella.

Henkel has been presented with the prestigious PR Report Award in recognition of its corporate brand communications strategy in the “Long-term PR Strategy” category. The prize was awarded for the systematic strategy for the long-term establishment and strengthening of the Henkel corporate brand worldwide. This is the sixth time that specialist trade magazine “PR Report” has recognized outstanding communication campaigns in the German public relations industry.

For ten years now, Henkel has been supporting its employees and retirees around the world in their socially important volunteering activities. The chosen vehicle is the MIT Initiative (Make an Impact on Tomorrow), and in order to celebrate its tenth anniversary, Henkel intends to support a specially selected project with a grant of 100,000 euros. With the establishment of the MIT Initiative in 1998, Henkel was one of the first German companies to recognize the volunteering activities of its employees and retirees as an essential component of its corporate culture and social responsibility. In this anniversary year, the focus is on developing an international MIT network which effectively integrates the efforts of all these volunteers.

A l’automne 2007, Henkel lançait un concours international pour les étudiants sous le nom de « Henkel Innovation Challenge ». La finale vient juste de s’achever à Barcelone. Six équipes d’étudiants venus de toute l’Europe ont présenté leurs idées devant un jury international composé de managers de Henkel. Ces jeunes talents devaient relever le challenge de développer des produits et des concepts commerciaux innovants dans le secteur lessives et des produits d’entretien ménager pour l’année 2050.

Henkel s’est vu décerner le prestigieux Prix du Rapport RP qui vient récompenser la stratégie de communication de la marque corporate dans la catégorie « Stratégie RP à Long Terme ». Ce prix reconnaît la stratégie de la société qui consiste à systématiquement établir et renforcer la marque corporate de Henkel à travers le monde. C’est la sixième fois que le magazine économique spécialisé « PR Report » distingue les campagnes de communication exceptionnelles dans l’industrie des relations publiques allemande.  

• Robust organic sales growth of 3.3 percent
• Operating profit (EBIT) adjusted for foreign exchange: plus 2.5 percent
• Earnings per preferred share (EPS): plus 6.3 percent
• Growth regions: 16.2 percent organic sales growth

« Nous avons bien démarré le nouvel exercice dans un contexte difficile. Notre forte croissance organique des ventes est encourageante. Nous y sommes parvenus malgré un développement modéré sur le marché américain et le fort trimestre de l’année précédente est encourageant. Tous nos secteurs d’activité y ont contribué », déclare Kasper Rorsted, Président du Comité de Direction de Henkel. « Nos régions de croissance se sont à nouveau développées de façon dynamique. Je suis très confiant quant à l’atteinte des objectifs que nous nous sommes fixés pour 2008. Nous comptons sur l’acquisition opérée et sur l’intégration de National Starch pour connaître une croissance supplémentaire. D’autre part, la mise en oeuvre du programme d’amélioration de l’efficacité « Global Excellence » se déroule comme prévu. »

All-round praise for the Henkel Team at the first run of the Dakar Series. During the Central Europe Rally through Hungary and Romania Loctite and Teroson mechanicals supported the competitors actively. Together with the best drivers the Henkel Charlies pushed through to the finish line.

For the second time in as many years, Henkel will be on show and prominent at the world’s premier annual ice hockey event. Following its successful involvement in the 2007 “world cup” in Russia, the company is again stepping up as an official sponsor of the 72nd IIHF World Championship, scheduled to take place in Canada from May 2 to 18, 2008. For Henkel, this showcase in the home of ice hockey offers not only the advantages of association with an international sport event but also the possibility of significantly increasing the company’s awareness ratings in North America. During the competition, Henkel will be permanently present through its corporate brand supported by the product brands Purex (Laundry Care), Right Guard (Cosmetics) and Le Page (Adhesives).

Parmi les engagements de Henkel figurent l’utilisation rationnelle des matières premières renouvelables et la promotion de la protection des ressources. L’huile de palme obtenue par l’abattage des arbres des forêts tropicales est au cœur de nombreux enjeux. La mission de la « Table Ronde sur l’Huile de Palme Durable » (RSPO) consiste justement à veiller à ce que l’huile de palme commercialisée réponde à certains critères de développement durable clés. Dès le début de cette initiative, Henkel a soutenu la démarche en participant aux réunions et en contribuant au débat en tant qu’expert. Symbole visible de cet engagement, Henkel est devenu en avril 2008 un membre officiel du RSPO.

Bruno Piacenza, Président de Henkel France, est nommé Vice- Président Senior et prend la tête de la branche Cosmétiques Grand Public pour l’Europe de l’Ouest et l’Asie Pacifique en plus de ses fonctions actuelles de Directeur Général de la Branche Cosmétiques Grand Public France/Moyen-Orient et Afrique.

Henkel innove à nouveau pour ses salariés avec une initiative inédite et particulièrement originale : l’éco-café. Depuis le 8 avril, les 500 salariés du siège français situé à Boulogne-Billancourt profitent pleinement d’une cafétéria
dédiée au bio et bien-être. Le groupe a souhaité ainsi mettre à leur disposition un réel espace de partage et d’échange où le naturel est roi, avec notamment une offre de produits de restauration biologiques ou issus du commerce équitable.

In the fall of 2007, Henkel launched an international student competition under the name ‘Henkel Innovation Challenge’. Now the finals in Barcelona have just come to an end. Six teams of students from throughout Europe presented their ideas before an international jury comprised of Henkel managers. The challenge facing these young talents was to develop innovative products and business concepts for the laundry and home care segment of the year 2050. The eventual winners were the team from Spain studying at the ESADE Business School, Barcelona. These economics students presented a compelling concept involving a house-keeping robot, networked with the entire house using advanced technology. The German team from Berlin took second place. “Ultimately, however, all these students are winners. Because where else are these young people going to get such an opportunity to gather real business experience and make themselves known to an international company?” asked jury member Fridtjof Helemann, Corporate Vice President Human Resources at Henkel.

Henkel France annonce la nomination de Dieter Kahling en tant que Directeur Financier et l’arrivée de Paul Jaillard, Directeur des Systèmes d’Information

Effectif à la fin de l’Assemblée Générale Annuelle 2008 de Henkel, Kasper Rorsted est le nouveau Président du Comité de Direction. Son prédécesseur, Ulrich Lehner, ayant atteint l’âge de la retraite convenu par les conventions de l’entreprise, s’est retiré à cette même date.  Lehner avait été nommé Président en mai 2000, et était chez Henkel, avec une brève interruption, depuis 1981. Il restera cependant associé de près à l’entreprise en tant que membre du Comité des Actionnaires.

Diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), a plasticizer frequently used until now in adhesives for the paper converting industry, is suspected of being harmful to health. The German manufacturers and processors of paper, board and cardboard have therefore undertaken to stop using products containing DiBP. To protect consumers in the long term, Henkel has now come up with a solution – the Adhesin A 78 Series, a new generation of plasticizer-free adhesives formulations for all applications in the paper and packaging industry.

Henkel announces the launch of a new conversion coating process called TecTalis. This breakthrough multi-metal pre-treatment technology replaces Zinc Phosphate by offering significantly reduced process cost and environmental footprint. TecTalis has been enthusiastically received by the automotive and durable goods industry.

Henkel has taken over from Akzo Nobel the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses previously owned by National Starch. “This acquisition represents a milestone in our 130-plus-year corporate history and points Henkel clearly in the direction of further profitable growth,” said Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Management Board of Henkel KGaA. The acquisition was preceded by the carve-out of the businesses to be acquired by Henkel and the requisite antitrust and anticompetitive investigations by the relevant authorities.

L’Assemblée Générale Annuelle de Henkel KGaA qui s’est tenue aujourd’hui à Düsseldorf a fournit à quelques 2500 actionnaires un compte rendu sur le développement et le rendement de l’entreprise pour l’année fiscale 2007.

Après l’annulation du Rallye Dakar 2008, une décision parfaitement respectée par Henkel,  Henkel, Partenaire Officiel du Rallye d’Europe Centrale, poursuit son partenariat gagnant-gagnant avec le célèbre rallye tout terrain. Lors de cette première édition du Dakar Series, les marques Loctite® et Teroson de Henkel participeront une nouvelle fois à l’un des rallye-raids les plus exigeants du monde.

Pour la 4ème année consécutive, le Champ de Mars prend ses quartiers d’été pour faire la part belle au Beach Volley.
Le groupe de grande consommation Henkel, avec ses 60 marques en France (Le Chat, Mir, Diadermine, Fa, Schwarzkopf Professional, Pattex, Pritt), soutient cette année encore ce sport synonyme de performance, de fair-play et de convivialité lors de l’étape parisienne du tournoi mondial, qui se déroulera du 16 au 22 juin 2008.

Better for the laundry, better for the environment – that is the new “Persil – better than ever from 20°C”. From April 2008, Persil with its high-performance active stain remover will be offering even better results from just 20°C, enabling the laundry to be washed at low temperatures – with proven Persil cleanliness still abounding, of course. Hence, with Persil, it is possible to both save energy and spare the environment.

Over 1,000 students from six European countries submitted their ideas for the international student competition “Henkel Innovation Challenge”. The challenge facing these young talents was to develop innovative products and business concepts for the laundry and home care segment of the year 2050. Recently, Henkel invited the ten best teams from Germany for a day-long national final in Düsseldorf. The students presented their ideas to a high-caliber jury of Henkel managers, impressing with their creativity and professionalism. The winning team from Berlin will be meeting its European counterparts at the international final to be held in Barcelona in April.

Craftsmen and do-it-yourselfers can breathe easily again. With the development of a new technology, Henkel has succeeded in reducing by up to 90 percent the dust evolution that arises when preparing and using cement-based products. In the vanguard of a new generation of low-emission powder products from Henkel, the company’s tile adhesives under the Ceresit brand and the Thomsit smoothing compound for floor and substrate preparation have already caused quite a furore in the building trade – and this years’ planning is promising: Henkel will expand its portfolio of low-emission powder products to a system solution.

Paul De Bruecker, 45 ans, est à la tête de la branche Cosmétiques Grand Public de Henkel en France, depuis le 1er juillet 2008.

Lors du grand rendez-vous annuel des Grands prix de la communication, un jury de professionnels  a récompensé une campagne interne originale imaginée par Henkel en France : « Planète Conso ».
Dédiée à l’ensemble de ses collaborateurs et à ses 3 business (détergents, cosmétiques et colles), Henkel a créé une véritable campagne de communication pour renforcer les synergies inter-métiers et inter-business. Cette opération a également permis de développer la cohésion d’équipe et d’illustrer les 3 valeurs-clés du Groupe : proximité, esprit d’entreprise et innovation.

Le monde du cinéma a ses Oscars, Henkel a ses prix Fritz Henkel de l'Innovation, la récompense la plus importante décernée aux employés de la Société. Chaque année, ce prix est remis à des équipes composées de chercheurs, de chefs de produits et d'experts en marketing qui ont obtenu un prodigieux succès sur le marché grâce à leurs produits innovants. Cette année, la cérémonie a eu lieu lors de la Journée de l'Innovation Henkel (Henkel Innovation Day). Célébrée pour la première fois le 14 février sur tous les sites de la Société dans les 125 pays du monde où Henkel opère, cette journée était placée sous le slogan global « Let's innovate ! »

The film world has its Oscar, and Henkel has its Fritz Henkel Award for Innovation: the highest honor conferred on Company employees. Every year, this award is presented to teams composed of researchers, product developers and marketing experts who have achieved outstanding market success with forward-looking products. This year’s award ceremony took place on Henkel Innovation Day. Celebrated for the first time on February 14 at all Company sites in the 125 countries around the world in which Henkel operates, the global motto for this day is “Let’s innovate!”

Thomas Geitner succédera à Alois Linder en octobre prochain

Le secteur « Détergents et Produits d'Entretien » de Henkel décerne des prix à ses fournisseurs hors pair

Alois Linder (60), Executive Vice President Adhesives Technologies will resign from his office as member of the Henkel Management Board at his own request effective September 30, 2008. Thomas Geitner (52) has been appointed his successor. Geitner will join the Henkel Management Board effective March 1, 2008 and will assume responsibility for the Adhesives Technologies business sector on October 1, 2008.

Consistently the Persil brand has laid claim to offering the best laundry detergent of its time and many Persil innovations have set the standard for others to follow.

Les membres du jury des Prix 2007 « Research / Technology Invention Award » ont eu du mal à désigner les gagnants de ces récompenses parmi plus de vingt projets très prometteurs.

Dr. Juliane Wiemerslage has joined Henkel as Corporate Senior Vice President Human Resources. She reports directly to Kasper Rorsted, Vice Chairman of the Henkel Management Board.

The latest reports on the plasticizer diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), which can migrate from paper and board packages and accumulate in the packaged foods, have alerted food and packaging manufacturers. The plasticizer can come from sources such as dispersion adhesives, which are frequently used in the packaging industry. To protect the consumer from possible risks, Henkel has developed novel dispersion adhesives that are entirely free of plasticizer.

At the 2008 SDA (Soap and Detergent Association) Annual Meeting and Industry Convention, January 29 to February 2, 2008 in the United States (Florida) Henkel Laundry & Home Care awards prizes to two outstanding suppliers. The “Best Innovation Contributor 2007” goes to Clariant for the best contribution of an external partner delivering outstanding consumer-relevant innovation that resulted in a product of highest market value. The “Best Supply Performance 2007” is awarded to Evonik Degussa for its outstanding supply performance.

The jurors of the Research/Technology Invention Award 2007 found it no easy task to pick the winners among more than 20 highly promising projects. Finally, eight interdisciplinary project teams were chosen to receive the coveted prize. The diversity of the inventions reflects the powerful research capabilities within Henkel and the broad scope of its scientific base.

Over the next ten days, the attention of Europe's sports fans is likely to turn toward northern Europe. Following the ladies' world handball championship in France at the end of last year, the best men's European national teams are now due to meet head to head in Norway. The matches making up the European Handball Championship will be taking place in five Norwegian cities from 17 to 27 January. Federal coach Heiner Brand's German national team counts among the favorites after their victory in the World Handball Championship of 2007. Henkel's involvement in the sport of handball has a certain tradition and the company will again be present and visible in Norway.

 In line with its global strategy to focus on its core businesses and phase out marginal positions Henkel has sold its industrial water treatment business to BK Giulini, Ludwigshafen, Germany, an affiliate of Israel Chemical Ltd. (ICL).

As Official Partner of the Dakar Rally Henkel fully understands the organizer's decision to cancel this year's edition. The traditional desert race was called off immediately before the start because of a terrorist threat. Henkel had planned to send its Loctite, Teroson and Pattex branded products to the fourth encounter with the Dakar.

After different exchanges with the French government - in particular the Ministry for Foreign Affairs - and based on their firm recommendations, the organizers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally, scheduled from the 5th to the 20th of January between Lisbon and Senegal's capital.