Henkel: Advertising & Automation Trailblazers

Henkel, the German multinational chemical and consumer goods manufacturer responsible for Persil and Schwarzkopf, has spent the last five years establishing itself as a global leader in automation- and the last hundred as a leader in advertising.

The company’s investment in automation spans several of its key factories, enhancing efficiency, productivity and results. 

It's advertising has remained bold and impactful, it's recent refreshingly colourful rebrand feeling like the next evolution of its trend-setting history.

Based on Henkel's strong business performance in the first half of this year, boasting revenue of US$11.6m, the strategy in both these areas appears to be paying off.

Henkel reports a growth in organic sales, with both its Consumer Brands business unit and the Adhesive Technologies business unit experiencing a rise of over 2.5%. 

“The overall very good business performance in the first half of the year and the fact that we raised our outlook for fiscal 2024 again, clearly demonstrate that we are on the right track with our strategy,” says Carsten Knobel, CEO of Henkel.

“The merger of our consumer businesses is successful and the implementation of our strategic measures and initiatives has a very positive impact on sales, gross margin and earnings development.”

We are delivering what we have committed to, and we are on the right track for further profitable growth,”

Henkel has grown considerably over its history, committed to innovation since its inception.

Henkel: A history 

Henkel was founded by Fritz Henkel on 26 September 1876 in Aachen, Germany.

The world was very different back then. Historically domestic tasks took hours of planning and rigorous manual labour.

Thanks to technology, today we can accomplish domestic tasks quickly and easily, with many being automated.

Those of us with a washing machine don’t think twice about doing laundry.

But we would if we had to hand scrub clothes in wooden pots or nearby streams and then dry them by the warmth of a fire or the sun.

Making laundry an easier task is not a minor footnote in history.

It's fundamentally transformed domestic spaces, family life and critically, contributed to the greater autonomy and independence of women across the globe.

Henkel helped make this possible, fundamentally transforming the way average people live through its products.

Fritz Henkel was known for his keen sense of responsibility toward his employees and wider society.

Working within the traditions of a family business, he got his sons Fritz Jr. and Hugo involved in the company. 

Fritz Jr. was trained as a salesman while Hugo studied chemistry, becoming Henkel's first chemist with a doctorate.

With their combination of expertise they helped grow and expand the business. 

Henkel has a long tradition in this vein of nurturing young talent.

Back in 1983 it trained young men to be locksmiths and electricians, today the company offers 25 apprenticeships and five dual study programs in Germany which cover scientific, technical and commercial professions in addition to vocational training.

Since then Henkel has continued to innovate in both the areas of automation and advertising. 

Creating one of the first brand ambassadors 

Henkel has always valued creative, bold advertising, standing out as a manufacturer that intimately understands the necessity of marketing and customer relationship management. 

Henkel was using neon signs and skywriters before it was cool, and is responsible for creating one of the first mainstream brand ambassadors.

In 2022, Persil’s iconic ‘Weiße Dame’ or White Lady, Erna Muchow, celebrated her 90th birthday. 

Back in 1922, when she became the de-facto face of Persil she was 18.

Henkel commissioned her friend, caricaturist Kurt Heiligenstaedt, to design an advertising poster for them.

Inspired, he modelled the character on her, having her pose in a white dress from a luxury department store on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.

Persil was already well-known for revolutionising the washing process by this time. But her image, for generations, helped cement Persil in the cultural consciousness as one of the most beloved global detergent brands. 

Her image then adorned posters, enamel signs and house walls until the 1960s, adapted to meet different seasons and fashion tastes.

Though her hair and style would change, her white clothes never did- making her instantly recognisable.

Henkels's advertising has evolved a lot since then.

Today it’s dynamic, modern and bold, with vibrant uses of colour and design. 

The image above actively shuns the misconception that manufacturing is repetitive and dull. 

When we think about the challenges with hiring in the industry, this brand messaging that will resonate better with younger generations.

As e-commerce grows more essential to manufacturing, and the industry pivots away from products to focus on tailored, personalised service, the quality and effectiveness of its marketing matters. 

This is something Henkel, which manufactures products for the most intimate domestic spaces, has recognised and responded to throughout the years.

They’ve also recognised and responded to the power and importance of digital transformation.

Leaders In Automation 

Henkel’s logistics centre in Southern Europe expanded in 2022 and originally built in 1994, is one of the first automated warehouses in Spain. 

The state-of-the-art, fully automated Laundry & Home Care Warehouse based in Montornès del Vallès is 24,000 square metres and was the result of a 22m Euro investment. 

A critical European site for Henkel, it employs 500 people and produces more than 200,000 tons of liquid detergents, adhesives and powder detergents.

These products are then exported to 60 countries around the world. 

“This warehouse is another strategic investment to further strengthen Henkel Laundry & Home Care’s strong position in Southern Europe,” says Dr. Dirk Holbach, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Laundry & Home Care.

“It also underlines our digitalization agenda and demonstrates how Industry 4.0 concepts can be concretely applied to the benefit of the environment and our business,”

The warehouse can move more than 1 million pallets per year.

With a capacity to store 21,000 in its fully automated area, it can move more than 7 million product units in a year. 

So, how has Henkel managed to organise and fully automate this process within the warehouse? 

Warehouse automation

It begins with the automated area being divided into five blocks.

Each of these blocks features a special stacker crane with 38 double cycles per hour and two high-tech conveyors which unload and load shuttles from the production site automatically. 

This is possible due to a new automatic launcher transport system, the result of digitised supply chain processes and advanced technology. 

The automated warehouse runs based on cutting-edge logistical technology, robotisation and digitisation.

By leveraging Industry 4.0, Henkel is streamlining its processes, using resources more efficiently and reducing its time-to-market.

The warehouse through innovative management software can increase storage capacities whilst reducing energy consumption, thereby enhancing sustainability whilst eliminating inefficiencies.  

“Henkel aims to become a climate-positive company by 2040. To achieve this, we are putting a strong focus on our own production sites.

"With the new automated warehouse, we have reduced our carbon footprint by 90 percent,” says Carlos Ribas, Head of Supply Operations Cluster in Western Europe.

“With the new centralised logistic concept, we can significantly save transport routes.

"Additionally, we have installed solar panels on the roof that supply the warehouse with electricity from renewable sources.”

The new warehouse is another important investment in the Montornès del Vallès site after Henkel implemented additional capacities for liquid detergents two years ago and opened a new high-performing Adhesive Technologies production facility for aerospace applications last year. 

It's success was recognised in 2021, when The World Economic Forum & McKinsey Company recognised the Laundry & Home Care Production warehouse as an ‘Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution Lighthouse’ leading on innovation and automation. 

This comes after Henkel previously became a member of WEF’s Global Lighthouse Network starting in 2020 with its production site in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Henkel, with both its advertising and automation, demonstrates a trailblazing approach- fully embracing bold, innovative new processes and ideas for maximum payoff.

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