We are global leaders in adhesives and sealants – technologically, ecologically, and in health protection.

Our adhesives, sealants and surface treatments are used in many different markets such as transport, electronics, aerospace, metal, packaging and durable goods, as well as for maintenance, repair and overhaul. They help to create and maintain value in industrial applications, construction projects, and in the home, school and office. Adhesives and sealants can be used to repair broken crockery, protect buildings from cold and damp, manufacture flexible solar cells, or to design products that live longer, perform better, and are easier to use.

We develop innovative products and technologies that not only help our industrial customers to operate more efficiently, but are compatible with human health and the environment – during use and disposal. In many cases, our optimized products and processes make it possible to significantly reduce energy, water and waste costs. Our systems solutions are based on a profound knowledge of our customers’ processes and are frequently developed by working as a team with customers, machine manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. This know-how enables us to quantify the benefits our innovations offer and communicate them in a transparent way to our customers. We thus help to optimize processes all along the line.

Through tailor-made adhesives, sealants and surface treatments we contribute our know-how worldwide to advance the development of new, clean energy sources, such as fuel cells and solar cells. For years, we have been systematically replacing substances like heavy metals and solvents with powerful alternatives, such as water-based or ultraviolet-curing products and hotmelt adhesives. In this way, and through long-term replacement programs, we help to reduce the burden on the environment caused by solvent emissions and so to increase health protection standards.

Our adhesives developers also use renewable resources to optimize product characteristics. One world-famous example is the Pritt Stick, which is formulated almost entirely from renewable raw materials. The use of renewable resources has a long tradition at Henkel. As early as the 1920s, we produced starch-based adhesives and painter’s glue and wallpaper pastes made from potato flour. Today, cellulose is an important raw material from which we obtain ingredients such as methyl cellulose for wallpaper pastes.