First start, first victory

Gulph Mills, PA, USA/Düsseldorf, Germany. In a fast and furious race - it had to be interrupted twice with 14 of the total of 67 laps completed behind the safety car - it was Henkel driver Greg Biffle kept his nerve the best: despite going into a violent spin right at the beginning of the race, he eventually took his Ford Taurus of the Brewco Motorsports team past the checkered flag and into first place.

While this was an exciting race for US motor sport fans, for Henkel it constituted a successful outcome to its endeavor to quickly increase public awareness of its corporate brand in the USA through the use of an effective additional advertising "vehicle". As Ernst Primosch, Vice President Corporate Communications of the Henkel Group commented: "As of this year, North America represents around one quarter of Henkel sales. While in the past we were primarily known for the industrial products and systems from Henkel Technologies, we are now also competing in the consumer markets with our brandname products."

Through its involvement in the popular NASCAR racing series, Henkel intends to achieve fast dissemination of its corporate brand, supported by its already well-know product brands. Henkel is appearing as senior team sponsor at the five majors of the NASCAR series and will be supporting Brewco as co-sponsor in the other 23 races. The sponsorship program is being augmented by customer events and one of the show car programs that are so popular in the USA.

This kind of link-up with motor sport is nothing new for Henkel. For the past eleven years, Henkel subsidiary Loctite has been supporting the Formula One team from McLaren-Mercedes as co-sponsor and provider of high-tech adhesives. Since the beginning of this year's F1 racing season, the Henkel corporate brand with its logo has also been on view on the cars representing the McLaren-Mercedes team.

Primosch: "We are focusing on linking our corporate brand to events that underscore our positioning as an innovative manufacturer of quality and reliable problem-solver."

NASCAR stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The term "stock car" came into popular usage around 1940 when the first race was held involving the kind of production cars that were driven on the roads and could bought from stock at local automobile dealerships. One of the reasons for the popularity of this series is still that the spectators see familiar car brands. They have bodies similar to those of standard production automobiles with which the fans can readily identify. Nowadays the racecars are subject to strict regulations to prevent costs from ballooning out of control. Nevertheless, these vehicles running on usually oval tracks with steeply banked curves, are able to complete race distances of more than 900 km (560 miles) at average speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph).

Photo material is available for download: www.press.henkel.com


About Henkel:
"Henkel - A Brand like a Friend". Henkel is a leader with brands and technologies that make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful. The Henkel Group operates in three strategic business areas - Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesives, Sealants and Surface Treatment. In fiscal 2004 the Henkel Group generated sales of 10.592 billion euros. More than 50,000 employees work for the Henkel Group worldwide. People in 125 countries around the world trust in brands and technologies from Henkel.