Henkel: From Laundry Detergent Manufacturer to Global Player

Joachim Scholtyseck

doi:10.17104/9783406830648

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2026
Copyright Year: 2026
ISBN-Print: 978-3-406-83062-4
ISBN-Online: 978-3-406-83064-8
ePub ISBN: 978-3-406-83063-1
Publisher: C.H.BECK Literatur - Sachbuch - Wissenschaft, München
Language: English
Pages: 862
Product Type: Monograph

1. Cover No access
2. Title No access
3. Imprint No access
4. Table of Contents No access
Introduction No access Pages 11 - 20
1. Favorable conditions? Fritz Henkel’s family background No access
2. 1871: A new nation experiencing an economic boom No access
3. 1876 and 1878: Universal detergent, Henkel’s bleaching soda and water glass No access
4. From a small manufactory in Aachen to large-scale industrial production in Holthausen No access
5. A product and marketing revolution: Persil No access
6. Cartels, diversification and wrong economic paths No access
7. Fritz Henkel: A modern patriarch in the late 19th and early 20th centuries No access
8. Everyday affairs of business: Working hours and wages No access
9. Bourgeois lifestyles No access
10. Fritz Henkel Jr. and Hugo Henkel: The sons take on responsibility No access
11. Early foreign business dealings No access
12. The First World War No access
13. Armaments take precedence: Explosives production and forced labor No access
14. Henkel and the end of the German Empire No access
15. New glimmer of hope: The end of rationing and the construction of the Genthin branch factory No access
16. Henkel crises: Hyperinflation and the Ruhr occupation of 1923–24 No access
17. The competition for Thompson and Sunlicht: Harbingers of the disputes between Henkel and Unilever No access
18. The battle for Persil’s trademark rights No access
19. A golden age? Henkel in the years of temporary stabilization No access
20. A significant diversification: Adhesives at Henkel No access
21. 1930 – the annus horribilis No access
22. UMA as the holding company for Henkel’s foreign companies No access
23. The long road to its first international venture: Henkel’s foreign business until the mid-1930s No access
1. High-tech products for synthetic processes: Dehydag and Böhme Fettchemie No access
2. Henkel and the rise of National Socialism No access
3. The National Socialist “economic miracle” No access
4. Autarky and the “fat gap” No access
5. Whaling No access
6. Day-to-day operations in the Third Reich No access
7. Werner Lüps and the sidelining of Hugo Henkel in 1938 No access
8. Financial wizardry: The Syndicate Fund No access
9. Production during the Second World War No access
10. Henkel and Degussa: Business partners in troubled waters No access
11. “Aryanization” No access
12. Revenge for the loss of rights to Persil: The battle with Unilever for dominance on the continent during the Second World War No access
13. The power struggle of 1942 and the death of Werner Lüps No access
14. Forced labor during the Second World War: An overview No access
15. Forced labor at Henkel No access
16. Henkel during the disintegration of the Third Reich No access
17. 1945 and the end of the war: An uncertain new beginning No access
18. The end of the family business? The company under trusteeship No access
19. Dismantling? No access
20. The return of the family to the company No access
21. Denazification and “coming to terms with the past” No access
1. Aftermath: The liquidation of the UMA and the Syndicate Fund No access
2. Henkel in the “economic miracle”: From the “completion of our resurrection” to the Persil crisis No access
3. The success of synthetic laundry detergents No access
4. Konrad Henkel: Family leadership in the early Federal Republic of Germany No access
5. “Applied chemistry”: Henkel, Degussa, Metallgesellschaft No access
6. Detergents in global competition No access
7. Not just Persil: Pril, Imi, P3 and the cleaning products for industry No access
8. Cosmetic products: From TheraChemie to Schwarzkopf to beauty care No access
9. A sleeping giant: Adhesives in the second half of the 20th century No access
10. Company & family: IPO, shareholders’ committee, share-pooling agreement and generational succession No access
11. The special case of the German Democratic Republic No access
12. Carve-out of the Chemical Products division No access
13. Social issues affecting Henkel in the new democratic era No access
14. Managers in power: The end of patriarchy No access
15. Networks, lobbying and the party donations scandal No access
16. Corporate identity and mission statements as new driving forces No access
17. From “Persil Girl” to LGBTQIA+: Gender issues at Henkel No access
18. Not just environmental protection: Sustainable business practices No access
19. Punch cards and a “smart factory”: Research, digitalization and logistics No access
1. Germany, Europe or the world? No access
2. Western, Southern and Northern Europe No access
3. Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe No access
4. North America No access
5. Latin America No access
6. The Asia-Pacific region No access
7. India, the Middle East and the African continent No access
Henkel in the 21st century: Adhesive Technologies, Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care brands for the world No access Pages 599 - 614
Conclusion No access Pages 615 - 626
1. Acknowledgements No access
2. Abbreviations No access
3. Notes No access
4. List of sources No access
5. Bibliography No access
6. Image credits No access
7. Index of persons No access
8. Index of companies No access
About the Book No access Pages 861 - 861
Vita No access Pages 862 - 862