Henkel celebrates 100 years of Adhesive Technologies

After the end of the First World War, the occupation of the Rhine and Ruhr threatened to cause a shortage of adhesives at the company’s home base in Düsseldorf, which were needed to seal the own product packaging for detergents. In 1922, Henkel  started to develop and produce paper, cardboard and packaging adhesives for its own use. With the construction and start-up of its own adhesives factory, the company also began selling adhesive products to neighboring companies on June 26, 1923. The first products included the painter’s glue Mala and the wallpaper paste Tapa, both based on potato flour.

Other inventions include the first Pritt glue stick in 1969, which took inspiration from the twist mechanism of lipstick and revolutionized papercrafts for more than 50 years. In 2001, Pritt was given a “Space-Proof” seal of quality and was sent to the International Space Station.

In the industrial sector, adhesive solutions from Henkel have transformed production processes and product designs in automotive, electronics, packaging and many more. The technologies are designed to provide tailored functionalities that include strong bond, sealing, coating, conductivity of heat and electricity, recyclability and more. With the acquisition of the Loctite Corporation in 1997 Adhesive Technologies successfully integrated capabilities to move the business to a new level. Today, Loctite is the world’s largest adhesives brand.

“The central focus of Adhesive Technologies’ innovation activities today is on developing sustainable solutions for its customers. The business unit is consistently working on products that enable resource efficiency in production and during use throughout the entire life cycle and that are based on renewable or recycled raw materials. In addition, Henkel offers a growing portfolio for the recyclability of, for example, packaging or consumer goods and the repairability of everyday products,” states a press release.