July 6, 2015

Sustainable, innovative product testing

Official opening of laboratory in Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia – Henkel focuses on developing sustainable products with environmental benefits. To ensure this, all of its products must be tested before they are launched on the market. Henkel’s existing network of laboratories in Germany, Austria, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Mexico has now expanded to include a new laboratory in Slovakia. 

The Henkel Bratislava laboratory will serve as a testing laboratory for Central and Eastern Europe and the global market, carrying out tests for a majority of existing detergents, dishwashing and cleaning products in the Henkel portfolio.

The new laboratory was officially opened in late June by Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, Corporate Senior Vice President of Laundry & Home Care, Research & Development at Henkel. “The company is a leader in sustainability, developing innovative products and solutions for customers,” he said in his address. “What makes this moment unique is that, for the first time, we decided to launch a new laboratory operating under one roof with a Shared Service Center. I believe that the laboratory in Bratislava has potential for further growth and it will participate in many innovative projects.” 

The wide portfolio of support services provided by the expert Shared Service Center (SSC) in Bratislava now includes physical lab tests, which is a feature that Rudolf Steger, General Manager of Henkel Slovakia and Head of SSC Bratislava appreciates. “Henkel has been active in Slovakia for as many as 24 years now, offering interesting job opportunities for talented people throughout the years. We always strive to launch initiatives that will attract highly-educated and motivated people,” he said. 

Equipped with 32 standardized washing machines, the laboratory is designed to evaluate the performance of different products. Special devices are used to check the stain removal, fiber damage, greying inhibition or inorganic incrustation properties of different textiles. The climate chambers simulate different storage conditions for products. After storage, a variety of parameters related to stability are measured, such as viscosity and pH value.

“Our team of seven chemists is very strongly committed to providing precise results of the performance of our products. Since the beginning of this year, we have managed to wash about 12 tons of textiles and measure more than 112,000 stains,” said Sabine Hochkugler, Head of R&D CEE, Laundry & Home Care.

Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business units: 
Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions, both in the consumer and in the industrial businesses, with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs about 50,000 people and reported sales of 16.4 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of 2.6 billion euros in fiscal 2014. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX.

Photo material is available at http://www.henkel.com/press

Contact	Julie Cruz 	Hanna Philipps
Phone	+49 211 797-8551	+49 211 797-3626
Fax	+49 211 798-4040	+49 211 798-4040
Email	julie.cruz@henkel.com	hanna.philipps@henkel.com
                               	
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA