The Henkel CEE Academy, the company’s professional training and further education vehicle for employees of Henkel Central Eastern Europe (Henkel CEE), has been in existence since the year 2001. In 2008, the new focus is on the issue of “diversity“. A further innovation: leadership seminars with peer coaching.

•    Strong sales growth of 11.4 percent 
•    Organic sales growth: plus 6.1 percent
•    Adjusted operating profit (EBIT): plus 7.8 percent   
•    Sales in growth regions: plus 19.5 percent

Dieter Knoll (45), a graduate of the Vienna University of Economics, has been named the new President of Henkel Ukraine, coordinating the business operations of the fast-growing subsidiary of Henkel CEE. Previously, Dieter Knoll served as General Manager of Henkel Ukraine for three years, with responsibility for the detergents and cleansers segment.

The Multinational company Henkel, which is a main sponsor of the chain of beach volleyball tournaments M-tel Beach Masters, starts a charity project in favour of the children clinic at Alexandrovska hospital. The campaign will cover the rest four tournaments and will help the oldest children hospital in Bulgaria, which urgently needs repairs of the building and new medical equipment.

The “Henkel Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament 2008“ will begin on June 16th in Paris. Whereas the ball is being dribbled down the fields in Austria and Switzerland during the European Soccer Championship 2008, it will fly over the beach volleyball net in Paris from June 16 - 22, 2008. More than 130 teams from 40 countries will compete against each other. The matches are not only important to the athletes for the prize money involved, but as part of the qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Peking. Henkel will be present during the entire tournament promoting its corporate brand name and seven product brands. In addition to the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament in Paris, Henkel has also been sponsoring the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria on Lake Wörthersee.

Starting on June 7, 2008, close to a million soccer fans are expected to descend upon football stadiums in Austria and Switzerland. Henkel has prepared a special fan guide in three languages in order to enable the sports-mad guests to have a particularly pleasant and comfortable stay and eliminate language barriers before they cause a problem. The Henkel Fan Guide accompanies soccer fans through 21 different practical scenes in Vienna, from their arrival, searching for a hotel, cheering on their favorite team at the stadium  to eating at the hot dog stand, flirting and departing the city. Every scene contains 10 suitable expressions – in “Austrian“, German and English to make sure people are able to communicate effectively in and around the stadiums.

Henkel is the new sponsor of the M-Tel Beach Masters in Bulgaria. With Henkel, the young tournament, which only takes place for the second time this year, has an experienced sponsor supporting the event. Henkel has been sponsoring Beach Volleyball Grand Slam tournaments in Paris, France and Klagenfurt, Austria, for many years. The tremendous success of Henkel’s involvement in these two events was the main reason underlying the company’s decision to extend its sponsoring to the M-Tel Beach Masters in Bulgaria in 2008. The M-Tel Beach Masters competition commenced on May 23rd, and will continue in five different Bulgarian cities until September 7, 2008. The initial tournament from May 23-25, 2008 in Plovdiv was already a major success.

Thomas Geitner (53), who has been a member of the Henkel Management Board since March 1, 2008, will assume responsibility for the Adhesives Technologies business sector, effective mid-June. As already announced in February 2008, Alois Linder (60), Executive Vice President Adhesives Technologies, will resign from his office at his own request. 

• Robust organic sales growth of 3.3 percent
• Operating profit (EBIT) adjusted for foreign exchange: plus 2.5 percent
• Earnings per preferred share (EPS): plus 6.3 percent
• Growth regions: 16.2 percent organic sales growth

What makes consumers tick in the CEE region? Why must products for the Czech Republic, Turkey or Russia be designed differently? Andrea Mislik, head of the market research department at Henkel CEE, knows the answers.

Effective the end of Henkel’s 2008 Annual General Meeting, Kasper Rorsted is the new Chairman of the Management Board. Having reached the internally agreed age of retirement, his predecessor, Ulrich Lehner, resigned as of the same date. Lehner was appointed Chairman back in May 2000 and, with a brief interruption, had been with Henkel since 1981. He will, however, remain closely associated with the company as a member of its Shareholders’ Committee.

Today's Annual General Meeting of Henkel KGaA in Düsseldorf provided around 2500 shareholders with an overview of the company's development and performance in fiscal 2007.

Henkel continues its successful partnership with off-road racing as Official Partner to the Central Europe Rally: The company's Loctite® and Teroson power brands will again give convincing proof of their performance.

Henkel has taken over from Akzo Nobel the Adhesives and Electronic Materials businesses previously owned by National Starch. “This acquisition represents a milestone in our 130-plus-year corporate history and points Henkel clearly in the direction of further profitable growth,” said Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Management Board of Henkel KGaA. The acquisition was preceded by the carve-out of the businesses to be acquired by Henkel and the requisite antitrust and anticompetitive investigations by the relevant authorities.

Henkel Central Eastern Europe (Henkel CEE) succeeded in increasing 2007 revenues by 17.7 percent, to 2.214 billion euros. The upcoming year 2008 will feature extensive investments in the CEE region amounting to 150 million euros. “These investments will enable us to continue our dynamic growth path in the third decade of our company’s history”, says Günter Thumser, President of Henkel CEE.

The film world has its Oscar, and Henkel has its Fritz Henkel Award for Innovation: the highest honor conferred on Company employees. Every year, this award is presented to teams composed of researchers, product developers and marketing experts who have achieved outstanding market success with forward-looking products. This year’s award ceremony took place on Henkel Innovation Day. Celebrated for the first time on February 14 at all Company sites in the 125 countries around the world in which Henkel operates, the global motto for this day is “Let’s innovate!”

Alois Linder (60), Executive Vice President Adhesives Technologies will resign from his office as member of the Henkel Management Board at his own request effective September 30, 2008. Thomas Geitner (52) has been appointed his successor. Geitner will join the Henkel Management Board effective March 1, 2008 and will assume responsibility for the Adhesives Technologies business sector on October 1, 2008.

Between January 17^th and January 27^th, the attention of Europe's handball fans is likely to turn toward Norway since the best men's European national teams are now due to meet head to head. Henkel's involvement in the sport of handball has a certain tradition and the company will again be present and visible in Norway.

Vienna/Düsseldorf- In line with its global strategy to focus on its core businesses and phase out marginal positions Henkel has sold its industrial water treatment business to BK Giulini, Ludwigshafen, Germany, an affiliate of Israel Chemical Ltd. (ICL).