Improving our performance, reducing resource consumption
Henkel has production sites in 57 countries. We also have administration, research and marketing and sales sites, warehouses, and logistics centers in many countries. As a local employer and contractor, we are thus able to stimulate the economic development of various regions. Efficient and modern production sites are a prerequisite for the production of high-quality brands and technologies. The continuous improvement of our processes and site structures, as well as the reduction of resource consumption and environmental burdens, are an important part of our promise of quality. This includes the worldwide transfer of knowledge and new technologies.

Company-wide steering instruments and regional action programs
Comprehensive analyses and simulations are the basis for company-wide programs that increase productivity, quality and safety, while simultaneously reducing resource consumption, waste, and maintenance costs. The diversity of our products makes varying demands on our production processes. For example, fundamentally different processes are needed to make tile adhesives, household cleaners, and skin creams, and these processes also differ widely in terms of their water and energy consumption. The experience and activities of our individual plants are therefore channeled into the company-wide efficiency programs. In fact, process-specific ideas and the creativity of employees often make major contributions to the achievement of our objectives.

Since 2006, we have systematically carried out analyses of the processes in our eight cosmetics plants as part of our Total Productive Management Plus program. The aim is to identify losses in the various production processes and the supply chain, so that we can continuously increase added value. On the basis of detailed analyses which were carried out at the start of the program, our sites specify actions and quantified targets each year. To achieve these objectives, we rely on the process-specific experience and the ideas and creativity of our employees. To involve all employees as unbureaucratically as possible in the process of continuous improvement, “blue cards” have been placed at clearly visible locations in all cosmetics plants. Our employees can use these cards to submit suggestions for improving processes.