Simone Bagel-Trah, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and of the Shareholders’ Committee at Henkel, presented the awards to the winning teams from each of the company’s three business sectors at a ceremony at Henkel headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany.  “Smart innovations that are successful in the marketplace are vital to the existence of our company,” she said during the presentation. She also noted that good ideas are plentiful at Henkel, given the large number of applications for the Fritz Henkel Award from which the judges made their selections.

The winning projects for 2009 are:

Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets
An all-in-one laundry solution has taken the American laundry market by storm. Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets contain detergent, softener and anti-static to prevent the build-up of static in fabrics during the drier cycle.

Essential Color and Essensity
Offering a true breakthrough in permanent hair coloration, these two colorant lines have a high percentage of natural-based ingredients, ensuring long-lasting color intensity, superb gray coverage and optimal care without any use of ammonia.

Technomelt Supra and Coolmelt
With the revolutionary new product range further upgrading these packaging adhesives, Henkel is able to help its industrial customers to operate more efficiently, reduce overall cost and protect the environment. With Coolmelt, adhesive consumption is reduced by up to 20 percent, while Technomelt Supra offers a staggering savings of up to 30 percent.

The presentation of the Fritz Henkel Award coincides with “Henkel Innovation Day,” a day that reminds employees of the importance of innovation to the company’s success.  A third of Henkel’s sales today are being generated from products less than three years old.

Henkel in North America:
Henkel markets a wide range of well-known consumer and industrial brands in North America, including Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergents, Right Guard® antiperspirants, got2b® hair gels, and Loctite® adhesives.

Henkel has been committed to making people's lives easier, better and more beautiful for more than 130 years. A Fortune Global 500 and Germany's most admired company according to a recent Fortune survey, Henkel offers strong brands and technologies in three areas of competence: Home Care, Personal Care and Adhesive Technologies. Each day, more than 52,000 employees in 125 countries are dedicated to fulfilling Henkel's claim “A Brand like a Friend”. In fiscal 2008, Henkel generated sales of $20.8 billion and adjusted operating profit of $2.1 billion.