Four business areas comprise Adhesive Technologies: Packaging & Consumer Goods, representing 32% of the segment’s 2021 sales; Craftsmen, Construction & Professional, 31%; Automotive & Metals, 22%; and Electronics & Industrials, 15%. Each segment achieved double-digit organic sales increases for the year.

According to a company source, Henkel is expecting organic sales in Adhesive Technologies to increase by 8-10% in 2022. For the first quarter, sales rose by 11.6% to reach over €2.6 billion (~ $2.8 billion).

Adhesive Technologies employs approximately 24,651 worldwide, representing 47% of Henkel’s total workforce. The business operated 131 global production sites in 2021 (down from 2020’s 133). In 2022, Adhesive Technologies plans to open a new plant in South Korea focusing on applications in the electronics market, as well as a new hot-melt adhesives facility in Mexico for the Packaging & Consumer Goods business.

Henkel’s R&D investment in the Adhesive Technologies business increased about 3% in 2021 over the prior year, reaching approximately €300 million (~ $320.5 million). A new Inspiration Center in Düsseldorf, Germany, began operating in 2021. The €130 million (~ $138.9 million) facility includes an innovation center housing more than 30 laboratories, as well as a global customer center. Construction has begun on a similar center in Shanghai for the Asia-Pacific region.

“In 2022, the Adhesive Technologies business sector will strengthen its focus on executing towards its sustainability ambition to further drive a real impact and to lead by example as well as to lead by technology,” the company source says. “Therefore, we aim to expand our innovation capabilities on technology development for novel solutions and services that enable emission reduction and circularity among our large customer base across industries—sustainability will remain a key driver of innovation in all markets Henkel serves.”

Listen to Chris Whelan of Henkel discuss mass timber and its potential impact on green construction below:

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