Production & Logistics
Henkel operates production sites in 57 countries. We also have administration, research and marketing sites, warehouses, and logistics centers in many countries. As a local employer and contractor, we stimulate the economic development of many regions. Efficient and modern production sites are a prerequisite for the production of high-quality branded products. The continuous improvement of our processes and 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.
Worldwide Standards
Our safety, health and environment standards (SHE Standards) and our Social Standards apply to all of our sites worldwide. We carry out regular audits to ensure that our standards are properly implemented. The audits are a key instrument for identifying risks and potential improvements, and play a crucial role in the worldwide transfer of knowledge. To gain an integrated view of our regions, we are steadily expanding our audits to cover subcontractors and logistics centers as well.
We have our environmental management systems at the individual sites externally certified, if this yields competitive advantages. At the end of 2009, about 58 percent of the production volume came from sites certified to the international ISO 14001 environmental management standard.
Logistics
Our logistics planning is tailored to the nature of the products to be transported. For relatively bulky products, we reduce the transport mileage and the environmental burden by maintaining regional production sites. This applies especially to our Laundry & Home Care products, a well as to parts of the product portfolio of our Cosmetics and Consumer and Craftsmen Adhesives. More compact products with a low specific weight make fewer demands on transport, so we produce them centrally in large quantities wherever possible. Our instant and super glues, for examples, are produced at just a few production sites worldwide.
Continuous Improvements
Our production sites introduce individual measures and programs to respond to the challenges in the regions and align the company to local needs. The following are a number of exemplary projects implemented at site level through which the respective sites contribute to our focal areas.
Optimization of the adhesives production process through installation of a new extruder unit for mixing adhesives. Result: Reduction of 30 percent in the plant’s energy consumption.
Modification of two processes at the site for producing dishwashing detergents, glass cleaners and laundry detergents. Residual solids in the wastewater from the production process are now separated out and dewatered in a new filtration system. The reclaimed process water is then fed back into the production process. Secondly, installation of a new treatment plant to reduce the organic load in the wastewater from sanitation facilities. The treated wastewater can now be used for the cooling tower and for watering the greenery. Result: The annual savings amount to about eight percent.
Optimization of the powder detergents production to make the most energy-intensive stage - the spray drying towers - more efficient. Result: Using only a very low proportion of spray dried raw materials in our detergents has reduced gas consumption at the site by 25 percent.
Excellence in Site Services (EISS) is one of our worldwide efficiency programs. Since 2006, it has helped us to increase the productivity, quality and safety of our sites, while simultaneously reducing resource consumption, waste, and maintenance costs. Comprehensive analyses and simulations often provide a basis for local improvement measures. As a result of the EISS program, we have identified 731 individual measures at our sites worldwide, in the fields of energy, water, waste, building management, safety, health and the environment, and plant logistics.
