Governor Rell Announces Henkel to Expand Presence in Connecticut
Relocation of Corporate Offices from Pennsylvania Will Create 80 New Jobs
Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that Henkel of America Inc. will relocate its corporate offices from Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania to Rocky Hill. The relocation will create 80 new jobs in the state. Henkel currently employs 355 people in Connecticut.
“Given the growing uncertainty about the economy, bringing new jobs to Connecticut is more important to than ever, and the fact that an international company of Henkel’s stature has made the decision to grow their operations in Connecticut speaks volumes about our business environment,” Governor Rell said. “This project exemplifies our message that Connecticut is open for business and will aggressively pursue partnership opportunities with companies that will create jobs, generate capital investment and strengthen the local and regional economies.
“Henkel is already a valued member of our business community, and today’s announcement just reaffirms and strengthens the company’s commitment to our great state,” the Governor said. “I applaud the efforts of Henkel’s management team in making today’s announcement a reality.”
Henkel will move 80 members of its headquarters group, including corporate accounting, human resources, legal, and chief administrative officer positions, to its existing Rocky Hill facility. These relocations are expected to take place by August 2008.
“Relocating our corporate offices to Rocky Hill makes sense for our growing business in North America,” said John Knudson, President of Henkel of America. “The Eastern time zone location makes it easier to communicate with our global headquarters in Germany. The Rocky Hill site has easy access to I-91 and Bradley International Airport and the beautiful setting, with room for expansion, were also important factors in our decision.”
Proposed state assistance for the project includes an $825,000 loan for renovations and leasehold improvements to Henkel’s existing facility and the purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment to accommodate the relocated employees.
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 operates in three business areas – home care, personal care and adhesives technologies – and ranks among the Fortune Global 500 companies. In fiscal 2007 Henkel generated sales of 13.074 billion Euros and operating profit of 1.344 billion Euros.
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