Henkel North American Consumer Goods

Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut.^[2][3][4] It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products and is a subsidiary of multinational company Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Henkel Consumer Goods Inc.).^[5]

Henkel Corporation

Trade name	Henkel North American Consumer Goods
Formerly	Armour-Dial Inc. (1967–1985) The Dial Corporation (1985–2017)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Consumer brands, beauty products, and laundry care
Founded	December 1967; 56 years ago (1967-12)
Headquarters	Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Products	Persil, Dial, Purex, Renuzit, Soft Scrub, Snuggle, Sun Products and Schwarzkopf Professional.
Number of employees	9,000^[1]
Parent	Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Website	www.henkel-northamerica.com

Dial began as a brand of deodorant soap manufactured by Armour and Company, a Chicago, Illinois, meatpacking firm, and through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, emerged by the 2000s as a stand-alone personal-care and household-cleaning products company. Henkel acquired The Dial Corporation in 2004.^[6] Dial soap remains one of the company's major brands.

History

Dial was the first antibacterial soap introduced in the United States. It was developed by chemists from Armour and Company and introduced in the Chicago market in 1948. Armour had been producing soap since 1888, first as "Armour Family Soap."^[7] Armour's soap was made from tallow, a by-product of the meat production process. The name Dial was chosen because the soap advertised "'round-the-clock" protection against the odor caused by perspiration. Demand for this new soap exceeded expectations due to its deodorant effectiveness, its non-medicinal clover-like smell and bright golden yellow color. The brand was rolled out nationally in 1949, and in time became the leading deodorant soap brand in the United States.

Armour-Dial, Inc. (1967–1985)

Because of the popularity and strong sales of Dial soap, fueled by magazine, radio, and television advertising, Armour's consumer products business was incorporated as Armour-Dial, Inc. in 1967. In 1970, The Greyhound Corporation purchased Armour and Company (including Armour-Dial, Inc.) for $400 million as part of a diversification strategy and relocated its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona, the following year.

 

A bright-orange sticker created and distributed by Phillips for one of his direct action campaigns against Armour Dial

James F. Phillips (November 20, 1930 – October 3, 2001) was an American environmental activist known in the Chicago area during the 1960s for his environmental direct action under the pseudonym The Fox. Phillips discovered Armour Dial (Henkel Corporation) had been polluting Mill Creek which emptied into the Fox River, which violated a 1962 law that limited the amount of chemicals companies could dump into the surrounding water. Phillips created stickers issuing warnings that read "Armour Dial Kills our Water" or "Armour Dial Pollutes our air". He organized a group to travel to supermarkets around the United States and put these stickers on bars of Dial soap. Mike Royko, a Pulitzer Prize winning Chicago newspaper columnist, called Phillips's attack "the most ambitious anti pollution prank of his colorful career." The prank was so successful, it started an independent boycott of all Armour-Dial products. Phillips's seven-year battle with Armour Dial led to the state of Illinois suing Armour Dial's Montgomery plant for violating Illinois pollution standards.^[8]

The Dial Corporation (1985–1995)

In 1985 Greyhound acquired the consumer products business of Purex Industries, Inc.,^[9] which was combined with Armour-Dial to form The Dial Corporation.

In 1988, Greyhound acquired the Boraxo, Borateem and 20 Mule Team Borax brands from U.S. Borax.^[10]

To reflect the parent company's new focus after the sale of Greyhound Lines, Greyhound was renamed Greyhound Dial Corporation in 1990^[11] and renamed again, to The Dial Corp^[12] the following year. After the parent company was renamed The Dial Corp, the Dial consumer business was known as The Dial Corp Consumer Products Group.

Greyhound also acquired Breck Shampoo from Shulton in 1990^[13] and Renuzit from S. C. Johnson & Son in 1993.^[14]

The new Dial Corporation (1996–2017)

In late 1995, parent company The Dial Corp announced its intention to split the company and spin off the Dial consumer products business. After the spin off, Dial's now former parent company was renamed Viad Corp, consisting of the service businesses. The Dial consumer business was reborn as the new Dial Corporation, relocating its corporate offices to Scottsdale, Arizona, adjacent to its long-time research and development facility. Under new CEO, Malcolm Jozoff, a former P&G executive,^[15] the new Dial Corporation underwent major layoffs in the fall of 1996 and a series of financially disastrous acquisitions the following four years.^[16][17][18]

In 1997, Dial sold the Brillo business to Church & Dwight.^[19]

Between 1999 and 2000, Dial formed two joint-ventures with German company Henkel. The first, Dial/Henkel LLC, was established in 1999 which introduced Purex Advanced laundry detergent and acquired Custom Cleaner home dry cleaning products. The second joint venture company, Dial/Henkel Mexico S.A. de C.V. was established for operations in Mexico. By 2002, both ventures were discontinued because of losses and Dial sold its stake in the Mexico venture to Henkel.^[20]

In 2000, Jozoff resigned and was replaced by Herbert Baum^[21] with a mandate from the board of directors to find a suitable buyer for the company.^[22] That same year, Dial acquired Coast soap and Zout stain remover.^[23]

In December 2003, Dial was acquired by Henkel for $2.9 billion.^[24] As a consequence of Henkel's acquisition of Dial, Henkel divested its 29% stake in The Clorox Company for $2.84 billion in cash and assets, which included the Soft Scrub and Combat brands.^[25]

In 2006, Dial acquired the Right Guard, Soft & Dri and Dry Idea deodorant brands from Procter & Gamble for $420 million.^[26]

On March 1, 2006, Dial completed the sale of its food business for $183 million to Pinnacle Foods.^[27] The food business produces shelf-stable canned meat products (such as potted meat and Vienna sausages) and ready meals under the Armour Star brand, had sales of approximately $230 million in fiscal 2005.^[28]

In 2012, Henkel sold Dial's Coast, Pure & Natural and Soft & Dri brands to Brynwood Partners' High Ridge Brands for an undisclosed amount.^[29]

In 2016, Henkel acquired laundry detergent manufacturer Sun Products for $3.6 billion.^[30]

In July 2017, Dial relocated its headquarters from Scottsdale, Arizona^[31][32] to Stamford, Connecticut in order to consolidate its operations with Sun Products and be closer to parent Henkel's North American headquarters (Henkel Corporation) in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. After consolidation, the business was renamed Henkel North American Consumer Goods in 2018.

Henkel Corporation (2018–present)

In June 2021, Henkel sold the Right Guard and Dry Idea deodorant brands to Thriving Brands LLC.^[33]

Brands

Henkel's Consumer Goods brands include:

• all (laundry detergent)
• Boraxo (cleaning products)
• Breck (hair care)
• Combat (pest control)^[34]
• Dial (soap)
• göt2b (hair care)
• Kenra (hair care)
• Persil (laundry detergent)
• Purex (laundry detergent)
• Renuzit (air freshener)
• Schwarzkopf (hair care)
• Soft Scrub (cleaning products)
• Smooth n' Shine (hair care)
• Snuggle (fabric softner)
• Sunlight (cleaning products)
• Sun Products (cleaning products)
• Surf (laundry detergent) (North America)
• Tone (body soap)
• 20 Mule Team Borax (cleaning products)

References

1. "Local Presence".
2. Henkel. "Moving in: Henkel's North American Consumer Goods headquarters". www.henkel.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
3. Disha (2021-07-23). "An investment for life: Henkel North America continues legacy of scholarship programs". Cross Barriers. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
4. "Henkel North America Continues Commitment to Educate the Nex". www.csrwire.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
5. "Henkel North American Consumer Products Headquarters / will bruder+PARTNERS". ArchDaily. 2011-05-28. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
6. Defalco, Beth (16 December 2003). "Dial on global footing with Henkel purchase". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Associated Press.
7. Lau, Karen Y. (2007). Allen, Gary J.; Albala, Ken (eds.). The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries. ABC-CLIO. p. 34. ISBN 978-0313337253. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
8. Hoekstra, Dave (6 December 2001). "Who Was That Masked Man?".
9. Hicks, Jonathan (22 February 1985). "Greyhound to buy Purex Division". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
10. Storch, Charles (25 February 1988). "20 Mule Team gets a new driver". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
11. "A New Name: Greyhound Dial". The New York Times. 28 February 1990. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
12. "Greyhound Dial Is Now Dial Corp". The New York Times. 6 March 1991. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
13. Lev, Michael (11 September 1990). "Cyanamid completes Shulton sale". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
14. "Dial to acquire Renuzit air freshener business". United Press International. 11 February 1993. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
15. "Dial picks chief for its new unit". The New York Times. 15 May 1996. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
16. Lubove, Seth (28 December 1998). "Cleaning up". Forbes. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
17. "Dial dishes out warning". CNNMoney. 10 March 2000. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
18. "Dial Corp. said it has sold its Sarah Michaels and Freeman..." Chicago Tribune. 29 August 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
19. "Dial sells brands to Church & Dwight". Phoenix Business Journal. 10 July 1997. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
20. "Did Dial take Henkel to the cleaners?". ICIS Chemical Business. 23 January 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
21. Winter, Greg (9 August 2000). "2 officers resign as Dial says profits will be off". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
22. "Soap, meat company says its for sale". Chicago Tribune. 4 August 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
23. "Dial spends $116.8 million on 3 businesses". The New York Times. 17 August 2000. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
24. Neff, Jack (15 December 2003). "Henkel acquires Dial Corp for $2.9 billion". Advertising Age. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
25. "Henkel selling back Clorox to pay for Dial". The New York Times. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
26. Neff, Jack (21 February 2006). "Henkel buys Right Guard from P&G for $420 million". Advertising Age. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
27. "Pinnacle Foods Group acquires Armour dry food products". Food Ingredients First. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
28. Hogan, Donna (3 March 2006). "Dial sells Armour Foods business for $183 million". East Valley Tribune.
29. "Henkel sells Coast, Soft & Dri, LA Looks and more". Happi. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
30. "Henkel buys laundry care firm Sun Products in $3.6 billion deal". Reuters. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
31. Wiles, Russ (5 October 2016). "Parent of Dial to move jobs, legacy from Arizona". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
32. Sunnucks, Mike (31 May 2017). "Exclusive: German Giant Henkel Selling Dial Headquarters in Scottsdale". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
33. Seely, David (August 25, 2021). "Dallas' Trive Capital Forms Thriving Brands, Acquires Right Guard and Dry Idea From Germany's Henkel". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
34. "Combat".

External links

• Official website