Henkel opens new Application Center for Sports & Fashion solutions in India

Henkel is constantly expanding its global innovation footprint to better adapt to ever-changing market trends. The Application Center in Vellore will be a part of Henkel’s global network of application, product development, and design centers across different countries, including China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. By leveraging this state-of-the-art facility, the company will scale competence for innovation and digitalization, allowing more agility to speed up time-to-market.  

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Rajat Agarwal, Global Head of Lifestyle at Henkel Adhesive Technologies, said: “We are committed to improving leather and footwear industry with high-impact, sustainable solutions. We have placed a particular focus on sustainability in the Indian market, and our investment is aligned with the goals of the Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme ‏(IFLDP). With novel solutions, we enable customers to achieve sustainability targets and purposeful growth. This new center will further enable us to support the development of the footwear sector in terms of productivity, employment, and sustainability. This will ultimately contribute to India’s economic upgrading.”

Driving innovation through leading technologies and facilities

The sports industry currently faces three major challenges – increasing demands for more sustainable production processes, rising labor costs, and production safety. Henkel enables customers to address these challenges with a diverse technology portfolio that includes solutions of toluene-free, water-based, PUR hot melt automation.

The new Application Center displays Henkel’s industry-leading solutions including advanced facilities and machines that facilitate testing and trials. It has future-oriented projects already in the pipeline. The center offers a platform for labs and factories to exchange technologies and fosters ideation and validation.

Accelerating the sports industry with ESG and driving purposeful growth

With the purpose of ‘Pioneers at Heart for the Good of Generations’, Henkel endeavors to take initiatives across the realm of Environmental, Social, and Governance ‏(ESG) to drive purposeful growth for the industry. Amid Industry 4.0 and digitalization transformation, the footwear sector demands a higher quality labor force. Together with India’s Government and academies, Henkel will roll out further workforce development projects to equip personnel with automation expertise and a future-oriented mindset, promoting a skilled and world-leading workforce ecosystem for the industry, which will add impetus to local employment.

As Henkel continues to drive innovative solutions, the company has also defined the intention of sustainable fashion – to reduce the impact on the environment and enrich the value of footwear and apparel. With its vision “Less Taken, More Given,” the Sports and Fashion team at Henkel Adhesive Technologies is dedicated to creating value for the environment and society with industry-leading sustainable solutions. Henkel will continue working more closely with industry partners, combining its expertise and experience to create long-lasting advantages and meet future needs.