At the Grand Slam tournament in Klagenfurt (Austria), the Germans David Klemperer and Eric Koreng finished in a highly creditable second place. In front of a full house, they lost the final to the top favorites Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil. Henkel was present in Klagenfurt as a sponsor of this major beach volleyball event. Alongside the sporting aspects, support for the Henkel Smile program was again especially important. For each hard-fought match ball, 10 euros were donated to Henkel Smile. Thousands of signatures on the Henkel Smile fan tee shirt and six public circuits of the giant fan ball brought in additional donations raising the total sum to 10,000 euros, which will this year be presented to the “Contrast” organization for its therapy training program.

“Henkel actively demonstrates its social commitment in many ways. We have grouped all of Henkel’s worldwide social involvement programs that go beyond our business activities under the Henkel Smile umbrella,” explains Kai von Bargen, Head of Corporate Sponsoring and Corporate Affairs. Henkel has also supported “Contrast” since 2006. This organization enables blind and severely visually impaired children to receive therapy at an early age. As the number of affected children is steadily increasing, so is the need for early support. Henkel Smile helps to ensure that the highly qualified “Contrast” employees receive training and continuing education.

Henkel sponsors sports events throughout the world. Its sponsorship of the popular beach volleyball tournament perfectly fits this concept. Beach volleyball is not only growing in popularity but is regarded as a fair and clean sport. Henkel’s sponsorship mainly took the form of in-stadium advertising, a Henkel Friendship Lounge and a logo on the roof of the VIP area. Klemperer and Koreng’s second place was particularly gratifying, as the Company was able to add its logo to their sport caps at short notice. “They impressed us with their strong team spirit, fair play and sporting ambition. It was soon clear to us that we would like to support them,” says von Bargen. The Company also had its own Henkel Beach in the Trade Village, where it presented its strong Fa, Fewa and Pattex product brands.