The Hakle journey through time begins in 1928 with Hans Klenk, an entrepreneur and inventor who founded a toilet paper factory in his home town of Ludwigsburg. He launched the first toilet paper roll with a guaranteed 1000 sheets on the German market. Hans Klenk worked tirelessly on improved recipes that made everyday life easier and provided an individual sense of hygiene – the first revolution in toilet hygiene.
In 1954, the company expanded and moved from Swabia to the Rhine to Mainz, where the Hakle roll with the soft tissue paper had been produced since 1959.None other than the later great Rhineland-Palatinate cabaret artist Herbert Bonewitz joined the company as an advertising assistant in the same year. As an editor and graphic artist he designed the Hakle in-house magazine “Die Rolle”. From 1968 to 1983 he worked as an authorised signatory and advertising manager for Hakle.
In 1972 Hakle launched the first 3-ply toilet paper, followed by the first 4-ply toilet paper in 1982.
The second revolution in hygiene in Germany was achieved in 1977 with the invention of Hakle Feucht. In the following decades, Hakle Feucht became a generic term for moist toilet paper and became synonymous with an entire product category for the consumer. In 1999, the then owner group moved Hakle production up the Rhine to Düsseldorf-Reisholz, to a paper production site that had already existed since 1905.
After an eventful history, Hakle returned to family ownership in 2019.Managing director Volker Jung and another partner continue the 90-year-long pursuit of innovations in hygiene and well-being. However, a challenge has been added – a convincing use of the scarce resources of nature. Thus, Hakle manufactures sustainable products today and in the future, which are characterised by their biodegradability, recyclability and the use of alternative renewable raw materials – without sacrificing the comfort of care.