Henkel and Proteus seek better detergent enzymes

The Henkel Group, Duesseldorf, Germany, Europe's detergent and consumer products company and French biotech firm Proteus SA began a collaborative research program to improve enzymes used in detergents. Henkel plans to use the improved enzymes to enhance its products for laundary and home care applications. Proteus will evolve the performance of commodity enzymes and develop the biocatalysts to carry out different tasks. The detergent enzymes account for a big chunk of the enzymes that the major industrial enzyme producers sell in the world market. Henkel with total sale of $ 12 billion in 2000 has more than 60,000 employees and is the biggest producer of chemicals made from natural oils and fats.