50 years of PNZ
From backyard startup to sustainability-manufactory.
Today, we are one of the leading suppliers of environmentally friendly and sustainable wood protection and wood care products as well as silicate wall paints. Our manufactory from the Altmühltal Nature Park in the heart of Bavaria is holistically committed to sustainability, is a certified B Corporation and has a CO2-neutral, Scope 3 certified supply chain – from regional raw material extraction to production and all logistics.
Founded in 1970 by Peter Noack in the small town of Zandt near our current headquarters in Kipfenberg, we have since been located at what everyone in Kipfenberg considers the geographic center of Bavaria.
The PNZ company began with Peter Noack using oil from the local linseed oil mill to make functional wood coatings. Almost 100% natural products that could be used to oil floors and table tops to keep the wood fresh for a long time. And when these sold well, they developed oils for outdoor use that were not only easy to apply, but especially weather resistant. This was followed by a not quite typical German middle class story.
Our timeline
- 1982 PNZ-Produkte is founded as a GmbH
- 1986 Harmful aromatic solvents are fully removed from our products and substituted with dearomatised hydrocarbons
- 1990 Development of an ammonia-free wax stain
- 1992 Crucible water circuit installed to save drinking water
- 1993 Heating system updated, reducing heating oil consumption by 20%
- 1995 Launch of solvent-free products such as:
- PNZ Wood stain
- PNZ-Impregnation primer W210
- PNZ-Wood wax W
- PNZ-Repair paste
- PNZ-Wood oil
- PNZ-Cleaners
- PNZ-Care products
- PNZ-Garden furniture cleaning system
- 1997 Participation in EMAS eco audit
- 1999 Development of Ultra-High-Solid products
- 2004 Structural modernization with facade insulation
- 2005 New filling technology to save resources
- 2008 Expansion to Asia: Malaysia site opened
- 2009 ISO 9001 and 14001 certification
- 2010 All floor oils certified low-emission by AgBB
- 2011 Launch of VOC-free/low-VOC floor oil group
- 2012 Full transition to TVP; products now developed permanently under this label
- 2013 Premium Private Label program redefined
- 2016 First major cobalt- and oxime-free research funded by German Ministry of Economics
- 2017 Joint venture with Techno Coatings, Vietnam
- 2018 Business restructuring to improve service
- 2019 Certified as B Corporation (115 points)
- 2020 Launch of PNZ-Oil (95% renewable raw materials, cobalt and oxime free)
- 2021 PNZ Packaging Index developed for footprint analysis
- 2022 PNZ Joint Venture with Foshan PNZ Ecotech Co.,Ltd (PNZ China)
- 2023 Recertified as B Corporation; ranked 2nd in Germany
- 2023 Winner of German Sustainability Award 2024
Funded research:
- 2013 Water-based floor oil for all types of coatings (AiF)
- 2016 Cobalt-free products research (ZIM)
- 2017 Almost solvent-free 2K oil (ZIM)
- 2019 Solvent-free exterior oil with 95% solids (ZIM)
- 2021 Eco-Hub data platform project with Fraunhofer IPA (ongoing)
- 2022 Cradle-to-Cradle certification for PNZ Oil (ongoing)
- 2022 Carbon to Coatings CO2 material extraction research (Max Planck + Charité Berlin)
- 2023 Wallpaint Without Waste marketing begins
