Today we are one of the leading providers 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 wholly committed to sustainability, is a certified B Corporation, and has a CO2-neutral, Scope 3 certified supply chain - from regional raw material sourcing through production to complete logistics.

Founded in 1970 by Peter Noack in the small town of Zandt near our current company headquarters in Kipfenberg, we have been located ever since at what, in the opinion of everyone from Kipfenberg, is the geographical center of Bavaria.

The PNZ story began when Peter Noack used oil from the local linseed oil mill to create functional wood coatings. Almost 100% natural products that could be used to oil floors and tabletops to keep the wood fresh for longer. And when these sold well, he developed oils for outdoor use that were not only easy to apply but, above all, weather-resistant. What followed was a not entirely typical German Mittelstand success story.

Our Timeline

1982 Establishment of PNZ-Produkte as a GmbH

1986 Complete elimination of health-damaging aromatic solvents from all our products and switch to de-aromatized hydrocarbons.

1990 Development of an ammonia-free wax stain.

1992 Commissioning of the cooling water circuit for our melting kettles to save drinking water.

1993 Renewal of the heating system with state-of-the-art control technology. Reduction of heating oil consumption by 20%.

from 1994 Continuous development and market launch of solvent-free products such as:

• PNZ wood stain
• PNZ primer W210
• PNZ wood wax W
• PNZ repair paste
• PNZ wood oil
• PNZ cleaning products
• PNZ care products
• PNZ garden wood care program

1997 Decision to participate in the EC Eco-Audit.

1999 Development of ultra-high-solid products (solvent-free).

2004 Structural modernization, facade insulation to save heating energy

2005 The switch to modern filling technology enables resource-saving filling of our products.

2008 First steps in Asia: establishment of a mixing facility in Malaysia using German raw materials for the Asian market

2009 Certification to ISO 9001 and 14001, quality and environmental management company principles.

2010 Confirmation of all floor oils as low-emission products under AgBB. Granting of building authority approval for all floor oils by DIBt. Back then that was still newsworthy - today it's standard practice for us.

2011 Development, approval, and establishment of a new VOC-free/low product group of floor oils in the PNZ range.

2012 a true milestone: we stopped developing individual products and switched to TVP (continuous product development). All our products are now permanently under development (see also this post on our blog).

2013 Premium Private Label. Own brands used to be cheap. We fundamentally turned the understanding of own brands on its head ("...after all, your name is on it...") and became the first company in Europe in our segment to offer exclusively top-quality, best-of-class products and ranges for what is today over 700 customers.

2016 We've always done a lot of development and testing. But our first major research contract from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (...) for cobalt- and oxime-free products still makes us especially proud today.

2017 Our joint venture with the Vietnamese wood coating manufacturer Techno Coatings is founded. Environmentally friendly oils and coating systems are also becoming increasingly important in Asia, and Techno Coatings is a pioneer in the field of water-based systems.

2018 We restructured our business divisions to serve our trade and industrial customers even more clearly and effectively. The second major research contract follows.

2019 As the first German company and only the second paint company worldwide, we received the most demanding certification in the field of sustainability, otherwise held only by companies such as Patagonia or Ben&Jerry's: since this year we have been certified as a B Corporation with 115 points, making us the fourth-best company in the Industrial Manufacturing sector worldwide!

2020 PNZ Oil comes to market. Over 95% renewable raw materials, cobalt- and oxime-free. Our most sustainable wood coating.

2021 We developed the PNZ Packaging Index, a tool for calculating the footprint of different packaging types on a fact-based basis. From now on, all our packaging decisions are based on this.

2023 Recertification as a B Corporation. Fourth-best company worldwide in the "Industrial Manufacturing" sector and second-best company across all industries in Germany.

2023 PNZ wins the German Sustainability Award 2024 for the transformation of the chemical industry

Research Projects

In recent years we have researched and developed several groundbreaking new technologies in our field. These include, among others (year of project start)

2013 Development of a special water-based floor oil for parquet coatings (AiF)

2016 Development of cobalt-free products across various solids ranges with drying properties comparable to cobalt-containing products (ZIM)

2017 "Evolution" cobalt- and oxime-free hard wax oil which, as a 1K or 2K product, has outstanding properties (drying, durability); an almost solvent-free 2-component oil for interior use (ZIM)

2019 Development of a solvent-free wood treatment product (exterior oil) for outdoor use with a solids content of over 95% (ZIM)

2021 Establishment of a central platform for environmental data collection across various industries ("Eco-Hub") with Fraunhofer IPA, Stuttgart

2022 Certification of the "Das PNZ-Öl" products to Cradle-to-Cradle standards

2022 Carbon to Coatings: research project with the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Plant Physiology and the Charité in Berlin on obtaining raw materials from atmospheric CO2 via bacteria

2023 The waste-free wall paint comes to market. The name says it all.

2024 Development of a fire-retardant wood coating based on a novel flame-retardant additive

2025 In-factory impregnation of WPC to the Cradle to Cradle Gold Standard for an international WPC manufacturer

2026 Carbon to Coatings, Part II: research project with the Charité in Berlin and the University of Ulm on obtaining raw materials from atmospheric CO2 via bacteria and permanent storage in wood

2026 Ecobucket: research collaboration on reusable packaging for the paint industry