DAW
DAW SE is a German family-owned manufacturer (founded 1895) of building paints, coatings, construction chemicals, and thermal insulation systems, ranking as Europe's third-largest building paints producer and serving professional painters, DIY consumers, and industrial customers across more than 30 countries through brands including Caparol, Alpina, and DISBON.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1895
- HeadquartersOber-ramstadt, Germany
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What DAW does
DAW SE is a German family-owned manufacturer of building paints, coatings, construction chemicals, and thermal insulation systems, founded in 1895 and now in its fifth generation of ownership. Headquartered in Ober-Ramstadt, the company ranks as the third-largest manufacturer of building paints in Europe and claims market leadership positions in Germany and Austria that have persisted for decades. Operating across more than 30 countries with approximately 6,000 employees, DAW serves four primary customer segments through a multi-brand portfolio: professional painters and architects (Caparol, ALLIGATOR), DIY homeowners (Alpina), industrial and infrastructure construction (DISBON), building materials trade (KRAUTOL), industrial color applications (Caparol Industrial Solutions), and prefabricated construction (Prefab Solutions).
DAW's core technology encompasses architectural paints, facade systems, industrial coatings, floor coatings, construction chemicals, and thermal insulation materials. Notable proprietary products include AmphiSilan ReCycle, a facade paint formulated with 40% recycled raw materials, and Chem-X, a digital product passport initiative to be demonstrated at Hannover Messe 2026. The company operates eight production sites across Germany (Ober-Ramstadt, Enger, Köthen, Nerchau, Meldorf, Wildeck, Gerstungen, Fürstenwalde logistics center), an R&D and insulation technology center in Hirschberg, and wholly-owned subsidiaries or partner distributors in over 20 additional countries spanning Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.
The company's business model is anchored on one-time product sales distributed through a hybrid channel architecture that combines direct trade-channel distribution via CMS Gruppe's 180 German dealer locations serving painters and floor layers, building materials retailers, wholesale partners, and international distributors. Revenue streams are organized around architectural paints and coatings, industrial coatings and solutions, and construction chemicals and floor coatings. The company maintains ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, and 50001 certifications across German locations and has accumulated multiple innovation awards including the Dieselmedaille, TOP 100 Innovator, and brand eins Most Innovative Companies recognition.
DAW firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DAW
- Legal name
- DAW SE
- Website
- https://daw.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1895
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- DAW SE is a German family-owned manufacturer (founded 1895) of building paints, coatings, construction chemicals, and thermal insulation systems, ranking as Europe's third-largest building paints producer and serving professional painters, DIY consumers, and industrial customers across more than 30 countries through brands including Caparol, Alpina, and DISBON.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DAW industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Paints and Coatings
- NAICS
- Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510)
- SIC
- Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural & Decorative Painting (Interior/Exterior) (IMAIAKAA)
Keywords
Where DAW is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ober-ramstadt
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices17 records
Markets served
DAW business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architectural Paints and Coatings: Production and sale of decorative paints, facade coatings, and architectural finishes for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings through multiple brands targeting different customer segments
- Industrial Coatings and Solutions: Industrial color concentrates and coatings for manufacturing and industrial applications through Caparol Industrial Solutions
- Construction Chemicals and Floor Coatings: Products for concrete renovation, industrial floor coating, parking structures, engineering structures, and sealing through DISBON brand
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
DAW product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DAW SE manufactures and sells architectural paints, facade coatings, industrial color concentrates, floor coatings, construction chemicals and thermal insulation systems for buildings. Products are sold under multiple brands (Caparol, Alpina, ALLIGATOR, DISBON, KRAUTOL, Caparol Industrial Solutions, alsecco) targeting professional painters, architects, DIY consumers, medium-sized craft businesses and industrial/infrastructure construction customers. The company also operates the CMS Gruppe dealer network of 180 locations in Germany.
Product overview
DAW SE is a family-owned company established in 1895, ranking as Europe's third-largest building paint manufacturer and the market leader in Germany and Austria. The company develops, produces, and distributes innovative coating systems through a multi-brand portfolio. Core brands include Caparol (professional architectural coatings), Alpina (DIY consumer paints), ALLIGATOR (professional craft businesses), DISBON (construction chemistry and industrial coatings), KRAUTOL (building material trade), Caparol Industrial Solutions (industrial colorants), and CMS Gruppe (180-location dealer network for painters and floor layers). The portfolio also includes specialized sub-brands such as CAPAROL ICONS and Prefab Solutions. DAW employs approximately 6,000 people and operates research, development, and innovation facilities at its Ober-Ramstadt headquarters.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Caparol: The perfect partner for all designers of better living spaces. For over 120 years, Caparol has been reinventing surfaces to make buildings more beautiful, healthier, more efficient, and more sustainable.
- Alpina
- ALLIGATOR
- DISBON
- KRAUTOL
- Caparol Industrial Solutions
- CMS Gruppe
Products and services
- Caparol Caparol is DAW's core professional brand, positioned as the partner for all designers of better living spaces. Offering decorative paints, facade coatings and architectural finishes for professional painters, architects and designers across residential, commercial and industrial projects.
- Alpina Alpina is DAW's DIY-focused consumer paint brand, offering do-it-yourselfers a wide range of coatings to easily achieve perfect interior and exterior painting results without professional expertise.
- ALLIGATOR ALLIGATOR is DAW's professional brand for medium-sized craft businesses, offering close customer proximity and product-service combinations tailored to the needs of trade painters.
- DISBON DISBON provides long-lasting construction chemistry solutions specialized in concrete renovation, industrial floor coating, parking structures, engineering structures, and sealing/waterproofing for industrial and infrastructure construction.
- KRAUTOL KRAUTOL is DAW's practice-oriented product range for building material trade, distinguished by highest product quality and a strong assortment for professional applicators.
- Caparol Industrial Solutions Caparol Industrial Solutions (CIS) supplies high-quality color concentrates in various consistencies for a broad industrial application spectrum used by manufacturers.
- CMS Gruppe CMS Gruppe is DAW's dealer network serving the main target group of painters and floor layers, operating 180 locations across Germany.
- CAPAROL ICONS CAPAROL ICONS is a color collection offering 50 bright color nuances for architectural applications under the Caparol professional brand.
- Prefab Solutions Prefab Solutions is DAW's offering of prefabricated solutions for construction applications.
- AmphiSilan ReCycle AmphiSilan ReCycle is a sustainable facade paint for buildings made from 40% recycled raw materials, part of Caparol's sustainable innovation pipeline.
Companies that use DAW
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
DAW technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
DAW partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Narmapinnoitus Oy (Finland)minorPartner company representing DAW in Finland, distributing Caparol and related brands in the Finnish market
- Noventa S.A. (Greece)minorPartner company distributing DAW products in Greece through Kifissias Avenue location in Athens
- Hokushu Co. Ltd. (Japan)minorPartner company representing alsecco PRO products in Japan through Tokyo office
- ALCMATE Co. Ltd. (South Korea)minorPartner company distributing alsecco products in South Korea through Seoul office
- Synthesa Chemie GmbH (Austria)coreAustrian subsidiary and partner company of DAW Group, operating from Perg with multiple affiliated companies including Capatect Baustoffindustrie, Avenarius-Agro, Naporo, and Glemadur
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DAW competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Jotun: Norway-headquartered global coatings group present in decorative, protective and marine segments, broadly comparable to DAW in architectural/decorative and industrial coatings across Europe and MEA.
- Baumit: Austrian and Central European manufacturer of facade systems, insulation, plasters and coatings competing with DAW's alsecco and Caparol offerings across Austria, Germany and Central/Eastern Europe.
- PPG Industries: U.S.-based global coatings leader with Sigma Coatings and the recently acquired Tikkurila, competing directly with DAW in architectural/decorative paints and industrial coatings across Europe.
- Sto SE: German building-coatings specialist with integrated facade insulation-plus-finish systems that directly compete with DAW's alsecco facade-insulation business across the DACH region and selected international markets.
- AkzoNobel: Global paints and coatings major whose Dulux, Sikkens, and Herbol brands compete head-to-head with DAW's Caparol and Alpina across professional, DIY, and contractor segments in Europe and adjacent markets.
- Hempel: Denmark-headquartered coatings manufacturer serving protective, marine, decorative and infrastructure segments, overlapping with DAW's DISBON industrial flooring and Caparol facade systems lines.
- Brillux: German family-owned paint and coatings manufacturer serving professional painters, crafts and industry — a directly comparable Mittelstand competitor to DAW in the German professional trade channel.
Broad incumbents
- Sherwin-Williams: World's largest paints and coatings company; overlaps with DAW in architectural and industrial coatings globally, but operates as a broader portfolio incumbent rather than DAW's specialized building-paint focus.
- Sika AG: Swiss specialty chemicals company with construction-focused coatings, sealants and flooring systems overlapping with DAW's DISBON construction chemistry and protective coatings portfolio.
- Nippon Paint Holdings: Asia-Pacific headquartered global paints major growing in Europe through Dulux-licensed and acquired assets; overlaps with DAW in architectural paints and selected industrial segments as a broader-portfolio incumbent.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DAW social profiles
Digital presenceDAW compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
DAW financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DAW leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
DAW subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries29 records
DAW funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DAW M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DAW
What does DAW do?
DAW SE manufactures and sells architectural paints, facade coatings, industrial color concentrates, floor coatings, construction chemicals and thermal insulation systems for buildings. Products are sold under multiple brands (Caparol, Alpina, ALLIGATOR, DISBON, KRAUTOL, Caparol Industrial Solutions, alsecco) targeting professional painters, architects, DIY consumers, medium-sized craft businesses and industrial/infrastructure construction customers. The company also operates the CMS Gruppe dealer network of 180 locations in Germany.
Is DAW a public or private company?
DAW is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was DAW founded?
DAW was founded in 1895. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is DAW based?
DAW is headquartered in Ober-ramstadt, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does DAW make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Architectural Paints and Coatings are the primary driver. The others are industrial Coatings and Solutions and construction Chemicals and Floor Coatings.
Who are DAW's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Jotun, Baumit, PPG Industries, Sto SE, AkzoNobel, Hempel and Brillux. Broad incumbents are Sherwin-Williams, Sika AG and Nippon Paint Holdings.
Does DAW have an API?
No public API is recorded for DAW.
What industry is DAW in?
DAW's product category is Architectural Paints and Coatings. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIAKAA, Architectural & Decorative Painting (Interior/Exterior). Its NAICS code is 325510 and its SIC code is 2851.