Wakol

What Wakol does

Wakol is a German specialty chemical manufacturer founded in 1934 and headquartered in Pirmasens, Germany, operating as Wakol GmbH (legal entity) within the LOBA WAKOL Gruppe, which has been part of the international ARDEX Gruppe since 2024. The company produces three distinct product lines: (1) Verlegewerkstoffe (laying materials) — adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, and additives for the parquet and flooring trade, including PVC-free formulations such as WAKOL D 3313 and elastic parquet adhesives such as WAKOL MS 239; (2) Sealing Compounds — gasket sealants for food, beverage, aerosol, and industrial drum packaging, including styrene-free formulations; and (3) Schaumklebstoffe (foam adhesives) marketed under the INTERCOLL sub-brand for mattress, upholstered furniture, and office chair manufacturers, including water-based acrylate and label-free hybrid adhesives.

The company's underlying technology is rooted in chemical formulation: dispersion adhesives, MS (silane-modified polymer) adhesives, polyurethane adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, and industrial sealing compounds. Product differentiation is reinforced by EMICODE EC1 PLUS and Blue Angel environmental certifications and by the LOBA WAKOL Connected Systems program, which since 2007 has offered co-developed, jointly warranted product combinations across laying materials and surface finishes.

Wakol operates a B2B model with quote-based pricing (no public pricing, Ex Works delivery terms, net-30 payment) and revenue is generated through one-time product sales rather than subscriptions. Go-to-market combines a technical field sales force with on-site equipment support, personal inside-sales service, warehouse pickup points and pumping service providers in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, and international distribution through wholly-owned subsidiaries (USA, Brazil, China, Poland, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Italy) and authorized distributors in additional markets. Customer segments span professional flooring and parquet installers (SMB/trade), mattress and furniture manufacturers (enterprise), and food and industrial packaging manufacturers (enterprise). Combined LOBA WAKOL Gruppe headcount is approximately 430 employees globally, supported by the broader ARDEX Gruppe's ~4,300 employees and operations in 50+ countries.

Name

Wakol

Legal name

Wakol GmbH

Website

https://wakol.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wakol is a German specialty chemical manufacturer (founded 1934) producing laying materials for the flooring trade, sealing compounds for food packaging, and INTERCOLL foam adhesives for mattress and furniture manufacturers, serving B2B customers globally through the ARDEX Gruppe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pirmasens

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product sales - Laying materials: Sale of adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, and accessories for parquet and flooring installation to professional tradespeople.
2. Product sales - Sealing Compounds: Industrial sealing compounds for food packaging (cans, beverage containers, aerosol cans, drums) and general line applications.
3. Product sales - Foam adhesives: Industrial adhesives for foam furniture manufacturing, mattresses (sandwich and pocket spring), upholstered furniture, and office chairs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wakol manufactures and sells specialty chemical products across three B2B divisions: (1) Verlegewerkstoffe (flooring installation materials) including parquet and floor covering adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, and plasticizing additives for professional parquet and flooring tradespeople; (2) Sealing Compounds for food, beverage, aerosol cans and industrial drums; and (3) INTERCOLL foam adhesives (water-based, hybrid and aerosol) for mattress, upholstered furniture and office chair manufacturers.

Product overview

Wakol is a German specialty chemical company manufacturing installation materials (Verlegewerkstoffe) for the flooring and parquet trade, Sealing Compounds for the food packaging industry, and Foam Adhesives (Schaumklebstoffe) for the mattress and furniture industry. The product portfolio includes: (1) Laying Materials - a comprehensive range of adhesives (WAKOL MS 239 elastic parquet adhesive, WAKOL D 3313 PVC-free adhesive), levelling compounds (WAKOL Z 590 lightweight screed, WAKOL Z 515 thin screed), primers, and the WAKOL D 3060 plasticizing additive that extends the range of Wakol screed compounds; (2) Foam Adhesives - industrial adhesives under the INTERCOLL brand including water-based acrylate adhesives (INTERCOLL D 3387), roller cleaners (INTERCOLL D 4560), and aerosol adhesives (INTERCOLL D 3470, D 3460) for mattress, furniture and foam applications; (3) Sealing Compounds - gasket sealants for food, beverage, aerosol cans and drums packaging. The company also offers Connected Systems in partnership with LOBA for tested and approved system solutions combining Wakol adhesives with LOBA surface finishes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• INTERCOLL: Industrial adhesives for the upholstery furniture and mattress industry

Products and services

• Verlegewerkstoffe (Laying Materials) Comprehensive line of flooring installation materials including adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, plasticizing additives and accessories used by professional parquet and flooring installers across parquet, PVC, linoleum, textile, rubber, elastic, conductive, sport and mineral floor coverings.
• WAKOL D 3313 PVC-free Adhesive PVC-free adhesive specially designed for PVC-free floor coverings such as PU, PO, or fleece-backed materials in rolls, planks and tiles, as well as rubber coverings up to 4mm, providing extremely high dimensional stability.
• WAKOL MS 239 Elastic Parquet Adhesive Elastic MS (silane-modified polymer) parquet adhesive meeting EMICODE and Blue Angel emission limits, supplied in resource-saving recycled and sealed packaging.
• WAKOL MS 299 Shear-resistant Parquet Adhesive Shear-resistant parquet adhesive for professional flooring installation of parquet and cork coverings.
• WAKOL L 1940 Spray Adhesive Spray adhesive for elastic floor coverings used by professional flooring installers.
• WAKOL Z 515 Thin Screed Thin screed for floor levelling and preparation used as a base layer prior to floor covering installation.
• WAKOL Z 590 Lightweight Screed Lightweight screed for levelling large unevenness and height differences, suitable for statically limited load-bearing substrates, quickly ready for installation even at high layer thicknesses.
• Staubarme Spachtelmassen (Dust-reduced Levelling Compounds) Dust-reduced screed compounds providing modern processor protection, reduced dirt during renovation work, and suitability for all floor coverings and parquet.
• WAKOL D 3060 Plasticizing Additive Plasticizing additive that extends the application range of Wakol screed compounds, replaces multiple specialty products, and improves adhesion and stress behavior; certified to EMICODE EC1 PLUS.
• Sealing Compounds for Food and Industrial Packaging Industrial styrene-free sealing compounds for food cans, beverage cans, aerosol cans and industrial drums, compliant with food safety regulations and addressing regulatory scrutiny on styrene.
• INTERCOLL D 3490 Hybrid Contact Adhesive Label-free (no GHS08 marking) 2-component CR/Acrylate hybrid contact adhesive of the next generation providing high bond strength and safety for foam and mattress production.
• INTERCOLL D 3387 Water-based Acrylate Adhesive Water-based acrylate adhesive for the mattress industry, designed for use with INTERCOLL D 4560 roller cleaner, presented at interzum 2025.
• INTERCOLL D 3480 Water-based Hybrid Adhesive Water-based hybrid adhesive for the foam industry used in mattress, upholstered furniture and office chair manufacturing.
• INTERCOLL D 3470 Aerosol Adhesive Aerosol adhesive with low re-spray for foam materials, offering instant grip for foam and mattress production.
• INTERCOLL D 3460 Aerosol Adhesive Aerosol adhesive for foam materials with instant grip for production line assembly.
• INTERCOLL D 3442 Roller-application Mattress Adhesive Adhesive designed for roller application in mattress manufacturing production lines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Field service supports customers with equipment beyond standard industry offerings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• LOBA GmbHflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2026Deep strategic partnership with joint management structure formed January 15, 2026. LOBA and WAKOL share unified management (Dr. Martin Schäfer as CEO, Mario Probst for Sales & Marketing, Steffen Acker for Production, Martin Eichel as CFO). Combined product portfolios remain distinct brands (LOBA's orange raven logo and WAKOL's blue square). Collaboration since 1998 includes nationwide LOBA WAKOL practical seminars, workshops, and joint trade show presence. Connected Systems since 2007 provides tested product combinations coordinated from development phase.
• ARDEX GruppeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Since 2024, LOBA WAKOL Gruppe is part of the international ARDEX Gruppe, which operates in over 50 countries with approximately 4,300 employees and annual revenue of around €1.1 billion. ARDEX is a leading provider of construction chemical products, providing LOBA WAKOL with access to global resources and distribution network.
• Connected Systems Partners (floor covering manufacturers)coreTechnology or IntegrationJoint system solutions with floor covering manufacturers where product combinations are precisely coordinated from the development phase. Recommendations available for adhesive selection based on floor type and manufacturer specifications. System constructions ensure optimal results with high processing reliability.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Bostik (Arkema): Bostik is the adhesives arm of Arkema and one of the largest global manufacturers of industrial and construction adhesives, including flooring, parquet, and packaging sealants. It is a direct peer to Wakol in laying materials, foam adhesives, and industrial sealants, serving overlapping B2B customer bases in construction, packaging, and furniture.
• Mapei: Mapei is an Italian multinational that manufactures adhesives, sealants, and chemical products for the building industry, with a strong position in flooring preparation (levelling compounds, primers) and parquet adhesives - the core Verlegewerkstoffe market where Wakol competes directly. Mapei also overlaps with Wakol's broader construction chemicals footprint.
• Stauf: Stauf Klebstoffwerk is a German specialty manufacturer of flooring and parquet adhesives, levelling compounds, and primers. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Wakol in the DACH Handwerk market and competes head-to-head in laying materials for professional flooring installers.
• Uzin Utz: Uzin Utz is a German family-owned manufacturer of installation systems for floors, including adhesives, levelling compounds, primers, and subfloor preparation - directly overlapping Wakol's Verlegewerkstoffe product line and serving the same professional flooring installer customer base in Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Sika: Sika is a Swiss-listed specialty chemicals company with a broad construction portfolio including flooring adhesives, sealants, and waterproofing. It is a broad incumbent peer - operating in Wakol's flooring/sealants space as part of a much larger construction chemicals portfolio rather than specializing in laying materials.
• Henkel (Adhesive Technologies): Henkel's Adhesive Technologies division is the world's largest adhesives manufacturer (Loctite, Pattex, Bonderite) serving packaging, construction, furniture, and industrial markets. It is a broad incumbent peer competing with Wakol in foam adhesives for furniture/mattresses and in construction adhesives, with substantially greater scale and brand recognition.
• H.B. Fuller: H.B. Fuller is a US-listed global industrial adhesives manufacturer serving packaging, construction, and durable goods markets. It overlaps with Wakol's foam adhesives for mattresses/furniture and with packaging sealants as part of a much broader specialty adhesives portfolio.

Emerging players

• KIILTO: KIILTO is a Finnish family-owned manufacturer of construction adhesives, flooring installation products, and hygiene/sealant solutions. It is a direct peer in laying materials and sealants with similar DACH/Nordic B2B orientation but smaller scale than Wakol.
• Forbo Flooring Systems: Forbo Flooring Systems (part of Forbo Group) supplies resilient flooring and related installation adhesives/levelling products. While primarily a flooring manufacturer, its installation products and systems overlap with Wakol's Connected Systems approach to coordinated laying solutions for the Handwerk trade.

Others

• Wacker Chemie (Silicones/Polymers): Wacker Chemie is a German chemical company producing silicone and polymer raw materials used in construction adhesives and sealants. It is an adjacent/input materials supplier to the broader adhesives industry in which Wakol operates rather than a direct competitor in finished flooring products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkv68nyTjWp0doXXXNz0CCw
• Facebookfacebook.com/Wakol.Verlegewerkstoffe
• Instagraminstagram.com/wakol_verlegewerkstoffe
• Xx.com/Bauklebstoffe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wakol

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wakol