Kluthe Benelux

What Kluthe Benelux does

Kluthe Benelux B.V. is a Dutch specialty chemicals company founded in 1984 and headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. It operates as the Benelux subsidiary of Chemische Werke Kluthe GmbH, a German chemical group with roots going back to 1919, and employs between 101 and 250 people. The company produces and distributes chemical products and processes for industrial surface treatment, organized around its proprietary 5C Concept (Cut it, Clean it, Coat it, Conserve it, Clear it) and the integrated Kluthe System, under which individual products are formulated to work together across the metalworking workflow.

The product portfolio spans more than 500 SKUs across sub-brands including Hakupur and Haku 5000 (industrial cleaners and degreasers), Decorrdal (iron, zinc, and chromium-free conversion coatings), Controx (paint stripping agents), Custos (corrosion protection), Nikutex (spray booth maintenance), Hakufluid and Hakuform (metalworking fluids), Haku (solvents and thinners), Isogol (paint booth water treatment), T 400 (wastewater treatment), and Ebeco Fast (graffiti removal). Key differentiators include Qualisteelcoat and Qualicoat approvals on selected pretreatment products, ISO 9001-2015 and ISO 14001-2015 certifications, and a circular distillation service that recovers and reuses solvents.

The business operates a direct field sales model targeting industrial customers in the automotive, truck and bus manufacturing, metalworking, industrial paint shop, coil coating, blasting and preservation, tank truck cleaning, and graffiti removal segments. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time chemical product sales supplemented by professional services in toll manufacturing and transaction-based trading via an international partner network. Geographic coverage includes the Benelux through direct sales and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) through the wholly-owned Kluthe Nordic AB entity, with additional reach across Europe and selected markets beyond.

Name

Kluthe Benelux

Legal name

Kluthe Benelux B.V.

Website

https://kluthe.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kluthe Benelux is a Dutch specialty chemicals producer and Benelux subsidiary of Chemische Werke Kluthe GmbH, manufacturing integrated surface treatment chemicals (cleaners, degreasers, phosphating, coatings, corrosion protection, wastewater treatment) for industrial customers in automotive, metalworking, and coating sectors across Europe and Scandinavia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Surface Treatment Chemicals

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325), Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (3259), All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (325998)

SIC

Chemicals & Allied Products (2800), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890), Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAEAGAB

Industrial & Protective Coatings

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Coatings, Adhesives & Sealants

SECONDARYIMAEABAN

Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Specialty Chemicals

Keywords

• Industrial surface treatment
• Metal cleaning chemicals
• Phosphating agents
• Corrosion protection
• Paint stripping chemicals

Headquarters

HQ city

Netherlands

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 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. Chemical Product Sales: Sale of chemical products including coolants, metal cleaners, degreasers, phosphating agents, paint thinners, rinse thinners, finish cleaners, paint stripping agents, spray booth products, and wastewater treatment chemicals. Products sold under brand names Hakupur, Haku 5000, Hakufluid, Hakudren, Hakuform, Decorrdal, Custos, Controx, Isogol, Nikutex, T 400.
2. Toll Manufacturing: Fully automated production process for cold blends with flexible packaging sizes, filling options, and production and logistics flexibility. High quality standards ensured by modern laboratory facilities.
3. Trade Operations: Specialized market knowledge and years of experience with purchasing and selling larger quantities, often achieving significant purchasing advantages without physical intervention. Deliveries always include specifications and accompanying analysis certificates.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kluthe Benelux manufactures and sells industrial chemicals for surface treatment of metals, organized under the 5C Concept (Cut it, Clean it, Coat it, Conserve it, Clear it). The product portfolio includes coolants and metalworking fluids, industrial cleaners and degreasers, phosphating and chromating pretreatment agents, paint thinners and stripping agents, corrosion protection products, spray booth chemicals, and wastewater treatment chemicals. They also offer Trade & Toll manufacturing services and a Technical Center for application support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• T 400: Water and wastewater treatment products including flocculants and coagulants
• Controx
• Custos
• Decorrdal AL
• Decorrdal Fe
• Decorrdal Zn
• Haku
• Haku 5000
• Hakuform
• Hakufluid
• Hakudren
• Hakupur
• Isogol
• Nikutex
• Isofar

Products and services

• Hakupur
• Haku 5000
• Hakudren
• Hakuform
• Hakufluid
• Decorrdal AL
• Decorrdal Fe
• Decorrdal Zn
• Decorrdal 955
• Custos
• Controx
• Controx 778
• Isogol
• Nikutex
• T 400
• Ebeco Fast
• Isofar
• Haku
• Trade & Toll Manufacturing
• Circular Distillation Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Decorrdal 955 provides phosphate and sludge-free process, resulting in less maintenance, lower costs, and reduced wastewater burden
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered parent company and core.

• Chemische Werke Kluthe GmbH (Germany)parent companyOthersKluthe Benelux is a subsidiary of Chemische Werke Kluthe GmbH (Germany), providing international backing, expertise, and group resources. The parent company enables Kluthe Benelux to serve customers throughout Europe and many countries beyond.
• Envirostripp Chemicals (Sweden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership established in 2007 with Swedish Envirostripp Chemicals. Successfully built the Swedish market over years with numerous projects completed. Partnership fully integrated within Kluthe group through establishment of Kluthe Nordic AB to serve Scandinavian markets (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Atotech (Element Solutions): Specialist in metal finishing, electroless plating and surface treatment chemistry; competes with Kluthe in pretreatment, corrosion protection and functional coatings for industrial customers.
• MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions (Element Solutions): Provider of metal finishing and surface treatment chemistries, including cleaners, phosphates and conversion coatings, serving automotive, industrial and electronics OEMs in direct competition with Kluthe.
• SurTec (Borchers / Tokyo Printing Ink): European specialist in surface treatment chemicals (cleaning, pretreatment, corrosion protection) serving automotive, industrial coating and metalworking customers with a similar portfolio to Kluthe.
• Chemetall (BASF Coatings): Global market leader in metal surface pretreatment chemicals ( cleaners, phosphates, conversion coatings) directly competing with Kluthe's Decorrdal, Hakupur and Haku product lines in automotive, coil coating and general metalworking.

Regional players

• Nihon Parkerizing: Japanese leader in metal surface treatment and anti-corrosion chemistry with a comparable pretreatment/coating portfolio; competes with Kluthe in product category but in different primary geographies.

Others

• Brenntag: Global chemical distribution major; relevant as both a potential distributor for Kluthe's Trade & Toll products and a competitor in chemical distribution and toll manufacturing services.

Broad incumbents

• PPG Industries: Global paints and coatings major with industrial and automotive pretreatment offerings, competing indirectly with Kluthe in the broader industrial paint shop and metal pretreatment value chain.
• Henkel (Loctite / Bonderite surface treatment): Diversified global adhesives and surface treatment major; Bonderite portfolio directly overlaps Kluthe's pretreatment, cleaning and coating chemicals across automotive OEM and metalworking customers.
• Axalta Coating Systems: Global coatings major serving automotive OEM, refinish and industrial customers; overlaps with Kluthe's industrial paint shop and pretreatment customer base and is also a downstream consumer of similar surface chemistry.

Emerging players

• Diversey (Solenis): Provider of cleaning, sanitization and water treatment chemistries with overlap to Kluthe's Hakupur cleaning and T 400 wastewater treatment lines in industrial and institutional customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kluthebenelux
• Facebookfacebook.com/kluthe.nl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Kluthe Benelux