What VANHAECKE does

VANHAECKE (legal name Ets Vanhaecke fils, trading as Vanhaecke & Fils) is a family-owned heating and combustibles distributor founded in 1904 in Wahagnies, France, and led by proprietor Vincent Vanhaecke. The company supplies solid fuels (coal, lignite briquettes), liquid fuels (domestic fuel oil/fioul, non-road diesel/GNR, kerosene lamp oils), gases (butane, propane), biomass products (six wood-pellet brands, compressed logs, bulk and boxed firewood), and AdBlue to residential homeowners and a secondary agricultural/professional segment across the Nord Pas-de-Calais and Somme departments. Procurement runs via full boat shipments, allowing any-quantity bulk supply at competitive pricing; sales execute through three owned depots (Wahagnies HQ, Harnes, Vermelles) with pump sales, plus a dedicated stove and convector showroom in Carvin, complemented by home-delivery service.

The business model is direct-to-consumer commodity distribution plus adjacent professional services: chimney sweeping (ramonage) at €78, mechanical debistrage (creosote removal), and sales-and-installation of multi-brand heating stoves and convectors. Pricing is unit-based per liter, kilogram, stère, or pallet, with volume tiers on domestic fuel (€1.716-1.776/L from 500L to 5000L) and free-delivery vs. pickup options across pellet, coal, and firewood lines. Quality certifications (DIN+, EN+ A1) are maintained across pellet SKUs and mandatory carbon tax is built into coal pricing.

The company operates with approximately 13 employees, no disclosed outside capital, no parent entity, and no digital presence beyond a basic quote-request website maintained by external partner 3clics. The product surface is broad within combustibles but tightly geographically constrained, with no disclosed enterprise accounts and a customer base dominated by long-tail residential purchases supplemented by mandatory chimney-maintenance services.

Name

VANHAECKE

Legal name

Ets Vanhaecke fils

Website

https://vanhaecke-fils.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VANHAECKE is a family-owned French combustibles distributor (founded 1904, Wahagnies) selling coal, fuel oil, gas, wood pellets, firewood, and AdBlue, plus chimney-sweeping and stove-installation services, to residential and agricultural customers across the Nord Pas-de-Calais and Somme departments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wahagnies

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Combustible sales: Sale of various combustibles including domestic fuel, charcoal, wood pellets, kerosene, gas (butane/propane), and wood products. Revenue generated through unit pricing per liter, kilogram, pallet, or stère depending on product type.
2. Professional services: Chimney sweeping and debistrage (creosote removal) services provided by qualified professionals. Also includes installation services for heating stoves.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Vanhaecke & Fils is a family-owned French distributor (founded 1904) that sells heating combustibles such as domestic fuel oil (fioul domestique), coal, charcoal, lignite briquettes, wood pellets, compressed wood logs, bulk and boxed firewood, kerosene/lamp oil, butane/propane gas, and AdBlue. The company complements fuel sales with professional services including chimney sweeping (ramonage) and mechanical de-bistre (creosote removal), and with the sale and installation of wood/pellet stoves, cookers, and coal convectors. Distribution is via three owned depots, home delivery across Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Somme, and a stove showroom in Carvin.

Product overview

Vanhaecke & Fils is a heating and fuel products company founded in 1904, supplying solid fuels (coal, lignite briquettes), liquid fuels (domestic fuel oil, non-road diesel, lamp oil), gases (butane, propane), biomass products (wood pellets, compressed wood logs, bulk and boxed firewood), and AdBlue. The company offers complementary services including professional chimney sweeping, chimney de-bistre removal, and sales/installation of heating equipment (wood pellet stoves, wood stoves, cookers, coal convectors). Products are sourced from Belgium, Germany, Austria, and England, with supply via boat deliveries enabling competitive bulk pricing. The portfolio centers on the core fuels and combustibles business, supplemented by service offerings and heating equipment sales, with pellet products offered under multiple brands (NORD-PELLETS, PAULS PELLETS, PINIERA, PIVETEAU, REKORD, RED FLAME) and coal products in various grades and packaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Domestic Heating Oil (Fioul Domestique) Ordinary and 'star' grade domestic heating fuel oil sold at the depot pump and as bulk delivery in tiers from 500L to 5000L, serving residential and small commercial heating customers in Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the Somme.
• Non-Road Diesel (GNR — Gazole Non Routier) Reduced-sulfur (10ppm) non-road diesel containing up to 7% esters, sold for use in machinery specified under French decree, serving agricultural and professional equipment operators.
• Kerosene and Lamp Oil (Pétrole Lampant) Pump kerosene, odorless des aromatized kerosene, and green kerosene sold for use as lighting fuel in wick and electronic lamps, available at the Wahagnies depot pump and for pickup.
• Butane and Propane Gas Bottles (Butagaz) 13kg butane (indoor), 13kg propane (outdoor), 30kg and 35kg propane bottles sold under the Butagaz brand for residential heating and cooking use.
• Coal and Coal Briquettes Mixcoal (10/20 and 20/30 petroleum coke/anthracite blends of Belgian origin), 20/30 petroleum coke, and premium defumed coal briquettes for convectors and cookers, sold in 20-40kg bags or pallets with mandatory carbon tax included.
• Lignite Briquettes (Heizprofi and Record brands) Heizprofi and Record lignite briquettes sold in 25kg packs and full pallets (40 packs ≈ 1 tonne), serving stoves and heaters that benefit from long-burning lignite fuel.
• Wood Pellets (DIN+/EN PLUS certified multi-brand range) Wood pellets from certified brands (NORD-PELLETS DIN+ 7A142, PINIERA DIN+/EN PLUS, PIVETEAU DIN+, REKORD EN PLUS A1, RED FLAME EN+ A1 DIN+, PAULS) supplied in 15kg bags and 66-72 bag pallets, for pellet stoves and boilers.
• Compressed Wood Logs 100% coniferous compressed wood logs packaged as 96 units of 5 logs per pallet (one log approximates one hour of heating), for closed fireplaces, stoves, and inserts.
• Firewood (Bulk and Boxed) Hardwood firewood (oak, ash, hornbeam, beech, maple) sold in bulk by the stère in 33cm and 50cm lengths and as pre-packaged boxes of 2 or 2.5 stères, delivered or picked up at depots.
• Charcoal (Mixcoal, Coke, Smokeless Coal) 10/20 Mixcoal, 20/30 petroleum coke, 20/30 Mixcoal, and smokeless coal sold by the ton with carbon tax included, for heating stoves, cookers, and barbecues.
• AdBlue (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) AdBlue urea solution for selective catalytic reduction in diesel vehicles, sold in 10L jerrycans and 1000L cubes for individual and fleet buyers.
• Stoves and Convectors (Sales and Installation) Sale and installation of wood pellet stoves, wood stoves, cookers, and coal convectors of various brands, showcased at the Carvin showroom and installed by the company's installers.
• Chimney Sweeping (Ramonage) Professional chimney sweeping service for coal, wood, insert, and gas chimneys, provided by qualified professionals at a flat fee (€78), covering mandatory annual (gas) and twice-yearly (wood/coal/fuel) obligations.
• Chimney De-bistre (Debistrage) Mechanical de-bistre service using PROGALVA rotary equipment and lead mallets to remove hardened creosote/tar build-up when standard chimney sweeping is insufficient, restoring flue safety.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 3clicsminorOthersWebsite development partner - 3clics created and maintains the company website. Located in Lille (Roubaix - Nord - 59 - Belgium).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Butagaz: France's leading butane and propane distributor for residential heating (13kg and 35kg bottles — the same SKUs Vanhaecke retails under the Butagaz brand). Overlaps on bottled gas and competes on price for the same customer base.
• Antargaz: French propane and butane distributor (UGI International subsidiary) offering bulk and bottled LPG. Overlaps directly with Vanhaecke's gas business at the residential heating customer level.
• Vitogaz France: French propane and butane distributor with depot and bulk-delivery infrastructure. Comparable in distribution model (depot pickup plus delivery) and customer segments (residential heating).
• Primagaz: Major French propane distributor serving residential and small-business customers with bottled and bulk LPG. Competes with Vanhaecke on propane supply, especially for larger 35kg-bottle customers in northern France.
• ENGIE: France's largest energy retailer, offering gas, electricity, and energy services. Adjacent competitor for residential heating customers, including through biomass and natural-gas offerings that overlap with Vanhaecke's portfolio.
• Bolloré Energy: French distributor of domestic fuel oil, lubricants, and petroleum products with depot and delivery infrastructure across northern France. Directly comparable in fioul domestique and AdBlue distribution to residential and professional customers.
• TotalEnergies France: Major French fuel retailer and energy provider selling domestic heating oil (fioul), diesel, and AdBlue through depots and home delivery. Competes with Vanhaecke's fioul and GNR lines at national scale.

Direct peers

• Courvoisier Combustibles: Historic French regional combustibles retailer (Charleville-Mézières origin) selling coal, firewood, pellets, fuel oil, and gas to residential customers across multiple departments. Directly comparable in product mix, multi-generational family ownership, and depot-based distribution model.

Others

• Leroy Merlin France: Major French home-improvement retailer stocking wood pellets, firewood, and wood/pellet stoves. Adjacent competitor to Vanhaecke's biomass-fuel and heating-equipment categories via national big-box retail.
• Mr. Bricolage: French home-improvement retail chain selling wood pellets, firewood, and heating stoves. Competes with Vanhaecke's biomass fuel and stove segments through a national storefront footprint rather than local depot delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vanhaecke

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 VANHAECKE