Zweihorn

Zweihorn is a German brand specialising in products for the surface finishing of wood, aimed primarily at the joinery and carpentry trades for interior applications. Its range spans lacquers, stains, glazes, oils, waxes, glues and speciality products for cabinetmakers and carpenters. The brand originated in 1912 when the Horn brothers founded Horn & Horn in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, initially trading in oils and fats before moving into the manufacture of wood stains, matting agents and polishes. Over the following decades the company passed through several owners, including the Sidol-Werke, the Hermann Wiederhold paint factories and ICI, before being acquired by AkzoNobel in 2005. Under AkzoNobel, Zweihorn became part of the group's wood coatings activities, with its German operations based in Hilden. In the mid-2020s AkzoNobel began consolidating its wood coatings portfolio under the Sikkens Wood Coatings brand, and the Zweihorn website now directs customers to Sikkens Wood Coatings for the full range, technical data sheets and support. The Zweihorn brand thus represents a long-established German wood-finishing tradition that is being integrated into a larger international coatings brand.

Zweihorn's history begins in 1912, when the Horn brothers founded the firm Horn & Horn in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. The business initially traded in oils and fats. In the 1920s the company established contact with a group of chemists whose expertise, particularly in wood stains, was used to begin manufacturing stains, matting agents and polishes. In the early 1930s the Horn brothers sold the company to the Cologne manufacturer Eugen Wolff, owner of the Sidol-Werke, who converted it into a GmbH, first listed in the Cologne commercial register on 26 May 1931. During this phase the new company name 'Zweihorn' was used alongside the old one. In 1940 the name 'Horn' was dropped from the company name, which became 'Zweihorn Werk GmbH'. In the final years of the war the plant was completely destroyed by bomb hits. Some time later a new site for Zweihorn Werk GmbH was found in the Braunsfeld district, near the Sidol-Werke. In 1951 the share capital of 100,000 Reichsmark was converted to DM at the same amount. In 1960 the Zweihorn plant, then with 70 employees, was taken over by the Hermann Wiederhold paint factories in Hilden. Wiederhold, an old family business, employed around 2,000 people in its branches in 1960. On 16 August of the same year the Zweihorn plant was entered in the Hilden commercial register. At a single location the complete product range for the industrial sector (furniture, packaging, automotive and printing industries) as well as for the trades (joiners/carpenters, painters, car refinishers) was consolidated and later supplemented by the do-it-yourself sector. In the 1970s, in the course of efforts to use international know-how, contacts arose between Wiederhold and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Ltd., founded in 1926 and active in the paints and coatings sector among many other areas of chemistry. To round off its product portfolio, ICI acquired the Wiederhold paint factories in 1976, and with them the Zweihorn plant. From 1981 the company was called 'ICI Lacke Farben GmbH'. Accordingly, Zweihorn also traded as Zweihorn-Vertrieb der ICI Lacke Farben GmbH. In 2005 the Dutch paints and coatings group AkzoNobel bought the Zweihorn brand in order to achieve market leadership in the trades with professional lacquers. In the mid-2020s AkzoNobel consolidated its wood coatings activities under the Sikkens Wood Coatings brand, and the Zweihorn website now directs customers to Sikkens Wood Coatings for the full range, technical data sheets and support. The Zweihorn brand thus represents a long-established German wood-finishing tradition that is being integrated into a larger international coatings brand.

• 2026

  AkzoNobel introduces Sikkens Wood Coatings interior portfolio in Germany; Zweihorn website directs customers to Sikkens Wood Coatings.

• 2011

  First leftover filler (miscible with lacquer leftovers 1:1) and water-based high-gloss clear lacquer (Duocryl DC-HG) launched.

• 2010

  Solvent-based lacquer with 20% water content (Futuran) produced.

• 2008

  Ultra-fast-drying 3-K high-gloss lacquer system (Duritan) launched.

• 2005

  AkzoNobel acquires the Zweihorn brand; magnetic adhesion filler launched.

• 1999

  First water-based insulating filler (Supercryl Isolierfüller IF) introduced.

• 1995

  First solvent-based insulating filler introduced.

• 1993

  Water-based colour lacquer mixing system (SupercrylColor SCC) produced.

• 1991

  Company produces a spectrophotometer for colour determination.

• 1988

  Mixing machine for the colour lacquer mixing system launched.

• 1985

  First sprayable stain (Spritz- & Pinselbeize S9900) and first formaldehyde-free clear lacquer introduced.

• 1984

  First Wigranit colour lacquer mixing system produced.

• 1981

  Company renamed 'ICI Lacke Farben GmbH'; Zweihorn trades as Zweihorn-Vertrieb der ICI Lacke Farben GmbH.

• 1976

  ICI acquires Wiederhold paint factories, including Zweihorn plant.

• 1960

  Zweihorn plant (70 employees) taken over by Hermann Wiederhold Lackfabriken in Hilden; entered in Hilden commercial register on 16 August 1960.

• 1951

  Share capital of 100,000 Reichsmark converted to DM at same amount.

• 1940

  Name 'Horn' dropped; company becomes 'Zweihorn Werk GmbH'.

• 1931

  Company converted into a GmbH by Eugen Wolff; first listed in Cologne commercial register on 26 May 1931; name 'Zweihorn' used alongside old name.

• 1912

  Horn brothers found Horn & Horn in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, trading in oils and fats.

Professional wood surface finishing for the interior joinery and carpentry trades; now integrated into AkzoNobel's Sikkens Wood Coatings portfolio.

• Wigranit

  Colour lacquer mixing system, first produced in 1984.

• Spritz- & Pinselbeize S9900

  First sprayable stain, introduced in 1985.

• SupercrylColor SCC

  Water-based colour lacquer mixing system, produced from 1993.

• Supercryl Isolierfüller IF

  First water-based insulating filler, introduced in 1999.

• Duritan

  Ultra-fast-drying 3-K high-gloss lacquer system, launched in 2008.

• Futuran

  Solvent-based lacquer with 20% water content, produced from 2010.

• Duocryl Wasser Hochglanzklarlack DC-HG

  Water-based high-gloss clear lacquer, launched in 2011.

1. 1Zweihorn® - Produkte zur Holzoberflächenveredelung | Zweihornzweihorn.com
2. 2Support | Sikkens Wood Coatingssikkens-wood-coatings.com
3. 3Zweihornwikidata.org
4. 4Zweihornde.wikipedia.org