Koch-Chemie GmbH is a German manufacturer and premium brand specializing in professional cleaning, vehicle detailing, polishing, surface care, car-wash chemistry, workshop products, and industrial cleaning solutions. Founded in 1968 by Hans Koch, the company evolved from a small operation producing polishing formulations into an internationally distributed specialist brand. Today, Koch-Chemie is headquartered in Unna, Germany, and has been part of the French Novarc Group since 2017 1.

The company’s philosophy is summarized by the slogan “Excellence for Experts”, reflecting its emphasis on professional users, system-based products, technical development, and consistent results 2.

Quick Facts

According to official information, approximately 140 employees work at the Unna site, covering processes ranging from product development through production and sales 3.

1968 — The Beginning

The story of Koch-Chemie begins with Hans Koch, who was dissatisfied with the quality of vehicle-care products available at the time. He began developing his own polishing formulations in his garage. Originally trained as a carpenter, Koch associated this background with a particular interest in surfaces, finishing, and attention to detail. These formulations proved popular among professional users, eventually leading to the establishment of Koch-Chemie GmbH in 1968. This origin is significant because Koch-Chemie was not initially created as a mass-market consumer car-care brand; its roots were in professional surface treatment and practical results.

1970s — Commercial Production

During the 1970s, Koch-Chemie moved from small-scale beginnings toward serial production. In 1971, the company relocated its headquarters to Unna, Germany.

1980s — Expansion of the Brand

In the 1980s, Koch-Chemie established itself as an innovator across several product categories, including:

• Car-wash chemistry
• Vehicle preparation
• Polishing
• Workshop cleaning
• Industrial cleaning

This broadened the company beyond simply being a polish manufacturer.

1990 — The Star Range

In 1990, Koch-Chemie developed its Star product range. According to the company, many products from this range have continued to be manufactured and sold using the same basic formulations. The Star range became an important part of Koch-Chemie’s professional identity.

2000s — Family Succession and International Growth

During the 2000s, the company was continued by Hans Koch’s children, Axel and Leoni Koch, and expanded internationally.

2015 — Expansion in Unna

In 2015, Koch-Chemie expanded its Unna headquarters with additional administration facilities, warehouse capacity, and a CompetenceCenter.

2017 — Novarc Group

A major turning point occurred in June 2017, when Koch-Chemie became part of the French Novarc Group. Vincent Bossert became CEO at the time. Koch-Chemie continues to operate with its own identity and structure within the group rather than becoming another generic Novarc product line. The company states that the relationship gives it access to international networks and shared expertise while maintaining Koch-Chemie’s independent identity.

2020 — United States

Koch-Chemie established a sister company in Atlanta, USA, as part of its international expansion.

2024 — Marine Sector

The company expanded its portfolio into the marine sector, offering cleaning and care products for boats and other watercraft.

Koch-Chemie is best understood as a professional surface-care system manufacturer, rather than simply a “car shampoo company.” Its portfolio covers several stages of vehicle preparation.

Exterior Cleaning

Products are designed for removing road grime, oil and grease, insects, traffic film, brake dust, tar, tree resin, adhesive residues, and environmental contamination. The detailing portfolio includes products such as Green Star, Copo Star, Insect&Dirt Remover, Eulex, and various pre-cleaners.

Interior Cleaning

Koch-Chemie produces dedicated interior products for plastics, textiles, carpets, leather, Alcantara, cockpit surfaces, and upholstery. For example, Pol Star is designed for leather, Alcantara, and textile surfaces.

Paint Polishing

Paint correction is one of Koch-Chemie’s most recognizable areas. Its polishing system includes compounds and accessories designed to progressively remove defects and refine automotive paint. The general concept follows a workflow: Wash → Decontaminate → Compound → Polish → Refine → Protect. Rather than treating each product as an isolated item, Koch-Chemie designs products to work as part of a coordinated system.

Paint Protection

The company offers waxes, sealants, ceramic/coating-related products, spray protection, paint preparation products, and maintenance products. The goal is to provide both appearance enhancement and surface protection.

Wheel Care

Koch-Chemie produces dedicated wheel and rim cleaners, including acid-free formulations such as ReactiveWheelCleaner.

Car-Wash Chemistry

Another major part of the business is professional automatic and manual car-wash chemistry, including pre-wash chemicals, foams, shampoos, drying products, wax/protection products, wheel cleaners, and maintenance chemicals. This makes Koch-Chemie substantially broader than a typical enthusiast detailing brand.

One of the most important aspects of Koch-Chemie is its ProductSystem approach. Instead of selling hundreds of unrelated products, the company organizes products into coordinated systems intended to work together. For a professional detailer, this is valuable because the workflow can be standardized.

For example:

Pre-wash ↓ Contact wash ↓ Chemical decontamination ↓ Mechanical decontamination ↓ Paint correction ↓ Panel preparation ↓ Paint protection ↓ Maintenance

This philosophy is one reason Koch-Chemie is particularly popular among professional detailers and vehicle-preparation businesses.

Automotive is Koch-Chemie’s most recognizable field. The company divides its automotive activities into areas including Car Wash, Detailing, Care & Safety, Accessories, and Private Customers. Its automotive range is intended for applications ranging from professional car washes and detailing studios to workshops and vehicle manufacturers. Koch-Chemie describes itself as a supplier of complete detailing systems, rather than merely individual detailing products.

Historically, Koch-Chemie has been strongly associated with B2B/professional users. Its products are used by professional detailers, car dealerships, vehicle preparation companies, body shops, car washes, workshops, automotive manufacturers, and industrial customers. The company states that its products are used by major detailing companies in Germany and by automotive manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche. It notes that many products have been tested and approved by vehicle manufacturers.

The Consumer Market

While historically concentrated on professional users, Koch-Chemie also developed products for enthusiasts and semi-professionals. The company introduced a dedicated care system for private users in 2010, allowing enthusiasts to use products based on its professional systems. Today, its consumer-oriented ecosystem includes THE FINISHER, which provides professional-level car and boat-care products for private customers.

Key distinctions:

• KochChemie: Primarily professional/high-end systems
• THE FINISHER: Premium products aimed at private enthusiasts
• COLOURLOCK: Specialist leather and imitation-leather care

Koch-Chemie GmbH currently operates several brands.

KochChemie

This is the company’s flagship professional brand. It focuses on high-end cleaning and care systems for automotive, marine, and industrial applications. The emphasis is on professional performance and coordinated systems.

THE FINISHER

THE FINISHER is the more consumer-facing premium brand. Its products cover car shampoo, exterior cleaners, interior care, polishes, wheel cleaners, paint protection, and leather care. It is positioned toward car enthusiasts who want professional-level results.

COLOURLOCK

COLOURLOCK specializes in leather and imitation-leather care. Its products cover cleaning, conditioning/care, colour restoration, repair, and protection. Applications extend beyond automobiles to boats, furniture, fashion, and other leather surfaces.

More recently, Koch-Chemie has expanded beyond automobiles into marine detailing. The marine range is designed for sailing boats, motorboats, and other watercraft, covering both exterior and interior cleaning and care. This expansion fits naturally with Koch-Chemie’s existing expertise in painted surfaces, plastics, textiles, leather, and other surface-care applications.

Koch-Chemie’s roots extend beyond detailing. The company produces chemicals for workshop floors, industrial cleaning, heavy-duty degreasing, manufacturing environments, and general industrial surface cleaning. For example, Copo Star is described as a highly concentrated, phosphate- and solvent-free high-alkaline cleaner for heavy contamination such as oil and grease. Therefore, describing Koch-Chemie simply as a “car detailing brand” is incomplete; it is better described as a specialist cleaning and surface-care chemical manufacturer whose automotive detailing business is its most visible consumer-facing segment.

A major part of Koch-Chemie’s identity is that it researches, manufactures, and distributes its own products. The company describes this as relatively unusual within its industry. This gives Koch-Chemie greater control over formulation, product testing, manufacturing, product systems, quality control, and application knowledge. The company’s Unna operation represents its “Made in Germany” identity, with product development, production, and sales represented there.

Koch-Chemie’s reputation in professional detailing stems from several factors:

• Professional orientation: Built around professional users rather than initially targeting supermarket consumers.
• Complete systems: Products are designed to fit into standardized detailing processes.
• Strong polishing range: Particularly strong reputation for paint polishing and paint correction.
• Chemical expertise: Portfolio extends from mild interior cleaners to highly concentrated industrial chemicals.
• Consistency: Repeatability is extremely important for professional detailers.
• German manufacturing identity: Strong emphasis on German origin and manufacturing standards.

Some recognizable products include:

• Green Star: Concentrated universal cleaner
• Pol Star: Cleaner for leather, Alcantara, and textiles
• Copo Star: Heavy-duty workshop/industrial cleaner
• Eulex: Adhesive, resin, tar, and contamination remover
• Orange Power: Citrus-based special cleaner
• ReactiveWheelCleaner: Acid-free reactive wheel cleaner
• Panel Preparation Spray: Paint preparation/degreasing product
• Fresh Up: Odor-neutralizing/refresher product

These represent only a portion of the company’s much larger portfolio.

Since 2017, Koch-Chemie has been part of Novarc Group, a French family-owned business group. Novarc operates internationally and has interests including the automotive and electrical industries. The acquisition allowed Koch-Chemie to benefit from international distribution, business networks, purchasing expertise, product knowledge, sales infrastructure, and international expansion. However, Koch-Chemie states that its own identity and independent structure continue within the group.

Koch-Chemie’s positioning can be summarized as professional, premium, technical, and system-oriented. It generally sits toward the professional/high-end end of the automotive-care market rather than competing primarily on low price. Its target customer historically values performance, repeatability, efficiency, and professional results rather than simply the lowest price per bottle. This explains why Koch-Chemie products can appear relatively expensive compared with ordinary consumer car-care products.

Koch-Chemie states that it identifies with German quality, social, and environmental standards and emphasizes environmental protection alongside product quality. Some of its formulations are specifically described as phosphate-free, solvent-free, NTA-free, or otherwise designed with particular environmental considerations, depending on the product. However, this should not be interpreted as meaning that every Koch-Chemie product is environmentally harmless. The portfolio contains professional and industrial-strength chemicals, and individual products have their own safety, dilution, and handling requirements.

Although Koch-Chemie is fundamentally German in origin, it has developed into an international brand. The company describes itself as internationally networked, with expansion into markets including the United States. Its first U.S. sister company was established in Atlanta in 2020. Its products are now distributed to professional users and enthusiasts in numerous markets around the world.

The phrase “Excellence for Experts” effectively summarizes the brand. The underlying philosophy is: Expert knowledge → professional products → coordinated systems → repeatable results. Rather than simply selling a bottle of shampoo, Koch-Chemie attempts to provide a complete workflow for cleaning, correcting, protecting, and maintaining a vehicle. This system-based approach is arguably the most distinctive characteristic of the company.

Koch-Chemie GmbH is a German manufacturer of professional cleaning and surface-care chemicals founded in 1968 by Hans Koch in Unna, Germany. Originally established around automotive polishing products, the company developed into a specialist supplier of professional automotive cleaning, detailing, polishing, protection, car-wash chemistry, workshop, and industrial products. Since 2017, Koch-Chemie has been part of France’s Novarc Group while retaining its own brand identity and operations. The company emphasizes research, in-house manufacturing, coordinated product systems, and German quality, and today operates across automotive, marine, industrial, and specialist leather-care markets. Its flagship positioning is expressed through the slogan “Excellence for Experts.”

In simple terms, Koch-Chemie is essentially a German professional detailing-chemical specialist that grew from a 1968 garage operation into a global premium brand. Its strongest identity is professional automotive detailing, particularly cleaning, paint correction, polishing, and surface protection, but the actual company is considerably broader, covering car washes, workshops, industry, marine care, and leather treatment.

1. History
2. Company
3. Official Koch-Chemie website