HVL GmbH
Choose Performance

As a modern family business, we combine the professionalism and digital capabilities of an international corporation with everything that defines a family-run company: a personal touch, a genuine commitment to service and maximum flexibility.

In 2020, Alexander Lips joined HVL as the second generation, and since January 2024 he has been managing the company together with his father, Ulrich Lips. Father and son share the same philosophy: customers who are convinced and satisfied. Our suppliers, too, know us as a reliable, fair and financially solid partner. It was a supplier’s own words – “everyone in the industry knows that HVL performs” – that gave rise to our slogan, “Choose Performance”. A standard we aim to live up to every single day.

For more than 32 years, we have been an important partner to our customers and suppliers in the wholesale and distribution of chemicals and raw materials, as well as a manufacturer of engine antifreeze.

None of this would be possible without a strong and dedicated team. Everyone at HVL is passionate about our philosophy – and our customers notice. There is no other way to explain the response we receive from them. We invest continuously in our digital infrastructure, in new products and in a sustainable future. HVL has been completely paperless since 2015 and climate-neutral since 2019. State-of-the-art workstations and a first-class IT infrastructure have allowed us to digitalise every process. Only we are still analogue – and available to you in person at any time.

For us, a hands-on mentality is not just a buzzword; it is how we build business and relationships. Bring your projects to life with us, in an environment built on trust. In 2024, HVL celebrated its 30th anniversary. We invite you to shape the future together with us. See for yourself: Choose Performance!

Customers in more than

30

countries

We move

150,000

tons annually

We operate

23,000

of tank capacity

HVL Timeline

We look back at important milestones in the history of HVL GmbH

2026
January
Expansion of coolant production
Expansion of coolant production

Driven by the rapid growth of our Frigutec® antifreeze line, in 2025 we decided to expand our production capacity significantly. We are adding further mixing vessels as well as storage tanks for key additives. This allows us to produce efficiently and under full control, even during peak season.

2024
July
Celebrating 30 years of HVL
Celebrating 30 years of HVL

Thirty years after Ulrich Lips founded HVL in September 1994, we marked this milestone anniversary with the entire team and their partners on a three-day trip to Antwerp. Alongside a boat tour of the harbour and a visit to our tank storage facility, we also explored the city and its culinary scene. We look back with pride on many successful years – and raise a glass to the future together!

March
Launch of Frigutec® X-OAT
Launch of <span style="white-space: nowrap;">Frigutec<sup>®</sup> X-OAT</span>

In 2024, we launched Frigutec® X-OAT, a premium coolant for use in passenger cars as well as medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles (meeting standards such as Volvo’s VCS-2).

Learn more here

January
Alexander Lips appointed Managing Director
Alexander Lips appointed Managing Director

Effective 1 January 2024, Alexander Lips became Managing Director of HVL, leading the company from that point on alongside his father, Ulrich Lips, as a joint management team.

2022
July
First OEM approval for a Frigutec® coolant

Our premium antifreeze Frigutec® OAT-EVO has received official approval from Deutz® in accordance with the current CC-14 specification. We are proud of this first OEM approval for an HVL coolant and continue to work towards further approvals.

February
First production Frigutec® OAT-EVO

Our modern premium engine coolant of the next generation, free from 2-ethylhexanoic acid. Find out more about our Frigutec® product range in the chapter products.

2021
September
Distribution of acetone

Our first tank filling in the solvent sector with own REACH registration. We start with the import and distribution of Acetone using our tank storage in Antwerp.

2020
September
Next Generation – Alexander Lips joins HVL

During a four-month onboarding in the customer service team, Alexander became familiar with our numerous customers, suppliers, and service partners. By the turn of the year, he is taking over the responsibilities of sales as Key Account Manager at HVL.

February
TEG REACH Registration

With the completion of the TEG REACH registration, we start importing and distributing triethylene glycols and complement our range of ethylene glycols. Europe remains our core market.

2019
September
25th anniversary of HVL

We celebrate the 25th anniversary of HVL GmbH.

2016
July
Our first tank for MEG
Our first tank for MEG

We rent our first tank at NoordNatie Terminals in Antwerp for monoethylene glycol – the dawning of a new era at HVL. Later in 2018, we extend our commitment in glycols by the completion of own REACH registrations for MEG and DEG.

2015
June
Complete digitalisation of our processes
Complete digitalisation of our processes

Complete digitization of our processes towards a paperless office. Since 2015, we have been able to digitally map our processes, such as the order processing, from recording data to invoicing and archiving. Equipped with state-of-the-art workplaces, powerful servers, and a digital infrastructure, we were also able to make an active contribution to environmental protection by going completely paperless.

2006
August
New company name

Change of name to our current name HVL GmbH.

2000
May
Start of sales and trade in fresh goods

Conversion into and initial registration of HVL Rohstoffhandel & Abfallverwertung GmbH.

1996
October
Reorientation of HVL towards the chemical industry

“After the project “dissolution” of the National People’s Armed Forces was completed in 1996, I had to fully reorient myself. With experience in marketing old stock, I turned back to the industry. In 1996, it was tantamount to a revolution to also consider industrial waste as a potential product and to want to bring it to market. Conservative waste managers in particular have seen this as an illegal act. Today, the Circular Economy Act states the following sentence: “If a substance or object is produced in a manufacturing process the primary purpose of which is not the production of that substance or object, it shall be regarded as a by-product and not as waste”. We also have a tiny share in this.

In this way, we have saved hundreds of thousands of tonnes from senseless disposal over many years up to the present day and, to the same extent, conserved natural raw materials for our future. Without calling it that, we have always acted very sustainably.

Very quickly, in addition to the waste-to-product project, we also started trading in new products again.” (Ulrich Lips)

1994
September
Foundation of HVL GmbH as a sole proprietorship Handel und Verwertung Lips

“With experience from the chemical trade (Brenntag) and contacts to the Bundeswehr, I started the HVL project after the fall of the Berlin Wall with the dissolution of the National People’s Army, the former army of the GDR. There, I specialised in particular in the marketing of fuels and lubricants from stocks of the National People’s Army.” (Ulrich Lips)

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Telefon: ­+49 (0) 7632 82348 – 0

E-Mail: info@hvl-online.com