1878
Foundation of “Deutsche Virginia- Vaseline-Fabrik Carl Hellfrisch & Co.” in Offenbach, Germany
1929
The new Owner, Otto Schünmann moves the business to Hamburg, Germany
1942
Hans-Otto Schünmann, son of the owner, founds the Vaseline Refinery
1947
Construction of the new production facility at Port of Hamburg (Worthdamm)
1951
Inauguration of Europe’s first “de-oiling through sweating” facility and production of fully refined waxes
1960
Construction of hydrogenation facility for petroleum jellies and micro waxes (G-station)
1992
Second hydrogenation facility in Hamburg (H-station) put into service
1995
Foundation of SCHÜMANN SASOL International AG, a joint venture between Hans-Otto Schümann Group and Sasol Chemical Industries Ltd.’s wax division
2001
SCHÜMANN SASOL becomes fully-owned subsidiary of Sasol Ltd. and is renamed Sasol Wax International AG
2003
Addition of the UK-based Birkenhead and Austria-based Linz facilities
2007
Sasol Wax sells its 31.3% stake in Paramelt to Schümann Wax
2009
Inauguration of third hydrogenation facility (I-station), increasing production capacity of waxes and petroleum jellies by 25%
2014
Installation of a gas turbine cogeneration plant supplying cost-effective electricity for both Hamburg sites and steam supply to Worthdamm site with a low CO₂ footprint
2018
G-Station upgrade to produce FT-waxes
2022
Takeover by the AWAX Group, marking a new chapter of innovation. This strategic move unlocked increased focus on R&D, sustainable wax technologies, and led to the rebranding of Sasol Wax into Hywax.
2024
Hywax implements the first plant in the world producing high-purity MOAH-free microwaxes.
