Reading time 4 min | An article from Martin Rappenglück | TUNAP Blog
In 1974, products under the name TUNAP were used for the first time.
The birth of a brand
1974 was not only the year in which the VW Golf came onto the market and Germany became soccer world champions. The first TUNAP products also saw the light of day in the workshop world. In 2024, TUNAP can look back on fifty successful years.
Global success story
What began with the start of TUNAP brand distribution in 1974 is now one of the global technology leaders in the production of aerosols, lubricants and cleaners for industrial and technical applications. For half a century, the family-owned company has stood for innovation, intelligent products and reliable production.
As a global player rooted in Bavaria, TUNAP is represented by its own companies in seventeen markets in Europe, America and Asia. In total, the TUNAP GROUP employs more than 700 people worldwide and generates an annual turnover of around 243 million euros (2023).
Oliver Graetsch and Maximilian Buchner form the TUNAP Management 2024.
Research, development, production and logistics
"We are very proud of our half-century success story," says Maximilian Buchner, Managing Director of TUNAP and son of company founder Markus Buchner.
"The anniversary year 2024 is therefore an opportunity to look back on five decades of innovation, growth and strong partnerships. At the same time, we are looking to the future. We will continue to invest in order to be able to offer our customers research, development, production and logistics from a single source," says Buchner.
Max Buchner, grandfather of the TUNAP company founder, wrote automotive history.
Sales launch fifty years ago with specialty chemical products for cars
Markus Buchner's guiding principle in 1974 was to equip vehicle workshops with all the specialty chemical products they need in their operations. In the beginning, TUNAP's range consisted mainly of engine protection products and products for securing the cooling system.
"Designing product ranges for efficient automotive service was literally in the cradle for me and my family, as my grandfather, Max Buchner, founded "automag" in Munich in 1928, the very first BMW authorized dealer," says Markus Buchner, now Chairman of the Advisory Board of the TUNAP GROUP.
It was also Max Buchner who, in 1929, won the highly publicized International Alpine Race, the most difficult long-distance race in the world at the time, with a BMW Dixi and thus wrote automotive history.
Quality, added value, sustainability
In addition to outstanding product quality, two other components were essential to TUNAP's success story right from the start: a unique sales system that supported dealers competently and efficiently in earning money, and the development of maintenance and cleaning methods that helped to keep components alive for longer and save on spare parts. While sustainability was still little talked about in the seventies, TUNAP was already practicing it.
Today, TUNAP is an international development and service partner for thousands of car dealerships worldwide and cooperates with almost all major vehicle manufacturers. The current portfolio of the TUNAP Automotive division includes a wide range of chemical-technical products for maintenance as well as for repairs and problem solu-tions for all vehicle areas: From the engine, brakes and bodywork to the maintenance and care of interiors. The "airco well" air conditioning cleaning system developed by TUNAP has also made a significant contribution to the company's reputation.
TUNAP currently offers around 2200 products.
From cars to household cleaners: 50 years of innovation for numerous industries
The enthusiasm of the people at TUNAP for chemistry and technology has resulted in a number of TUNAP patents over the last fifty years, which have gradually completed TUNAP's chemical-technical product range.
TUNAP relies on long-term partnerships, with around 30,000 customers worldwide already relying on TUNAP products and systems.
In addition to the Automotive division, TUNAP is active in the Industry, Private Brand and TUNAP Sports divisions. The Industry division develops and sells high-performance and specialty lubricants for a wide range of industrial sectors.
For the Private Brand division, TUNAP offers its customers a special range of lubricants, cleaners and additives for private label distribution and develops and produces individual product solutions on request.
With TUNAP Sports bicycle care products, TUNAP also takes care of sustainable mobility on the bicycle. Cosmetic products round off the TUNAP Sports range.
TUNAP makes the world a better place to live.
TUNAP combines innovative chemistry with high sustainability standards
For fifty years, TUNAP has been producing products that care and protect and combine innovative chemistry with high sustainability standards. As a manufacturer of chemical products, TUNAP is aware of its special responsibility.
From the very beginning, TUNAP has placed the highest value on health and resource-saving active ingredients in its products, and has been a member of the Bavarian Environmental Pact for over fifteen years.
TUNAP company headquarters in Wolfratshausen.
Deeply rooted in the Wolfratshausen region as an attractive employer
TUNAP produces at three locations: in Wolfratshausen (Bavaria), in Lichtenau (Saxony) and in Märstetten (Switzerland). With thirteen of its own foreign subsidiaries and a large number of trading partners, TUNAP has an excellent international network. TUNAP is particularly attached to its home base in Wolfratshausen in Bavaria. In addition to administration, sales and production, the central research and development department is also located at the headquarters, where a total of 180 employees work.
TUNAP is one of the most important employers companies in the region. Many employees have been working for the company for decades. "Our employees appreciate working in a family business. We have been able to maintain flat hierarchies and fast decision-making processes to this day", explains Maximilian Buchner. “We attach great importance to a good working atmosphere, trust, appreciation and individual personnel development programs. As an employer, we want to actively contribute to the attractiveness of the region as a place to work,” adds Oliver Graetsch.
Awards for TUNAP
In 2023, the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen presented TUNAP with the 2023 Business Award for its modern working environment, social commitment and exemplary sustainability standards. TUNAP also received the "Employer of the Future" award in 2023 from the German Innovation Institute for Sustainability and Digitalization.
"Our special thanks go to the people at TUNAP, because without them this anniversary would not have been possible. Their commitment, expertise and passion are crucial to TUNAP's fifty-year success story," emphasize Maximilian Buchner and Oliver Graetsch.
Interview with Markus Buchner, founder of TUNAP
Markus Buchner talking about highlights and interesting facts from 50 years of TUNAP history:
