Werner & Mertz GmbH

About Werner & Mertz

Werner & Mertz GmbH, headquartered in Mainz, is a manufacturer of cleaning, care and impregnation products for household, shoe and leather care. The family-owned company, founded in 1837, is represented among others by the brands Frosch and Erdal. In addition to its headquarters in Mainz, the company operates a production plant in Hallein, Austria (formerly Blendax), as well as subsidiaries in Spain, Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, among others. The products are sold in Central Europe, the Balkans, Russia, Turkey, Japan and several countries in Africa. A key focus of the company is the circular economy: according to its own statements, Werner & Mertz has filled one billion bottles made of post-consumer recyclate. Reinhard Schneider is the managing partner; he received the German Environmental Prize in 2019 and the EY Entrepreneur of the Award in the Sustainability category in 2025.

Site

Mainz

Founded

1837

Industries

Cleaning and care products (Consumer Goods), Shoe and leather care, Household cleaners

1. 01

   Development and Formulation

2. 02

   Production

3. 03

   Filling

4. 04

   Distribution

5. 05

   Export

Locations

Inside the production

History

1. 1837

   Adam Lorenz Werner founds a chandler's wax drawing business on Langgasse in Mainz.

2. 1887

   Georg Mertz becomes a partner; renaming to Werner & Mertz.

3. 1901

   Registration of the Erdal word mark with the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin (No. 50848).

4. 1903

   The green frog is used for the first time as a visual logo on the Erdal tins.

5. 1997

   Erdal becomes jersey sponsor of 1. FSV Mainz 05 (until 2001).

6. 2001

   100 years of Erdal with an anniversary exhibition and a 12 m tall cold-air frog.

7. 2019

   Reinhard Schneider receives the German Environmental Prize.

8. 2025

   Reinhard Schneider receives the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Sustainability) award including the Audience Award.