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Herrmann Group
History of the group
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German and Italian migrations to Brazil
Starting in July 1824, hundreds of thousands of German immigrants from all parts of Germany began to settle in the southernmost states of Brazil. This 100-year migration wave was followed by hundreds of thousands more Italian immigrants, mainly from the Veneto region but also from other northern regions, beginning in 1875.
The arrival of Arthur Kopcke and the start of the company
In this context, in 1922, a German chemical technician named Arthur Kopcke arrived at the port of Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with his family. Born in Pomerania, Kopcke tried to paint a piece of furniture with the coatings available on the market at the time. After three days, the furniture was still wet and he quickly realized the poor quality of the coatings produced in the country.
The establishment of the coatings company
Kopcke was friends with brothers Leopold, Felipe and Waldemar Renner. The four decided to invest and establish a coatings company. The Renner brothers were grandsons of German immigrants from the Hunsrück region who arrived in 1825 and settled in the town of Montenegro, about 90 kilometers from Porto Alegre. The brother, Antônio Jacob Renner, known as A.J., was already a successful entrepreneur in the textile industry, with a large and important industrial plant located in Porto Alegre, near the great Guaíba River.
The initial growth of the company
Thus, the four brothers, together with Kopcke, founded a small coatings company on June 18, 1927. It would later become an international enterprise. In the A.J. Renner industrial park, the first plant was set up in an area of no more than 200 square meters, at the far end of the facilities dedicated to textiles, near the river.
The joining of Olga Renner Herrmann and the leadership of Ernesto Luíz
In 1930, a sister of the four brothers, Olga Renner Herrmann, widow of another German immigrant, Hugo Herrmann, joined the company. Born in Mainz, on the banks of the Rhine, Hugo arrived in Porto Alegre in 1903 and became a sales representative traveling on horseback. During one of these business trips he met Olga in Montenegro. Hugo died in 1924 at the age of 44, leaving Olga with five children to raise. Antônio Jacob, the project leader, invited his sister to join the company, claiming that his children would work there.
A fast-growing company
As early as 1930, Olga's eldest son Ernesto Luíz, then only a teenager, assumed leadership of the company. The company grew rapidly, establishing a metal packaging factory in 1933. In 1937, pioneer Arthur Kopcke left the company. By 1939, 12 years after its establishment, the company had 200 employees.
The restoration after the flood of 1941
In 1941, the company changed its name from Renner Kopcke to Renner Herrmann. In the same year, a major flood of the Guaíba River, exceeded only by another catastrophic one in 2024, threatened to destroy the company. Had it not been for the resilience of A.J. Renner and his grandson Ernesto Luíz Herrmann, the company would have closed its doors. Surprisingly, they did not give up. They bought 11 hectares about 10 kilometers away and built a new, much larger and more modern factory away from the river. This new factory was completed and operating in 1951, becoming the essential base for significant future growth.
The death of Ernesto Luíz and the passing of leadership
In 1958, Ernesto Luíz died at the age of 48. Despite his young age, he had built a respected company in the region, with an excellent reputation and leadership in the coatings market in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. By comparison, although the state of Rio Grande do Sul today has a population six times smaller than that of Italy, its land area is equivalent.
The birth of the white horse logo and the expansion of the 1960s
Leadership of the company then passed to his younger brother Hugo, 37, who bore the same name as his father and was a chemical engineer. At this time the famous white horse logo was created. In German, “renner” means “runner.” To reflect the idea of speed and reliability, the image of a galloping horse was adopted, which became an iconic logo.
Acquisitions and growth in the 1970s and 1980s
In the 1960s Renner Herrmann's expansion within Brazil began. A plant was built in the state of Bahia, another in São Paulo, and Tintas Louçalin, Renner's competitor in Rio Grande do Sul, was acquired. During this period, Ernesto Egon, son of Ernesto Luíz and first member of the third generation, joined the company.
The beginning of automotive coatings production
In 1975, Renner Herrmann bought all the shares of Ideal Tintas and Vernizes, a company then the same size as Renner Herrmann, marking the beginning of automotive coatings production in the Group. Suddenly, the company doubled in size.
International expansion
In 1980, a key event occurred with important effects even today. Renner Herrmann acquired 60 percent of Sayerlack Industria Brasileira de Vernizes, providing capital to the company, which, under the leadership of Alexandre Cenacchi, consolidated its leadership in supplying coatings to the Brazilian furniture industry. It later became Renner Sayerlack S.A., a leading company with operations in several countries, including Italy, and distribution of products in more than 90 countries.
Evolution from the 1990s to 2025
Once consolidated in Brazil, Renner Herrmann accelerated international growth in the 1990s, acquiring Blundell in Chile, Panamericana and Pintcol, the latter through Sayerlack in Argentina, and opening a distribution center in Paraguay.
A long history of success
In 2025, on the eve of its 100th anniversary, Renner Herrmann S.A. operates in 10 countries, demonstrating a history of resilience, innovation and success.