- Foundation in 1864:Conrad Wilhelm Schmidt founds CWS in Düsseldorf
- 1867:Expansion of the company by taking over the Foerster paint factory in Ratingen
- 1879: Establishment of a location in London to supply the British market
- 1882: Establishment of a location in Brussels, primarily for spirit containing paints
- 1889: CWS receives a gold medal of excellence at a world exhibition in Paris
- 1946: New start after the 2nd World War in a former paper factory in Düren
- 1963: Relocation of the last installations, administration and head office from Düsseldorf to Düren s
- 1964: 100-Year Anniversary
- 1969: As one of the first paint manufacturers, CWS produces powder coatings based on epoxy resins
- 1970: Commissioning of the first extruders at CWS to produce powder coatings with shorter curing times and lower baking temperatures.
- 1972: The total annual consumption of powder coatings in Germany has exceeded 2,000 tonnes for the first time.
- 1974: Start of production of polyester resins combined with epoxy resins. These hybrid coatings quickly reach 60% of the market share
- 1983: At CWS, more than 1,000 tonnes are produced per year for the first time.
- 1985: Start of production of powder coatings in the new CWS plant with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year
- 1990: Establishment of a subsidiary in Denmark to serve the Scandinavian market.
- 1999: The organisation is split into three different companies, CWS Powder Coatings GmbH, CWS Resins GmbH and CWS Baufarben GmbH. The CWS Lackfabrik GmbH & Co. functions only as a classical holding company.
- 2000: Establishment of a subsidiary in New York, USA
- 2004: CWS Powder Coatings GmbH takes over the powder coating manufacturer Dörken and becomes the largest private powder coating manufacturer.
- 2005:Expansion of production capacity at CWS Powder Coatings USA. Establishment of a new heat-resistant product line CEWETHERM. A new production department is set up for this purpose.
- 2006: Establishment of a subsidiary in Poland
- 2014: 150th Anniversary of CWS
- 2016: New raw materials warehouse built
- 2018:New TCC built (Technic Competence Center)
- 2020: New access road constructed, CWS Street inaugurated, new loading docks. New warehouse built with 10,000 pallet spaces
- 2023: CWS becomes a member of the KANSAI HELIOS Group and part of Kansai Paint. This makes the company one of the world’s leading paint manufacturers.
- 2025: As of July 1, 2025, CWS markets its powder coating specialties under the KANSAI HELIOS brand, thereby strategically integrating the entire product range more visibly into the group’s system supplier offering.
Deutsch