The HG brand offers a wide range of products for cleaning in and around the home. The range includes a variety of products for the kitchen, bathroom and toilet, living areas, household appliances, various floor coverings, gardening, furniture and the area around the house. Specialized products designed to solve specific problems give the best results. All over the world, consumers choose the proven and reliable quality of HG from the Netherlands.
HG International B.V. is a purely Dutch company with its own representative
offices and distributors in various countries. The head office and production
site are located in Almere. The plant produces more than 300 different products
that find their way to millions of satisfied customers in more than 45
countries.
The letters HG come from the name of Swedish businessman Håkan Gyp. In the
early 1960s, he had a number of high-quality cleaning products developed by
Stockholm University that were primarily intended for swimming pools.
In 1969, a small Dutch company, Van Altena B.V., based in Gemstede, began
importing these HG products from Sweden. This proved successful not only in the
pool world, but also among builders who sold ceramic tiles.
In the mid-1970s, the Swedish company HG was sold to a Finnish company.
When they decided to move the HG plant to northwest Finland, Van Altena B.V.
decided to manufacture HG products in the Netherlands because of the distance
between northwest Finland and the Netherlands. They acquired the HG formulas
and brand rights from a Finnish company and started a small production facility
in Oldensal.
After a thorough market analysis, the company decided to shift its focus from swimming pools and construction companies to the consumer market. During the same period, they also worked on positioning the HG brand: “HG should be the brand for all cleaning and maintenance problems in and around the home.” In addition to producing high quality products, innovation has also become an important component of the concept. The company has its own laboratory where it constantly develops and improves products. The company also develops products in cooperation with professional home appliance repairmen. The masters use the jointly developed products in their work to prevent and extend the service life of various household appliances. These products are also tested on products from different manufacturers, so customers often refer to HG products as professional household chemicals.
