Created in 1946, Starwax is more than ever the flagship brand of Brunel, Lille company that has become a reference in household cleaning products and a key partner of DIY stores throughout France.
Starwax was founded in 1946 by Guy and Roger Brunel, two visionary and complementary brothers. The first trained in chemistry ; the second, to trade. After the Second World War, they began manufacturing a wax for wood maintenance, naming their brand Starwax in homage to the America that liberated them. This will become the French maintenance brand for the house of the Trente Glorieuses.. Starwax is today the leader in the French specialized drugstore market. In a context of continued growth, Brunel’s turnover has 
increased by 22% in three years, to reach 82 million euros at the end of 2022 ! The company employs 217 employees to date.. With the support of the French group Altair, of which she is a part, it is in the process of renewing its production site near Lille with new tools capable of increasing its productivity, to reduce its environmental footprint and improve the working comfort of its employees. Brunel is indeed a company known for its pioneering commitment to eco-responsibility., related to DIY, for many years.
The challenge of environmental and societal transformation
Since 2014, the Brunel company devoted a total of 28 million euros to improving its production tools, to make it an exemplary site meeting the best industry standards in terms of security, performance, and environmental protection. In 2022 and 2023, more than 4,2 million euros were invested in the creation of a new manufacturing workshop, equipped with new generation eco-responsible installations. These new workshops were inaugurated on June 20. Over the next twelve months, it will be the turn of the packaging workshop to be transformed by new high-tech equipment. These investments are part of the CSR strategy of the Brunel company which supports the objectives of the Altaïr group : halve the environmental footprint, double the turnover of eco-certified products and obtain Great Place To Work certification.
Historic brands, strong and committed
Starwax is number one in drugstore sales in DIY supermarkets with a market share in value of 31,1% in 2022. This leadership position is shared by the two other flagship brands of the Brunel company. : K.Pro, household insecticide expert (43,8% of market share in value), and I feel, specialist in multi-material repair and renovation solutions (44,4% MRP in value). Innovative for decades, Brunel brands were the first to offer ingredients from yesteryear (Briochin) and eco-certified formulas in DIY supermarkets. They were pioneers of formulas based on active ingredients of natural origin in specialist insecticides and the partners of all those who prefer to repair rather than throw away. Starwax is also committed to sustainable forest management alongside the company Ecotree. In 2021 more than two thousand trees were planted in a Creuse forest and, in 2022, the brand supported the restoration of a wetland in Brittany.
