Adolf Präg (Unternehmen)

Adolf Präg (commonly branded PRÄG) is a German family-owned energy and mineral-oil group headquartered in Kempten (Allgäu). Founded on 5 December 1904 by Adolf Präg in Augsburg as a trading agency for cylinder, machine and vaseline oils, the company has grown into a diversified energy service provider. Its core business remains the wholesale and retail of mineral-oil products, but the portfolio now spans heating oil, wood pellets, fuels, electricity, natural gas, e-mobility charging solutions, photovoltaic systems and battery storage. PRÄG also offers energy-efficiency consulting and climate strategy services for commercial clients. The group operates three large tank farms (in Kempten, Augsburg and Heidenau near Dresden) and a network of over 100 filling stations, primarily in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony. Around 80 of these stations operate under the Aral brand, while roughly 30 use the company's own PINOIL or PIN brand. About 50 stations offer LPG. In the end-customer segment, PRÄG supplies around 40,000 customers with heating oil and diesel fuels. The energy division alone serves approximately 60,000 private and commercial customers. PRÄG has a long history of innovation in the German fuel retail market: it opened the first self-service filling station in Europe under the Texaco brand in 1972, introduced its own PINOIL station brand in 2003, and expanded into electricity and gas in 2011. In 2017 it launched a smart-energy and e-mobility business field, opening its first electric charging station in Kempten. The company remains family-owned, with the Deisenhofer and Keslar families as shareholders, and is managed by the Adolf Präg Verwaltungs-GmbH as the group holding company.

The history of Adolf Präg begins on 5 December 1904, when Adolf Präg, a wholesale merchant born in Ulm, founded a trading agency in Augsburg for lighting petroleum and specialty lubricants (cylinder oils, machine oils and vaseline oils). His customers were primarily the then-significant Augsburg textile industry and the emerging mechanical engineering industry. In 1916, a branch was opened in Kempten, managed by Anna Meisle, who later became Adolf Präg's wife and served as managing partner from 1946 to 1977. Until 1928, the company was supplied by Rhenania-Ossag Mineralölwerke AG (later Deutsche Shell AG). In 1928, Präg became a member of UNITI e.V., the association of German independent fuel and mineral-oil importers. During World War II, the company's development stagnated due to the forced management of all German mineral-oil companies under the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mineralölverteilung (AMV). After Adolf Präg's death in 1946, his widow Anna initially led the company. In 1947, Johann Deisenhofer joined as a partner, followed by his brother Josef Deisenhofer in 1948. Although the forced management of mineral-oil products was not lifted until mid-1951, Josef Deisenhofer established initial supply contacts with Deutsche Erdöl AG (DEA) in 1948 and sealed a cooperation as a DEA brand dealer in 1950. In 1948, a new tank farm was opened in Krumbach alongside existing ones in Kempten and Augsburg. In 1951, Präg opened the first DEA filling station in Germany in the Allgäu. By the late 1950s, Präg operated 120 DEA stations. Heating oil was added to the product range, and the company became market leader in the Allgäu. In the mid-1950s, the company headquarters moved from Augsburg to Kempten. In 1966, the American oil company Texaco acquired DEA, Präg's contract supplier. By then, Präg was supplying 150 filling stations in Bavarian Swabia. In 1968, Präg built its first modern tank farm for gasoline and heating oil in Kempten, along with a high-bay warehouse for over 250,000 liters of lubricants. In 1972, Präg opened Europe's first self-service filling station under the Texaco brand in Lagerlechfeld near Augsburg. This step multiplied sales, and Präg rapidly expanded to become the highest-revenue German Texaco dealer. In 1977, Präg operated 146 filling stations, served 20,000 customers, and achieved sales of 140 million DM. A new tank farm and administration building were erected in Krumbach. In 1980, sales rose to 180 million DM, and Präg operated 100 filling stations, 55 of them self-service. In 1980, the company founded its own software firm, AM-Data GmbH. In 1983, the legal form of Präg was converted. In 1990, PRÄG expanded into Saxony with the founding of PRÄG Mineralölhandelsgesellschaft in Leipzig. Eight years later, a branch was built in Heidenau near Dresden. In 2003, PRÄG introduced its own filling station brand PINOIL for price-conscious customers. In 2011, the product portfolio was expanded to include electricity and gas. In 2014, one of the largest pellet storage facilities in Bavarian Swabia was opened in Augsburg (pellets had been sold since 2006). In 2017, PRÄG launched its smart energy and e-mobility business field, opening its first electric charging station at the Forum Allgäu shopping center in Kempten. Today, the company is led by the Adolf Präg Verwaltungs-GmbH as the group holding company and remains a family-owned business with over 120 years of history.

• 2017

  Start of the smart energy and e-mobility business field; first electric charging station opened in Kempten.

• 2014

  Opening of the pellet storage facility in Augsburg, one of the largest in Bavarian Swabia.

• 2011

  Expansion of the product portfolio to include electricity and gas.

• 2003

  Introduction of the PINOIL brand, PRÄG's own filling station brand for price-conscious customers.

• 1990

  Expansion into Saxony with the founding of PRÄG Mineralölhandelsgesellschaft in Leipzig.

• 1972

  First self-service filling station under the Texaco brand, introduced by Gerd Deisenhofer in Europe.

• 1916

  Opening of the branch in Kempten, managed by Anna Meißle.

• 1904

  Adolf Präg founded the Adolf Präg GmbH & Co. KG as a trading agency for cylinder, machine and vaseline oils in Augsburg.

Regional, service-oriented energy provider with a 120-year family business history, offering reliable energy from the region and expanding into sustainable and smart energy solutions.

• PRÄG Heizöl Premium

  Premium heating oil to protect heating systems.

• PRÄG Pellets

  Wood pellets from renewable raw materials.

• PRÄG Strom

  Green electricity from hydro and solar power.

• PRÄG Erdgas

  Natural gas, also available CO2e-compensated.

• PINOIL

  Own filling station brand for price-conscious customers.

• E-mobility charging solutions

  Electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure.

• Photovoltaic systems

  Solar power systems for self-generation.

• Battery storage

  Energy storage solutions.

1. 1Pellets, Strom, Erdgas & Heizöl online kaufenpraeg.de
2. 2Die Geschichte unseres Familienunternehmens | PRÄGpraeg.de
3. 3Die PRÄG-Gruppe | PRÄGpraeg.de
4. 4Adolf Präg (Unternehmen)wikidata.org
5. 5Adolf Prägde.wikipedia.org