© The Cookware Company

Quality coating

GreenPan is making clean cooking easier

by Michele Wojciechowski

Wim De Veirman invited his business partner and chairman, Jan Helskens, to dinner to celebrate the co-founding of their new venture, The Cookware Company, in 2005.

“While I was cooking dinner, Jan showed me an article in the local newspaper. It had a big picture of a nonstick frying pan. The title said, ‘Questions about traditional nonstick products,’ ” says De Veirman, CEO of The Cookware Company, a Costco supplier. “We both looked at the pan on my stovetop. Oops!”

Instead of regretting that they started the business, they saw an opportunity to change how cookware was made.

The Cookware Company worked with its sister company, Thermolon, based in South Korea, to develop a proprietary ceramic nonstick coating for cookware that was free of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In 2006, the Thermolon coating was ready for production. But none of the brands they made cookware for were interested. “The only way to do it was to launch our own brand,” De Veirman says.

In 2007, the co-founders launched GreenPan in the U.S. on a TV home shopping network. In just four hours, it sold 25,000 sets. The Cookware Company now sells more than 30 million pans a year. It employs about 3,000 people in 12 global sales offices and four factories—located in Italy, Germany, China and South Korea.

“Today, we have more than 60 different collections,” says De Veirman. The company has also launched a collection of small electronic appliances coated with a special PFAS-free nonstick formulation.

In addition to patents for the original ceramic nonstick, the company has more than 150 other patents, including a stainless steel treatment that prevents discoloration. “We love bringing disruptive technology to the market,” De Veirman says.

The company’s mission remains to create a better, environmentally conscious product. “We are focused on sustainable manufacturing,” De Veirman says. He says that it uses a minimum of 65% recycled materials in its aluminum pan bodies and that in 2022, 18% of its factories’ electricity was generated by roof-top solar panels.

“By eliminating PFAS in all our products and production, we can create tools that are better for customers and the environment,” De Veirman adds. “I am truly convinced our products make a difference.”