The metalworking industry in the Uckermark region, about 100 kilometers northeast of Berlin, the German capital, has a long tradition that began in 1856 when the “Eisengießerei und Maschinenbauanstalt Hoffmann” (Iron foundry and mechanical engineering institute Hoffmann) manufactured manhole covers for sewers.

From 1966 on “Armaturenwerk Prenzlau” (AWP) produced refrigeration valves. Initially, shut-off, control, and check valves were manufactured. In 1974, the product range was expanded to include safety valves, and in 1978, further control valves were introduced.

After German reunification in 1990, AWP was gradually privatized by the Treuhandanstalt (state-run trustee’s organization). The production of refrigeration valves continued in the newly founded “AWP Kälte-Klima-Armaturen GmbH” with 37 employees.

In 1994, the company specialized in customized solutions for compressor systems. In this context, the first suction filter combinations were developed and manufactured.
In 2006, AWP became a subsidiary of the GEA Group.