POISED FOR EXPANSION Ontex, Europe’s leading manufacturer of private label hygienic disposable products, is set for further expansion with the acquisition of Lille Healthcare. Felicity Landon reports.
T
welve manufacturing facilities and sales offices in 11 countries enable Ontex to maintain is leading position in Europe as the manufacturer of hygienic disposables for the private label sector. Last year the company, which produces a wide range of products for baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence care, was acquired by Goldman Sachs and TPG for €1.2 billion − the largest ever private equity transaction in Belgium. Now Ontex, which is headquartered in Zele, Belgium, is poised for a major expansion with the acquisition of Lille Healthcare, a French-based company that operates across Europe and Australia selling incontinence products to institutional healthcare customers under the Lille brand, and private label products to retailers. Lille’s turnover amounted to €76.8 million in 2010. “We have been an admirer of Lille Healthcare for some time and believe that its addition to the Ontex Group will make our offer more attractive in the growing incontinence 158 Industry Europe
market across all the geographies in which Lille Healthcare operates,” says Ontex CEO Michael Teacher. Ontex employs 4250 people worldwide; Lille Healthcare, which has its head office at Lille and subsidiaries in the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Australia, has 340 employees.
Three divisions Ontex has manufacturing facilities in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, the Czech Republic, Algeria, Turkey and China. It operates through three divisions – Retail, Healthcare and Turkey Regional. The Retail division is primarily involved in the development, production and sale to retailers of private label baby care, feminine care and adult incontinence products. It also produces and sells to retailers branded products such as Helen Harper, Moltex and Babycharm. The Healthcare division is primarily involved in the development, production and sale of private label and branded adult
incontinence products to institutional customers – both private and governmental – in the healthcare market. The main brands are ID and Euron. The division also produces and sells private label products to specific healthcare distributors. The Turkey division is rather a different section of the company; it is involved in the development, production and sale of private label and branded products, primarily Canbebe, Canlady and Canped, to customers across all three of its markets, mainly in Turkey and the surrounding countries. Its product range in all three divisions is extensive: baby care includes diapers, baby pants and wet wipes; feminine care includes panty liners, tampons, classic fluff towels and ultra towels; and adult care includes light incontinence pads, pull-ups, belt diapers, all-in-ones, shaped pads, underpads for beds, and rectangular pads. All products are produced both under Ontex’s generic brands and for private label clients.
