Christeyns invests in medical hygiene with majority stake in German Pliwa

Gent – 23 March 2020 – Despite the uncertain investment climate, hygiene expert Christeyns is expanding its medical hygiene activities by acquiring Pliwa, a German manufacturer of disinfection products for hospitals and dental care. The transaction will enable Christeyns to increase its production capacity of disinfectants for medical applications. In this way, the company hopes to provide better support to the medical sector in the future.

 

After the acquisitions of Laboratoire Phagogène and Ecolab’s Life Science Division in France, Christeyns now adds a third company to its European Life Science Portfolio. With the acquisition of Pliwa, Christeyns fortifies its position in this market and takes a step forward in the geographical expansion.

Established in Malsfeld (Germany) in 1991 , Pliwa produces a wide range of hand, instrument and surface disinfection products. In 2020 the company aims to reach a turnover of over 5 million euros.

“Although the acquisition has been planned for some time, it is still quite a risk for us to invest right now,” explains Christeyns CEO, Alain Bostoen. “Many of our customers are hotel and restaurant laundries and they have been very much affected by the corona crisis, which will of course also have major consequences for us. Nevertheless, we want to take the investment risk. More than ever before, it is clear that hygiene in the healthcare sector is of vital importance for both patients and care providers. Therefore it is our duty to optimally support the medical sector in the future with safe and high-quality products. We can do this together with Pliwa.”

New Managing director Mrs. Olivera Mautner, daughter of the former owner, will hold a minority share in the new company Pliwa Hygiene Gmbh. She explains “I am very happy to be part of such a large and professional group. As a pharmacist and qualified specialist according to Medicines Law, I have always taken great pride in the technical qualifications of our disinfectants. Together with Christeyns, we will be able to increase the scope of our products. We look forward to growing together. ”

With this acquisition, Christeyns increases its group capacity in the production of disinfectants and cleaning products for medical devices. All jobs in the factory in Malsfeld are retained. The plant is GMP certified, has a special medicinal manufacturing permission and is certified for ISO 13485:2016 and MDD 93/42/EEC (for medical devices).