Our history

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Ontex was founded in Belgium in 1979 as a supplier of underpads for Belgian hospitals, clinics and care homes.
Since then we have built an international business through organic growth and a number of key acquisitions. Today, we have offices and manufacturing plants in Europe, North and East Africa, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas.
Then, as now, it was all about quality products at affordable prices, being close to consumers in local markets and understanding consumers’ needs.
Ontex has evolved from a local manufacturer to a global supplier of affordable, quality personal hygiene products with a balanced portfolio of products that bring convenience, security and dignity to users.
Our history is one of continuous innovation in products and services, technological advances and strong partnerships.
Ontex_1979

Timeline and evolution

1980s and 1990s

Expanded our product range into baby care, adult care and feminine care products acquiring distribution and production facilities across Europe, in the Czech Republic and Turkey.

2006

Opened our first factory outside Europe in China followed by a manufacturing plant in Algeria.

2011

Acquired one of Europe’s biggest disposable hygiene products suppliers, Lille Healthcare, and opened plants in Australia, Russia and Pakistan.

2013

Extended our range of adult care products with the acquisition of the Serenity brand in Italy.

2014

Listing on the Belgium Euronext stock exchange in June gave us a strong financial base to continue to develop new products, work with customers and seek new markets.

2016

Acquisition of Grupo P.I Mabe in Mexico extended the Ontex platform outside Western Europe and into growth markets in North America. We entered the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels BEL 20.

2017

Acquisition of the personal hygiene business of Hypermarcas S.A. in Brazil marks another important step in our transformation from manufacturer to consumer-facing business. It gives us a good foothold in this exciting market.