MAYEN - Ontex, the Belgium-headquartered personal hygiene group, has officially opened its Global Excellence Center (GEC) for Process Engineering and Global Platform Innovation.

In the presence of Ontex CEO Esther Berrozpe, the centre was officially opened in Mayen, Germany.

Around 180 people will work at the site, as operators of development production lines, engineers and lab technicians.

“The GEC will help bring innovation to our customers faster,” said Berrozpe. “The combined technical capabilities and creativity of the GEC innovation and engineering teams will help make Ontex more agile. The changes we are making in Mayen and our commitment to leveraging the vast expertise and knowledge we have there are a critical element of our strategy to return Ontex to profitable growth and value creation.”

Ontex aims to deploy equipment more quickly on harmonized platforms. Equally important is the ability and opportunity to standardize products. In diapers, for example, Ontex is in the process of aligning new absorption technologies like ClimaFlex and sustainability features in products, like Ontex’s recent tests with industrially compostable pads for hybrid diapers.

“We see tremendous opportunities to eliminate waste through design-to-value and from there deliver innovation to our customers faster, creating value along the way,” added Annick De Poorter, executive vice president, Sustainability and Innovation, Ontex.

This ability to industrialize better and faster is embodied by the GEC and will therefore play a crucial and exciting role in the deep industrial transformation process Ontex is going through. Different industrialization, engineering and product development teams will work closely together under one roof and benefit from a unique infrastructure that is currently being made operational.