Fibertex Personal Care has acquired the remaining 85% stake in Innowo Print, a European leader in direct printing on nonwovens, which it co-founded in 2007.

Callling the transaction proof of the importance of offering specialized products and services in the nonwovens industry, FPC CEO Mikael Staal, says, “At Fibertex Personal Care, we mostly manufacture standardized products in very large volumes. That makes it important for us to offer a uniformly high quality and provide excellent service to our customers. Direct printing on nonwovens is a field where we can differentiate from our competitors in the rest of the market and provide a service that complements our core product. For this reaosn, acquiring Innowo Print is an important strategic move for us.”

While its first customers were referred by FPC, Innowo Print, based in Ilsenburg, Germany, has since then built an independent customer portfolio and developed a brand recognized in the market. Today the European leader in this niche, the company currently operates two printing lines and is currently installing a third. Innowo expects to generate revenue of more than $8 million in 2014.

Fibertex decided to buy a full stake in Innowo after its other majority shareholders decided to sell. “It’s important for us to offer specialized products and services to our customers in the personal care industry, so we worked together to find a good ownership solution for the company going forward,” says Carsten Pedersen, CEO of Innowo Print and one of the two previous majority shareholders.

Pedersen will continue to work with Fibertex Personal Care and, among his future duties, will be investigating opportunities for establishing print production in Asia.

“We’re seeing very strong interest from our customers in Asia, and for some time now we’ve wanted to explore that potential. Fibertex Personal Care is now in an ideal situation to do that,” says Axelsen.

“Every company in our portfolio is working to establish stronger and closer ties with our customers. The fact that Fibertex Personal Care can now offer direct printing on nonwovens as an integral part of its business is a direct reflection of our commitment to building excellent and lasting relationships with our customers rather than just selling our products at the lowest price,” adds Jens Bjerg Sørensen, CEO of Schouw & Co, FPC’s parent company.