AALST – Ontex, the Belgium-headquartered personal hygiene group has announced that manufacturing at its plant in Mayen, Germany, will be gradually phased out by mid-2022.

Mayen will instead become an excellence centre for Global Process Engineering, Global Product Technology and Market Adaptation Baby Care.

The move is part of the Ontex's plan to return to profitable growth, with the company conducting a worldwide business review, including a focus on the most efficient use of production assets. Production in Mayen is being wound down due to the impacts of legacy contract losses and softer market trends on revenue, Ontex said.

"Despite the improvements achieved under other efficiency actions in recent years, these efforts were not enough to compensate the drop of volume and achieve competitiveness," a statement from the company read.

Ontex expects an impact of around 350 full-time equivalent jobs on a total of around 500. The company said it would work to redeploy employees where possible and will continue to engage with its social partners in Mayen to find the best solution feasible for all affected.

“Choices needed to be made, and as Mayen’s production capacity was not fully utilized, we have decided that Mayen’s role in the group will be to focus on Global Process Engineering and Global Platform Innovation for the Ontex Group, and be one of the driving locations to bring innovation even faster to the market,” said Markus van Gumpel, vice president, Manufacturing Europe, Ontex.

The Global Excellence Center will be operational as of January 2022.