L&R strengthens European market presence and delivery capability through strategic cooperation with the ADA Group

Rengsdorf / Vienna, July 4, 2025 – Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R), a leading international company for medical products and services, is acquiring a 49% share in the Portuguese ADA Group with retroactive effect from January 1, 2025. ADA is a successful Portuguese manufacturer and supplier of gauze and nonwoven products, bandages, incontinence products and medical disposables based in Seroa. Today, the company is also the only European competitive manufacturer of gauze and nonwoven products. This strategic cooperation represents an important step in L&R's European market presence, its growth activities and the resulting increased ability to ensure the supply of gauze and nonwoven products. The partnership also strengthens the processing industry in Europe. Subject to the approval of the relevant authorities, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.

ADA, today headquartered in Seroa, near Porto (Portugal) was founded in 1975 by Albino Dias de Andrade.
In 2000, Luís Andrade, son of the founder, took over the management of the company with a strategic vision focused on the vertical integration of the production process and strengthening the capabilities of European industry. Under his leadership, the group thrived and solidified its position.
Since 2023, his three daughters — Marta (CEO), Sara, and Matilde Andrade — have taken over the management of the group, which now employs over 420 people and operates six subsidiaries across Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In 2024, the ADA Group generated sales of around EUR 48 million, with Portugal and Spain as its main markets.

Holger Maegdefrau, CFO of L&R:
“With its high-end production technology and expertise, profitable corporate management and its ‘Made in Europe’ gauze and nonwoven products, ADA is an indispensable player in the industry and the ideal partner for us. Thanks to our partnership, we can increasingly tap into the Portuguese and Spanish markets. What's more, this cooperation strengthens our market position in Europe as a whole and at the same time secures our European production expertise and ability to supply gauze and nonwoven products. By joining forces, we are now working together to strengthen production and the processing industry even further and thus achieve the greatest possible independence here in Europe."

Marta Andrade, CEO of the ADA Group:
“At ADA Group, we have demonstrated the strength of local European industry. We proudly honor the legacy passed down through generations as we embrace this partnership.
The cooperation with Lohmann & Rauscher is both a privilege and a major milestone in our company history. The clear and undeniable synergies arising from this partnership will only serve to strengthen ADA Group. We look forward to working together with L&R for our customers and the healthcare industry.”

About Lohmann & Rauscher:
Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) is a leading international developer, manufacturer and supplier of high quality, future-oriented medical devices and hygiene products – ranging from conventional bandages to modern treatment and nursing systems. Created in 1998 from the merger of the two companies Lohmann (founded in 1851) and Rauscher (founded in 1899), L&R has more than 170 years of expertise as a dependable partner and solution provider for its customers.
With 5,700 employees, more than 50 subsidiaries and shareholdings, as well as more than 140 selected distribution partners in 120 countries, L&R is represented in all important markets around the world and was able to realize a sales volume of 812,7 million euros in 2024. The company’s headquarters are located at the Rengsdorf (Germany) and Vienna (Austria) sites.
The entrepreneurial spirit of L&R reflects in the corporate claim: People.Health.Care. – the human, the health and the care for both.

About ADA:
ADA Group is the only competitive European manufacturer of gauze and nonwoven products with vertical control over every stage of the manufacturing process, meaning that all transformations after the reception of raw materials are carried out in-house. The group also designs and builds its own machinery, making the production process entirely self-contained and unique worldwide.