In July 1998, the German company Lohmann Medical merged with the Austrian company Rauscher to become Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R). In 2012, the corporation and its 4,000 employees achieved its highest annual turnover to date and recorded annual sales worth 500 million euro. By undergoing this merger 15 years ago, L&R not only bundled its competencies in the medical devices sector, but also laid the groundwork to become a successful corporate group ready for international expansion. “Numerous product innovations, the founding of subsidiaries and formation of partnerships worldwide, growing revenues and increasing numbers of employees are proof that the merger was the first step toward sustainable corporate development,” states Wolfgang Süßle, CEO of L&R.
More than 160 years of combined expertise and innovation in the medical devices sector
Even before the merger, both companies, the German company Lohmann Medical (founded in 1851) and the Vienna-based Rauscher (established in 1899), had extensive experience and a long tradition of activity in the medical devices and hygiene products sector. They also set standards with many of their inventions, including the retaining plaster of Paris bandage first used in 1930 and the first breathable adhesive bandage (1942). The 1998 merger to form Lohmann & Rauscher International GmbH & Co. KG (L&R) allowed these competencies - gained over more than 160 years - to be combined in a single company. Today, L&R is one of the leading companies worldwide in the medical devices sector – with a dense network of outside sales representatives, ultramodern production facilities, and its own research and development centres.
Its comprehensive portfolio comprises more than 15,000 products – ranging from classical dressing materials to bandages (Rosidal®) to supports and orthoses (Cellacare®, Velpeau®, epX®) to wound dressings for all wound healing phases (Suprasorb® family) and OR set systems (Kitpack®) to consumer articles (such as Bellawa® cotton wool products). Recently, the company has expanded its spectrum of services for hospitals to include L&R Optiline®, a roadmap for success. In the area of medical technology, L&R introduced the Suprasorb® CNP range for negative pressure therapy; here the Suprasorb® CNP drainage film has been awarded the innovation prize of Rhineland-Palatinate. Since 2011 Debrisoft® has been on the market. Compared to the competition, this product is a unique mono-filament fibre pad for debridement that is both effective and virtually painless.
“Our customers appreciate L&R’s reliable, expert service and the high quality of our medical devices. However, this relationship is also characterized by a deeper benefit that goes beyond the above: We gear our operations to the needs of our partners and of the market and, as a result, are in a position to develop pioneering innovations such as Debrisoft®” explains Wolfgang Süßle, who has been chairman of the L&R Group’s executive board since 2011.
Internationalization and rapid growth in a weak economy climate With currently 39 group companies and participating interests in 20 countries, as well as more than 30 partners in over 80 countries, L&R has a presence on every continent – an upwards trend. For example, in 2008, L&R acquired the British distribution specialists Activa Healthcare, which is active in the in the bandages and dressings sector. In 2012, L&R established its L&R Poland subsidiary and its first branch office in Latin America (São Paulo, Brazil). Compared with 2007, L&R now has a presence in 10 more countries – an amazing growth considering the global economic and financial crisis. “In 1998, L&R generated revenues of 300 million euro; in 2006 our revenues increased to 388 million euro, to ultimately increase even more 5 years later, in 2012, to 500 million euro, which means that we increased our profits by more than 60% compared to the year of the merger,” says Süßle, laying out L&R Group’s growth in numbers. He explains further that “we are not a trading company; instead we invest in specific technologies, processes, structures and – first and foremost – in our employees.” A testament to this are L&R’s investments in established and new production facilities, such as the construction of a facility for packaging and storing Kitpack® (OR custom procedure trays) in Slavkov (Czech Republic) in 2006 and the building of a new sterilization unit (2012-2013) at the same site. In 2005, L&R established a production facility in Xishui and in the following year a distribution joint venture for the Chinese market. Currently the logistics-hub for export in Neuwied (Germany) is being expanded. With the construction of the L&R Academy, L&R has also created its own training centre – in accordance with its motto “discover talent, improve skills” the Group invests in sustainable personnel development and, thus, corporate development.
More than 4,000 employees working on “Strategy 2020”
While in 1998, L&R employed 2,600 people, this number increased to more than 4,000 in 2013 – which represents growth of well over 50%. Wolfgang Süßle underlines this fact by noting, “Our employees are our most important resource. It is thanks to their expertise, skills and dedication that L&R can successfully meet the challenges of the international marketplace.” And the future? The implementation of “Strategy 2020” should substantially increase revenues in export and emerging markets, as well as in traditional markets. With a further developed corporate philosophy, which includes the expansion of ecological and social sustainability measures, as well as comprehensive advanced training measures at the L&R Academy, the L&R is well on its way to meeting its goal in the year 2020 – namely to be the preferred solution provider and partner in the market in the areas of medicine, nursing, and hygiene.
Further information on Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) can be found at:
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