SCA acquires diaper company in Asia

SCA, the leading hygiene products company in Europe, has acquired all shares of Drypers Malaysia. Drypers is a profitable, fast growing baby diaper and adult diaper company with a projected 2004 annual turnover in excess of $90 million and operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Drypers, now part of SCA Hygiene Products Malaysia, has about 580 employees and a capacity of 800 million diapers per year from their production facility in Kuala Lumpur.

Their baby diaper brand Drypers is currently No. 1 in Malaysia and Singapore, No. 2 in Thailand and was successfully launched in the Philippines in 2002. Additionally, Control Plus, the adult diaper brand, is market leader in Malaysia and Singapore.

In the Philippines, the SCA Hygiene product offering will be enhanced by the addition of Drypers baby diaper. This will complement existing consumer brands including: Softee toilet paper, Softee facial tissues, Softee royale kitchen towels, Softee Gem table napkins, TENA incontinence products, Libresse feminine protection and TORK products in the Away-From-Home market. SCA hygiene products Philippines will now employ over 340 people within its two manufacturing sites in Cavite and their headquarters in Alabang.

The former Drypers company was established in 2001 via a management buy out after the former US-based Drypers Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since then, the management by Peter Smerling, has turned the company around and brought it to profitable growth. Drypers, now the new SCA Hygiene Products Malaysia,will be run as an independent unit reporting to the SCA Area Headquarters in Shanghai.

The acquisition will increase SCA Hygiene Products turnover in Asia to more than $150 million in 2004. Drypers complements SCA’s existing hygiene business in the Philippines as well as TENA Incontinence care products in most other Asian markets.