Innovation out of Tradition: The medical and adhesive market oriented Lohmann Group based in Neuwied celebrated its 150th anniversary on 7th July Progressing fr

Neuwied/Germany (PROTEXT) - The founder, Julius Lüscher, couldnot possibly have imagined on 7th July 1851 as he registered thebusiness "dealing in material goods" in Frankfurt that he waslaying the foundation stone for such a large business enterprise.150 years later, the Lohmann Group, which developed out of theearlier "Lüscher & Bömper Cotton Wool Factory", is one of thelesser known companies of its size in Germany with 4,500employees active worldwide and with a turnover of 1.2 billion DM(before consolidation). The company headquarters have beenlocated in Neuwied for over 100 years. Lohmann is present inthousands of everyday products although the name Lohmann veryoften does not appear in such products. "We are mainly known inmedical circles as well as being in addition, a supplier to themanufacturing industry" reflected the Managing Partner, Dr.Martin Barth. The past 50 years, after the reconstruction of the mainproduction site in Neuwied which was 80% destroyed in 1945shortly before the end of war, have all been focused oninnovation and internationalisation. Dr. G. A. Barth, who was aManaging Partner at that time, recognised early on that surgicaldressings would be facing a stagnant and hence very difficultmarket in peacetime. Lohmann diversified and through itsexpertise with fibres, fabrics and coating or laminatingmaterials with adhesives, consequently developed four independentkey business areas. Today products from the Medical Division Lohmann & Rauschercan be found in hospitals and doctors surgeries all over theglobe. Transdermal plaster products from LTS-Lohmann help heartand chronically ill patients Adhesive films from Lohmann are tobe found in Nokia mobile phones, computer keyboards, and inaddition, are used in such diverse industries as the furniture trade and carmanufacture. Nonwovens from Lohmann have for some time not onlybeen used for dressing wounds but also as cleaning wipes, asperformance aids in diapers, and as a vital component in conveyorbelt systems. "Lohmann has striven to provide solutions forpractical life improving products" stressed Dr. Martin Barth who,with his brother Dr. Peter Barth, is the fourth generation of theFamily to run the company. Lohmann has 76 Limited Partners, thelargest of which, with a holding of about 10%, is Lohmann PartnerAG, made up out of 700 previous and current employees. The Group now has various production sites in Germany, Europe,USA and Asia. After Mr. August Lohmann joined the company then known asLüscher & Bömper in 1869, production of cotton wool and surgicaldressings had commenced by 1880 and was considerably expandedafter the company's relocation to Fahr am Rhein, now incorporatedinto the town of Neuwied. Primarily medical products weredeveloped and patented, numerous Lohmann inventions have beenexported or licensed worldwide over the last 150 years. Themilestones of Lohmann 's innovations are as follows : The chemist Georg Teske, from Neuwied, developed the firstelastic plaster bandage known as "Elastoplast" in 1924. Thisproduct, through licensing, is still very much a household namein Europe. A medical breakthrough was achieved in 1930 with thedevelopment of the fixated Plaster-of-Paris bandage "Cellona".During the war the first air permeable adhesive plaster"Poroplast" was patented. In the early 1950's Lohmann developedbinder-free 100% cellulosic nonwoven fabrics, leading in 1957 to"Metalline", an aluminium vaporized coated nonwoven dressing thatwas introduced in the market and was effectively the firsttextile dressing which did not stick to open wounds. In the mid-1960's Lohmann pioneered the thermo-bonding of nonwovens, atechnology that was to become the first off-the-shelf nonwovensprocess making the large scale production of hygiene productspossible. In the 1980's Lohmann started the era of transdermalplasters or patches. A transdermal nitroglycerine patch wasdeveloped in conjunction with the pharmaceutical industry withfeatured slow release capabilities through the skin of heartpatients to better control 'angina pectoris'. LTS-Lohmann anti-smoking transdermal patches were developed a few years later todeal with millions of people with smoking problems. LTS is todayfully independent and with it's manufacturing sites in Andernach,Germany and W. Caldwell, NJ, USA, is one of the major globalmanufacturers of transdermal systems. In recent years the mother company Lohmann GmbH & Co.KG hasentered into new alliances in order to strengthen all thedivisions in the group. In 1998 the Medical Division was broughttogether with the Austrian company Rauscher, and shares of LTS-Lohmann sold on to pharmaceutical industry and investmentscompanies. The nonwovens site in Dierdorf went over to the TWEGroup in July 2001 in order to open up future distributionchannels directly to customers. The 150th anniversary is not only an opportunity to look atthe history and family tradition but above all to look at thefuture. "Our adhesive business has developed very well. Times arehard on the medical side" stressed Martin Barth. "Due to healthreforms, manufacturers are expected to deliver ever cheaperproducts however old existing standards and habits hinder theintroduction of truly new products. Dressings are still madetoday as they were during the war". However, Dr Barth furthernoted that "this "traditional approach" provides challenges forthe Lohmann Group which, based on its past history of innovation,it will address appropriately". Further reference : http//www.lohmann.epaper.rhein-zeitung.de(in German)

ots Original Text Service: Lohmann GmbH & Co KG Internet:http://www.presseportal.de More Informations: Dr. Martin Barth,Lohmann Managing Partner, Phone: 49 - 2634- 996 213. mail:martin.barth@lohmann-gruppe.de Photos available: IDEEmedia,Christian Koch, Phone 49 2631 779377 or mail: c.koch@idee-media.de

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