Cleanliness and Safety for the Highest Standards
Interview with Olivera Mautner, Managing Director of PLIWA Hygiene GmbH
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly sharpened public awareness of hygiene. The topic of disinfection has since taken on a new significance. PLIWA Hygiene GmbH has been a sought-after partner for disinfection and cleaning products in the medical sector for over 30 years. In the coming years, the company aims to strengthen its brand awareness overall and expand its presence in the life sciences sector.
The PLIWA portfolio includes disinfection for the medical sector, for skin, hands, surfaces, and instruments. In addition, the company is known for its special disinfection solutions for the dental sector. Since 2020, the disinfection experts have also been active in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in the Life Science sector, for which they produce special cleaning agents under GMP quality standard.
International Positioning
"We will launch the brand \'Symbioz P\' specifically for the pharmaceutical sector in 2024," says Managing Director Olivera Mautner, who represents the 2nd family generation. Her father, Ljubomir Cugurovic, founded the company in 1991. "Symbioz is about cleaning agents," she continues. "We have already established Symbioz C for the cosmetics sector in the French market. This year we begin to penetrate the German market with the products."
Currently mainly active in Germany, the company wants to position itself more internationally in the future. "After Germany, Switzerland is an important market for us, as well as the Middle East," said the managing director. "In Romania, we are active with Oxidice, a nebulizer solution, and lead the hospital market. Since 2020, Pliwa has been part of the Christeyns Group Belgium. Together with the French sister Christeyns, a new export brand ‘Phago’ was established. Under this brand, we have combined the best products from Christeyns and from our company."
Sustainability as a Development Driver
A key aspect of PLIWA's future strategy is the topic of sustainability. "Ultimately, our agents have to disinfect and clean," explains Olivera Mautner. "Therefore, we cannot operate on a pure water basis. But we strive to make our products more environmentally friendly, for example, by avoiding products with EDTA. It has always been our philosophy not to use aldehydes and phenols, even before the trend towards less aggressive and safer drugs took hold. We started very early to formulate products based on peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which leave hardly any residues and environmental burdens. We see it as our responsibility to make our contribution. Therefore, environmental protection is an important driver for our new developments. For example, our cleaning agent Symbioz C and P requires less rinse water, thus using fewer resources compared to the current conventional products on the market."
Managing Director Olivera Mautner looks confidently into the future. "We are well positioned to continue to grow and become more well-known," she explains. "In doing so, we will remain true to our values."