A glass cube with a lot of modern art in Zell am See, south of Salzburg. Inevitably, after the entrance, a disinfectant dispenser, of course from our own production. At least since the beginning of the corona pandemic, humanity has been paying more attention to clean hands. It could therefore be assumed that hygiene products have been a sure-fire success since then. However, Hans Georg Hagleitner contradicts this. "You can have golden eggs," he says. "But no product is a sure-fire success. You have to understand how to place these products successfully."

Michaela Seiser

Business correspondent for Austria and Hungary based in Vienna.

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Hagleitner Hygiene International GmbH does almost three quarters of its business with dispensers and dosing devices for hygiene. These provide data and thus support customers in becoming more efficient in their own hygiene management. Hans Georg Hagleitner thus sees himself as the industry leader in a fragmented industry. According to him, no one else has been providing fully digital data since 2012.

These provide information about consumption and availability, as well as service and comparison information. This is important in health care. "We talk about hygiene and we can save lives with it," he says. Overall, Hagleitner expects a turnaround in hygiene culture: the focus is no longer just on cleanliness, but on health. He refers to an estimate by the Robert Koch Institute, according to which around 400,000 to 600,000 people a year suffer from a hospital infection in Germany alone. Hagleitner wants to counteract this with digital data: "According to official estimates, around 80 percent of all infections are transmitted via the hands," he says. "It's about patient safety, and hand hygiene can increase it."

"The donor documents every donation"

Therefore, hospitals, for example, would measure the extent to which rules for hand hygiene are followed: "The donor documents every delivery." In this way, transmissions can be avoided. The dispensers are equipped with sensors so that cleaners know exactly where to fill up paper, for example. This saves time and unnecessary journeys, the company advertises. Hagleitner's customers come from the healthcare sector, gastronomy and industry.

Since the corona pandemic, hygiene awareness has increased, says Hagleitner. What's more: "In the long term, it will always have to be part of public life." After all, hygiene has special effects in gatherings of people. This is another reason why the top dog from Austria, which has 27 locations in twelve European countries and sells its products in 66 countries through partner companies, continues to see great growth.

Hagleitner aims to achieve sales of 2032 million euros by 500. That would be more than a threefold increase compared to the current level. A turnover of 155 million euros is expected to be generated in the fiscal year ending (as of the end of March). Over the years, profitability has been kept stable. This means an operating margin of more than 10 percent. 4 to 5 percent of sales are invested in research and development.

More than just a hygiene dispenser

Even though most people only know the company's hygiene dispensers, the product portfolio contains around 700 items. This includes cleaning utensils, but also skin protection products. Dispensers for wet wipes have also recently been added. Although Hagleitner is internationally oriented and generates half of its turnover abroad, production is still carried out in Austria as a high-wage location. As a result, however, the company is also independent of bottlenecks in the supply chains that have made life difficult for others over the past three years.