SCA, a company know in the HME industry for its hygiene and incontinence products, such as TENA, will be splitting into two companies, SCA and Essity, with Essity being the company working in the healthcare market.
SCA was founded 1929 in Sweden as a forest products company, and over the years the company not only expanded into the international market, but diversified its range of offerings to include incontinence products and other offerings. Most recently, it acquired well-known BSN medical.
Eventually, SCA’s health offerings began to eclipse its forest products division. As of 2016, 86 percent of SCA serves the global hygiene and health market, while only 14 percent offers forest products. Moreover, synergies between the two operations have diminished over time, according to SCA.
Bearing that in mind, Essity (a portmanteau of “essentials” and “necessities”) will focus on developing, producing, marketing and selling personal care and tissue products to the global hygiene and health market.
“Hygiene and health are necessities for better lives and our products and solutions play an essential role in improving well-being for everybody, everywhere,” says Magnus Groth, currently President and CEO of SCA and future President and CEO of Essity.
Shareholders voted in favor of a proposal to split SCA made by the company’s board of directors during SCA’s Annual General Meeting earlier this month. The company says the split will “be carried out at a suitable time following completion of the listing process on the Nasdaq Stockholm,” which should happen no later than he second half of 2017.