Schattdorf, februaray 24th 2009 – TEXAID takes over the ORT Reinigungstextilien GmbH in Darmstadt/DE. The company specializing in the distribution of cleaning cloths made from used textiles to the industry will, among others, assume the product sale for TEXAID's own cleaning rag production at Eger/Hungary. ORT shall also collect used textiles in Germany in the future. Currently the company generates a turnover of about one million Euro and employs eight people.

The present ORT Reinigungstextilien GmbH, successfully supplying industrial firms with cleaning rags, is looking back on a history lasting for nearly a hundred years. Depending on requirements and branch of industry the materials of the cleaning rags vary, but all originate from old clothes or home textiles that are no longer wearable or usable in the household respectively: for example damaged cotton shirts and blouses with holes and shabby collars and cuffs. Fifty employees at TEXAID's own cleaning rag production in Hungarian Eger are cutting clean, standardized cleaning cloths from them.

Speciality Cleaning Rags
Whether machine industry, car production or watch manufacturing: cleaning requires cloths with specific characteristics like absorbent, lint-free and antistatic. To produce these cloths from disused clothes and home textiles is more than sensible. This way no valuable resources are wasted. ORT delivers about 1,000 tons of cleaning rags made from used textiles per year to customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, generating a turnover of roughly one million Euro.

Optimum added value
To TEXAID as a used clothing collection company with own cleaning rag production it is clear that the source material for the cleaning cloths should ideally originate from own collections. It's the only way to realize optimum added value and secure or increase jobs respectively. Therefore they want to establish a collection system for used textiles in Germany. Accordingly, the activities of the ORT GmbH will be massively expanded in the near future.