COVID-19 triggers multi-million euro contracts for automated hygienic workwear

Seven new hospitals throughout France and additional hospitals in Spain will be installing for the first time or expanding their use of Polytex’s solution that provides improved protection for health workers, which has become even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the technology leads to a significant operation efficiency with reduction in inventory levels and therefore lower expenses on uniforms.

Spain is currently the third largest market for Polytex outside Israel and France the fifth. The pandemic triggered a 90% increase in sales in Spain and a similar increase in France.

Two significant projects for Polytex were recently closed in Spain. One is the the extension of Polytex's project with the Bellvitge University Hospital, near Barcelona, ​​and the second is a new project for the Servicio Navarro de Salud (SNS), which will equip the operating rooms of the Navarra Hospital, the Virgen del Camino Hospital, and the Reina Sofia Hospital with systems for the management of pajamas and clogs.

Polytex entered the Spanish market in 2007 and Spain has already become the company's third country of reference in volume beyond the borders of Israel, only surpassed by the United States and Germany. More than 200 systems have been installed to serve more than 50 clients distributed throughout the country.

The pandemic has led to a strong increase in sales, of which 40% comes from existing customers, who needed to increase their capacity to meet the increase in clothing consumption, and the remaining 60% were new customers, who quickly adapted Polytex's service in order to increase hygiene and lower operating costs.

The French market has witnessed phenomenal growth as well. Over the past twelve months, Polytex has won contracts at major French hospitals in Rouen, Rennes, Pithiviers, Dax, Poissy, Ajaccio and at a large hospital laundry service in the Paris region. This is in addition to the eight hospitals and a pharmaceutical industrial site in various parts of the country, which have already installed Polytex’s workwear and scrubs management solution.

Hospital managers in both countries report that the Polytex system helps to simplify the distribution of workwear and led to a 40% on average reduction in expenses on uniforms and laundry. The actual volume of workwear needed was reduced substantially as was the amount of storage space required.

The Polytex solution is fully automated and enables hands-free dispensing and collecting of individual uniforms. The system itself is sealed, keeping garments in a clean environment that is opened only by laundry professionals during collection and restocking. The system is available on a 24/7 basis and often installed at multiple locations enabling staff to receive and return garments in seconds, thereby avoiding unnecessary crowding.

Refilling the machines with fresh clothing is very quick and takes only a couple of minutes.

The units can also be moved to special temporary wards dedicated to infectious diseases like COVID-19. The Polytex automated system is backed by a centralized cloud-based management and monitoring applications for end-to-end tracking.

“In the past year we have nearly doubled our sales in both Spain and France as the global pandemic has made hygiene an even more critical issue for hospitals,” said Yariv Matzliach, CEO of Polytex. He added that “both countries are currently among our largest and most strategic markets in Europe with tremendous growth potential in the coming years.”