Belgium-based Ontex Group has opened a new personal hygiene production plant in Hawassa, Ethiopia, the first of its kind in the country. As well as supplying the existing Canbebe diaper brand to Ethiopia and East Africa, it can now develop new products to meet the specific needs of local consumers.

The new plant is staffed by locally recruited employees and the operations team have been trained at existing Ontex plants in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic. The plant can currently produce 700 diapers per minute but will expand production capacity with new machinery in the next ten months, increasing availability of its products in developing markets.