What WEPA does

WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH is a privately held, family-owned European hygiene paper manufacturer founded in 1948/1949, headquartered in Arnsberg-Müschede, Germany. The company operates 15 production facilities across Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Poland, employing approximately 4,500 people and producing products that reach millions of consumers daily. WEPA is positioned as one of the largest hygiene paper manufacturers in Europe.

The company operates through three revenue streams: a Consumer Business Unit producing customized private-label tissue products for retail chains across Europe (supported by a portfolio of seven regional consumer brands including Satino, Mach-Mit, Snyce, Piet und Pia, Comprami, Perla, and Scala); a Professional Business Unit providing hygiene paper, dispenser systems, soaps, and accessories to commercial and public washrooms; and an industrial converter channel selling jumbo rolls to other tissue manufacturers. WEPA's technology centers on recycled fiber processing with a proprietary Premium Recycled Pulp innovation (unbleached recycled pulp with natural coloration) and ongoing research into alternative fibers including Miscanthus grass.

WEPA's business model is sales-led and B2B-oriented, with revenue generated through quote-based direct sales to retailers and commercial facilities, recurring dispenser and consumable supply to the Professional segment, and transactional jumbo roll sales to converters. The company is led by the Krengel family (Martin Krengel as CEO, Andreas Krengel as CCO) and has pursued a strategy of vertical integration through wholly-owned subsidiaries in energy (wind parks, solar power, Kraftwerk GmbH), circular economy (Honext x WEPA GmbH, WEPA GREEN GmbH), and film/foil (Forti-Folien GmbH). Recent strategic activity includes the January 2024 acquisition of Star Tissue UK, a Science Based Targets commitment to 52.5% emissions reduction by 2030, an extended partnership with WWF Germany through 2030, and a May 2026 co-investment in AI startup Elephant Company.

Name

WEPA

Legal name

WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH

Website

https://wepa.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

WEPA is a privately held, family-owned European hygiene paper manufacturer founded in 1948, operating 15 production sites across seven countries with ~4,500 employees. It serves retailers (private label), commercial facilities (professional washroom solutions), and industrial converters (jumbo rolls) with a focus on recycled fiber products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hygiene Paper Manufacturing

NAICS

Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing (322291), Converted Paper Product Manufacturing (3222)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600), Paper Mills (2621)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycled-Content & Sustainable Tissue/Hygiene Products (IMAMAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Tissue Paper (Facial, Toilet, Paper Towels, Napkins) (IMAMAGAA), Professional Laundry & Hygiene Paper Systems (Rolls, Refills, Managed Programs) (IMAMAGAL)

Keywords

• Hygiene paper manufacturing
• Tissue paper products
• Recycled fiber hygiene
• Private label tissue
• Commercial washroom solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Llangynwyd

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consumer Business Unit: Private label hygiene paper products for retail customers, including customized solutions from concept to shelf
2. Professional Business Unit: Hygiene paper, dispenser systems, soaps and accessories for commercial and public washrooms
3. Jumbo Rolls: Bulk tissue paper rolls for further processing by other manufacturers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WEPA manufactures and sells hygiene paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins) primarily from recycled fibers, organized into two business units: a Consumer unit supplying private label and branded hygiene paper products to retailers across Europe, and a Professional unit supplying hygiene paper, dispenser systems, soaps, and accessories to commercial and public washrooms. The company also produces Premium Recycled Pulp (unbleached recycled pulp) and Jumbo Rolls for industrial converters.

Product overview

WEPA is a European family-owned hygiene paper manufacturer operating since over 75 years with approximately 4,500 employees across 15 locations. The company offers hygiene paper solutions through two main business units: Consumer (retail private label and branded products) and Professional (commercial washroom hygiene, dispensers, soaps, and accessories). WEPA also manufactures Premium Recycled Pulp as a raw material innovation and Jumbo Rolls for other tissue manufacturers. The product portfolio includes multiple consumer brands (Satino, Mach-Mit, Snyce, Piet und Pia, Perla, Scala, Comprami) targeting different European markets. The company focuses on sustainability using recycled cardboard and Miscanthus grass as raw materials, and operates digital (WEPA.Digital) and circular economy (Circular Solutions) innovation initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Satino: Professional hygiene brand offering tissue products, dispensers, soaps and accessories for commercial and public washrooms.
• Premium Recycled Pulp
• beige-ist-besser.de

Products and services

• Consumer Business Unit - Retail Private Label Hygiene Paper
• Professional Business Unit - Commercial Washroom Hygiene Solutions
• Premium Recycled Pulp
• Jumbo Rolls
• Satino (Professional Hygiene Brand)
• Mach-Mit (Sustainable Consumer Hygiene Brand)
• Snyce (Consumer Hygiene Brand)
• Piet und Pia (Consumer Hygiene Brand)
• Comprami (Italian Consumer Hygiene Brand)
• Perla (Italian Consumer Hygiene Brand)
• Scala (Italian Consumer Hygiene Brand)

Quantifiable outcome

• Plan to reduce emissions by 52.5% by 2030 (Science Based Targets)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WWF GermanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership extended until 2030 focusing on raising consumer awareness, strengthening circular economy, and promoting nature conservation. WEPA and WWF have been collaborating since 2017 on various sustainability projects including circular material cycles, climate protection, resource conservation, and freshwater protection.
• UPMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UPM (cellulose supplier) for Finnish peatland restoration project. WEPA and UPM are collaborating to restore Finnish peatlands as part of their sustainability commitment.
• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)coreOthersWEPA joined the Science Based Targets Initiative in April 2021, committing to science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets aligned with Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Procter & Gamble: Global consumer goods giant whose Charmin and other tissue brands compete in premium consumer bath tissue in Europe. P&G is a broad incumbent with unmatched brand-building and R&D resources, competing with WEPA primarily at the branded shelf rather than in private label.
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation: Global tissue and personal-care major whose Kleenex, Andrex and Scott brands compete in consumer tissue and away-from-home professional hygiene in Europe. Kimberly-Clark is a broad incumbent with deeper marketing budgets and global scale than WEPA, though less focused on European private-label and recycled differentiation.
• Georgia-Pacific LLC: US-headquartered forest products and tissue major with a large professional (away-from-home) tissue and dispensing system business that overlaps with WEPA's Professional BU. Georgia-Pacific is significantly larger and US-anchored but competes with WEPA in multinational HORECA accounts sourcing European supply.
• Essity AB: Swedish listed hygiene and forest products major covering consumer tissue, professional hygiene, and personal care across Europe and globally. Essity competes head-on with WEPA in private-label and branded European tissue, but operates at materially larger scale and across broader categories (incontinence, medical, personal care).

Direct peers

• Cascades Inc. Canadian-listed tissue and recycled-fiber-focused manufacturer with strong emphasis on recycled-content tissue and away-from-home products. Comparable to WEPA in its recycled-first positioning and professional customer base, though geographically anchored in North America.
• Clearwater Paper Corporation: North American private-label tissue and paperboard manufacturer with a meaningful consumer-tissue business. Comparable to WEPA on private-label focus and tissue category exposure, though operationally focused on the US/Canada market.
• Sofidel Group: Italian family-owned tissue and hygiene paper manufacturer and one of WEPA's closest private European peers. Sofidel competes in branded and private-label consumer tissue as well as professional/HORECA categories across Europe and North America, with a comparable recycled-fiber sustainability narrative and multi-billion-Euro scale.
• Lucart Group: Italian family-owned tissue and airlaid products manufacturer serving European private-label and HORECA customers, with explicit leadership in recycled-fiber hygiene paper (Tenderly, etc.). Closely comparable to WEPA on ownership profile, recycled-content positioning, and customer mix.
• Metsä Tissue: Nordic tissue manufacturer offering consumer, away-from-home and parent-roll products across Europe with strong sustainability credentials from forest-based raw materials. Was divested from Metsä Group in 2023 and now competes with WEPA directly in private-label and professional tissue across Northern and Central Europe.

Emerging players

• SHP Group (Suzano Hygiene): Brazilian-based private-label and branded tissue manufacturer, originally part of the Suzano pulp group. Comparable to WEPA on private-label positioning and integrated pulp-to-tissue value chain, while serving primarily Latin American and emerging market customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WEPAGroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/wepahygiene
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wepagroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/wepa_group?igsh=NmhlcmJ6cm8wdmVl&utm_source=qr
• Xx.com/ukwepa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WEPA