Schülke & Mayr GmbH

What Schülke & Mayr GmbH does

Schülke & Mayr GmbH is a privately-held German manufacturer of disinfectants, antiseptics, preservatives, and biocides, founded in 1889 by Rudolf Schülke and Julius Mayr and headquartered in Norderstedt, Germany. The company operates as the global parent of the schülke group, with wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom (Schulke & Mayr UK Ltd., Sheffield), Japan (Schülke Japan G.K., Tokyo), and Slovakia (Schulke SK, s.r.o., Prievidza), and serves customers across 18+ countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Its workforce is described at 1,000+ employees globally, and the company is cited as one of the leading players in the global skin antiseptic market alongside 3M, Ecolab, and BD.

The product portfolio spans hand disinfectants (desmanol pure), surface disinfectants (antifect N liquid, mikrozid universal wipes premium), skin antiseptics (kodan tincture forte colourless with a stated 24-hour long-term effect), wound and mucous membrane antiseptics (octenisept), and wash lotions (octenisan), built on proprietary octenidine-based and alcohol-based formulations. Products are organized into Consumer Use and Professional Use lines and are marketed under sub-brands including antifect, desmanol, kodan, mikrozid, octenisan, and octenisept, with Vesismin Health serving dental and medical infection control chemistries.

Schülke monetizes through a B2B enterprise field-sales motion selling professional hygiene and disinfection consumables to hospitals, care homes, doctor's practices, emergency services, pharmaceutical and cleanroom operators, and the food industry, alongside OTC consumer products distributed via pharmacies and retail. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with annual contract cadence typical for institutional procurement. Distribution combines direct subsidiary sales with an international distributor network in markets without a local entity. The company has executed four acquisitions since 2016 — Vic Pharma (2016), Prosenio (2021), Sanubi (2021), and Redditch Medical (2025) — to broaden geographic reach and product surface.

Name

Schülke & Mayr GmbH

Legal name

Schülke & Mayr GmbH

Website

https://schuelke.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Schülke & Mayr GmbH is a German manufacturer of disinfectants, antiseptics, and hygiene solutions founded in 1889, serving hospitals, care homes, pharmaceutical/cleanroom operators, food industry, and consumers across 18+ countries via wholly-owned subsidiaries and a distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Infection Prevention & Hygiene Products

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561), Polish and Other Sanitation Good Manufacturing (325612)

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840), Specialty Cleaning, Polishing And Sanitation Preparations (2842)

akta.pro primary industry

Hand Hygiene & Skin Antisepsis (Soaps, Sanitizers, Surgical Scrubs, CHG Prep) (HLAHANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hand Sanitizers & Cleansing Sprays (CRABAEAJ), Hand Sanitizers & Antibacterial Personal Care (CRADANAI), Food & Beverage Process & CIP/Sanitation Chemicals (IMAEAJAK)

Keywords

• Infection prevention products
• Medical disinfection solutions
• Antiseptic formulations
• Hand hygiene products
• Surface disinfection chemicals

Headquarters

HQ city

Norderstedt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional hygiene and disinfection products: B2B sales of disinfection and hygiene solutions to healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical companies, food industry, and other professional sectors. Products include hand disinfectants, surface disinfectants, instrument disinfectants, skin antiseptics, and wound care products.
2. Consumer-use hygiene products: Over-the-counter products for personal use including wound care, oral care, intimate health, nasal care, and surface disinfection for home use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Schülke & Mayr GmbH manufactures and supplies chemical disinfectants, antiseptics, preservatives, and biocides for infection prevention and hygiene. Its portfolio covers hand, skin, surface, instrument, mucous membrane, and wound care applications, sold both to professional healthcare and industrial customers and to individual consumers via pharmacies and retail.

Product overview

Schülke & Mayr GmbH offers a comprehensive portfolio of chemical-based disinfection and hygiene products for both consumer and professional use. The product range includes hand disinfectants (desmanol® pure), surface disinfectants (antifect® N liquid, mikrozid® universal wipes premium), and antiseptic solutions for skin and wound care (kodan® tincture forte colourless, octenisan® wash lotion, octenisept®). Products are organized into Consumer Use categories (wound care, intimate health, oral care, surface, nasal care, skin care) and Professional Use categories (hands, skin, surface, instruments, mucous membrane, wound care, oral care, accessories and technology). The company serves multiple sectors including hospitals, care homes, pharmacies, doctors' practices, emergency services, pharma & cleanroom, and food industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• schülke: Primary brand for infection prevention and hygiene solutions including hand disinfection, surface disinfection, skin antisepsis, wound care, and instrument disinfection products
• Vesismin Health
• antifect
• desmanol
• kodan
• mikrozid
• octenisan
• octenisept

Products and services

• antifect N liquid Alcohol-based rapid disinfection solution for non-invasive medical devices and surfaces, used by healthcare and professional customers.
• desmanol pure Alcohol-based hand rub for hygienic and surgical hand disinfection, formulated with panthenol and free of colour and perfume.
• kodan tincture forte colourless Ready-to-use skin antiseptic with a long-term effect of at least 24 hours for medical and professional skin antisepsis.
• mikrozid universal wipes premium Low-alcohol rapid disinfection wipes for non-invasive medical devices and surfaces.
• octenisan wash lotion Wash lotion based on selected moisturising agents for skin care during hygiene routines in professional healthcare settings.
• octenisept Aqueous wound and mucous membrane antiseptic for medical use.
• Vesismin Health by schülke infection control chemistries Healthcare infection control chemistries for dental and medical markets, sold under the Vesismin Health sub-brand retained after acquisition.

Quantifiable outcome

• Leading market position in infection prevention and hygiene solutions globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• datenschutz nord GmbHcoreOthersExternal ombudsman office handling whistleblower reports and compliance matters. Operates independently to receive and process reports of potential legal violations within the company group. Contact: Dominik Bleckmann (fully qualified lawyer).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ecolab Inc. Ecolab is a global leader in water, hygiene, and infection-prevention solutions serving healthcare, food service, and industrial customers. It is explicitly named alongside Schülke as a top player in the global skin antiseptic market, and overlaps with Schülke in healthcare and food-industry disinfection.
• 3M Health Care: 3M's Health Care division includes surgical antiseptics (e.g., chlorhexidine and iodine-based skin prep) alongside a broad medical supplies portfolio. It is listed alongside Schülke, Ecolab, and BD as a leading player in the global skin antiseptic market.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD): BD offers skin antiseptics (e.g., ChloraPrep), instrument cleaning, and infection-prevention consumables used across hospitals. It is identified as a top global skin antiseptic competitor and competes with Schülke in the same hospital formulary and pre-operative skin prep categories.
• STERIS plc: STERIS provides sterilization, disinfection, and surgical instrument reprocessing solutions to hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers. It overlaps directly with Schülke's instrument disinfection and pharma/cleanroom hygiene product lines.
• Diversey Holdings: Diversey provides professional cleaning, sanitization, and hygiene solutions to food service, hospitality, and healthcare customers globally. It competes with Schülke's food industry and surface disinfection portfolios, although its core emphasis is broader facility hygiene.

Direct peers

• Paul Hartmann AG: Hartmann is a German-headquartered medical company with a strong wound care and surgical hygiene portfolio, including skin antiseptics and hand disinfectants. Like Schülke, it sells B2B to hospitals, care homes, and pharmacies across Europe with overlapping professional-use product categories.
• B. Braun Melsungen AG: B. Braun is a German medical device and pharmaceutical company offering wound antisepsis, surface disinfection, and hand hygiene products alongside its broader hospital supply business. It is a direct competitor to Schülke in German and European hospital channels with a comparable B2B sales motion.
• GOJO Industries (Purell): GOJO is the maker of Purell hand sanitizer and a specialist in hand hygiene and skin antisepsis formulations for healthcare and consumer use. It is highly comparable to Schülke's desmanol and octenisan product lines and overlaps in both professional and consumer channels.
• PDI Healthcare (Nice-Pak): PDI is a US-based manufacturer of disinfectant wipes, surface disinfectants, and hand hygiene products sold to hospitals and healthcare facilities. Its surface wipe portfolio (e.g., Sani-Cloth) is directly comparable to Schülke's mikrozid wipes.
• Dr. Schumacher GmbH: Dr. Schumacher is a German manufacturer of disinfectants, hygiene products, and medical device cleaners serving hospitals, laboratories, and industry. It is a like-for-like mid-market German competitor to Schülke in surface, instrument, and hand disinfection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/schuelkeChannel
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A4 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Schülke & Mayr GmbH