Spontex US

What Spontex US does

Spontex US is the North American sales office of Spontex Industrial, the B2B industrial division of MAPA SAS, which itself operates as a subsidiary of Newell Brands Inc. Spontex manufactures and sells regenerated cellulose (viscose) sponge products and related absorbent materials to industrial customers across automotive, medical, cosmetics, printing, chemical, plastic processing, and packaging sectors. The company was founded in 1932 and is credited as the inventor of the cellulose sponge, with over 80 years of European manufacturing heritage and products marketed in more than 80 countries. The Spontex US entity itself is a small sales office (six employees) based in Crown Point, Indiana, while the broader MAPA Spontex organization operates with more than 3,300 employees across 20 countries.

The company's core technology centers on regenerated cellulose sponge material produced from wood pulp, cotton, and linen in European facilities—principally Beauvais, France (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified) and Valencia, Spain. Its proprietary VISKOVITA steam coagulation manufacturing process is patented and described as globally unique, producing compressed pop-up sponges with a skin-like surface used primarily for cleaning printing plates. The product portfolio spans finished goods (compressed sponges in standard MINI/MIDI/JUMBO/MAXI/SUPERMAXI/MULTI/SLIM sizes, Viskovita printing sponges, advertising sponges, and custom-made precision-cut sponges ranging from 10mm to 1200mm) and raw/semi-finished materials (cellulose sponge blocks/sheets/buns, sponge cloths absorbing 16x their weight, abrasive scours, absorbent cloths, and multi-layer combined products). Manufacturing capabilities include compression (up to 250-tonne presses), die cutting, band saw cutting, drilling/slotting, 3D water-jet cutting, Pantone screen printing, and custom packaging.

The business model is sales-led B2B, executed through direct enterprise sales and a network of regional sales offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the USA, supplemented by technical wholesalers and converters. Products are sold per unit under custom quotations tied to specifications, quantities, and customization requirements, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Spontex engineers accompany customers during the design phase of new product development, offering collaborative product development services—reportedly a 30-plus-year capability. The company also integrates its sponge materials with plastic components supplied by partner manufacturers to deliver complete applicator products, particularly for medical and cosmetics end-uses.

Name

Spontex US

Legal name

MAPA SAS

Website

https://spontexindustrial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spontex US is the North American sales office of Spontex Industrial, a MAPA SAS subsidiary of Newell Brands that manufactures regenerated cellulose sponge materials and custom viscose products for B2B industrial customers across automotive, medical, cosmetics, printing, chemical, and packaging sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Sponge Materials

NAICS

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

SIC

Converted Paper & Paperboard Prods (No Contaners/Boxes) (2670), Papers & Allied Products (2600)

akta.pro primary industry

Paper-Based Packaging & Single-Use Paper Products (Paper Bags, Wraps, Cartons) (CRADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paper Towels & Kitchen Rolls (CRADALAC), Medical & Healthcare Hygiene Disposables (Patient Wipes, Underpads) (IMAMAGAF)

Keywords

• Industrial cellulose sponges
• Viscose sponge materials
• Compressed cleaning sponges
• Industrial wiping materials
• Custom sponge manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Finished Industrial Products: Direct sale of processed finished products including compressed sponges, standard stock products, Viskovita sponges, custom made sponges, and advertising sponges
2. Semi-finished Materials: Sale of raw materials in form of large blocks or rolls including cellulose sponge, sponge cloths, abrasive cloths, and absorbent cloths for customer processing
3. Custom Manufacturing Services: Custom cutting, punching, drilling, slotting, printing, and packaging services for customer-specific requirements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Spontex US is the U.S. sales arm of MAPA SAS's industrial division, manufacturing and supplying regenerated cellulose (viscose) sponge products to industrial customers. The company sells both finished products (compressed sponges, standard stock sponges, advertising sponges, Viskovita printing sponges, and custom-made sponges) and semi-finished raw materials (cellulose sponge blocks, sponge cloth, abrasive scour, absorbent cloth, and combined products). It also offers custom manufacturing services including compression, die cutting, saw cutting, drilling, 3D cutting, printing, and packaging for diverse sectors such as automotive, medical, cosmetics, printing, plastic processing, and packaging.

Product overview

Spontex Industrial offers a comprehensive portfolio of viscose/cellulose sponge products for industrial applications. The product line is organized into Finished Industrial Products (compressed sponges, standard stock products, Viskovita printing sponges, advertising sponges, and custom-made sponges) and Raw Materials (cellulose sponge blocks/sheets/buns, sponge cloth, abrasive scour, absorbent cloth, and combined products). Manufacturing capabilities include compression, die-cutting, saw cutting, drilling, 3D cutting, printing, and packaging services. Spontex has over 30 years of experience serving diverse markets including automotive, chemical, cosmetics, medical, packaging, printing, plastic processing, cleaning tools, and strapping manufacturing. The company operates European production facilities certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Viskovita: Compressed pop-up sponge for cleaning in the printing industry, internationally successful with patented steam coagulation manufacturing process.
• VISKOVITA

Products and services

• Compressed Sponges

Quantifiable outcome

• Absorbs 20 times its own weight in liquid
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• bitbox GmbH & Co. KGminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebsite development and hosting partner for spontexindustrial.com. Located at Stresemannstraße 6, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany.
• Plastic Pack and Parts ManufacturerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with plastic pack and parts manufacturers to help design complete products. Spontex sponges can be integrated with plastic parts and packs, attached by glue or designed without glue for medical and cosmetic applicator products.
• Preferred Suppliers and PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with preferred suppliers to produce turnkey comprehensive solutions for customers. Engineers accompany customers in design phase of new product development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kimberly-Clark Professional: Kimberly-Clark Professional (WypAll, Kimtech) is a major global manufacturer of industrial paper wipers, tissues, and hygiene consumables for the same B2B end markets as Spontex — comparable customer base (industrial, healthcare, manufacturing) though focused on nonwoven paper wipers rather than cellulose sponges specifically.
• Clorox Professional: Clorox's professional products division supplies industrial cleaning, disinfecting, and wiping solutions to commercial and institutional customers in healthcare, foodservice, and industrial settings — overlapping distribution channels and customer segments with Spontex but focused on chemical cleaners rather than cellulose substrates.
• Tork (Essity): Tork, the professional hygiene brand of Essity, manufactures paper wipers, dispensers, and hygiene consumables for industrial, healthcare, and foodservice customers — overlapping end markets with Spontex's cellulose and absorbent cloth products but operating as a much larger broad-line hygiene incumbent.
• Ecolab: Ecolab is a global leader in water, hygiene, and infection-prevention solutions serving industrial, healthcare, and hospitality customers with cleaning chemicals and dispensing systems — comparable B2B go-to-market and customer base, though focused on chemistry-based cleaning rather than physical substrates.
• 3M Industrial Adhesives & Tapes / Cleaning Solutions: 3M offers a broad industrial cleaning and surface-treatment portfolio (including wiping, abrasive, and cleaning consumables) and competes with Spontex across automotive, printing, and manufacturing customer segments, though as part of a much larger diversified industrial conglomerate rather than specializing in cellulose sponges.

Direct peers

• Kalle Group: Kalle Group is a German specialty films and sponge manufacturer producing industrial casings, films, and foam-based products for food, hygiene, and industrial applications — directly comparable as a European converter of cellulose/sponge materials into B2B industrial products.
• Freudenberg Home & Cleaning Solutions: Freudenberg's home and cleaning division (parent of Vileda) is a directly comparable German industrial cleaning products manufacturer with similar European manufacturing footprint, B2B distribution model, and diversified cleaning-tool portfolio serving industrial and consumer customers.
• Vileda Professional: Vileda Professional (Freudenberg Home & Cleaning Solutions) is a direct European competitor in industrial and professional cleaning tools, cloths, and sponges, serving the same B2B cleaning, healthcare, and HORECA customers with overlapping microfiber, nonwoven, and cellulose-based product portfolios.
• MAPA (Spontex Consumer Division): MAPA Spontex's consumer division (household sponges, gloves, cleaning tools) shares the same parent (Newell Brands) and brand heritage with Spontex Industrial, using overlapping cellulose manufacturing and serving adjacent end consumers — directly comparable product technology and brand DNA though different channels.

Emerging players

• Scrub Daddy: Scrub Daddy is a fast-growing US-based cleaning products brand focused on innovative foam sponges and cleaning tools with strong consumer and emerging professional/hospitality channels — adjacent technology (polymer foam vs. cellulose) and customer base, and a relevant disruptor to watch in the cleaning products space.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SpontexUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spontex-us

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Spontex US