2024-04-07 04:49:25
At the Ritex condom factory in Bielefeld, equipment rattles, compressed air valves whistle, and the air smells of rubber. About 100 million are produced here every year. condoms.
The production is fully automated, the company works in three shifts, 24 hours a day. Now even on Saturdays.
Two manufacturers left
In Germany, the condom has replaced the pill as the most popular contraceptive method, also because more and more women are choosing not to use hormonal contraceptives.
Ritex CEO Robert Richter is delighted: “It’s a step in the right direction.”
Most condom manufacturers make them in Malaysia, where the natural rubber is mined. Two manufacturers remain of the once-thriving German condom industry, Mapa under the Billy Boy brand and Ritex.
About one in four condoms used in Germany is now produced in the workshops of the Bielefeld factory.
The turnover of the family company with 63 employees in 2023 reached 14.5 million. euros.
A jump during a pandemic
The condom market is considered static. “Contraceptives are a rational product,” R. Richter is convinced. According to him, condoms are bought in anticipation of good sex, not because people like the product itself.
The general manager of the Bielefeld factory cannot influence what happens in the German bedrooms. But there are curves in the line of business results, not straight lines.
The pandemic has changed a lot – during the first quarantine, sales of Ritex contraceptives increased significantly. It has now returned to its previous level.
“During the coronavirus pandemic, our customers probably had a lot of time and opportunity to use condoms,” R. Richter thought.
It was embarrassing to even speak
He joined the family company in 2007. Three generations of the Richter family have been selling condoms.
In the past, Ritex supplied its products to gas stations or filled machines in the dark corners of nightclubs.
Even in the owner’s family, the topic of condoms was embarrassing.
“My father and grandfather hardly talked about it, they used to say that we make air balloons,” said R. Richter.
Now the CEO of Ritex is talking openly about sex, condoms and penis sizes. “This is also important in the condom business,” said R. Richter.
In fact, there is a simple rule for condoms: the smaller the better. As a result, the factory produces smaller condoms in addition to the regular size. They have the subtle name 47.
“From a marketing point of view, it’s complicated: first the customer has to know if he needs a small condom, then admit it, and finally want to buy it,” R. Richter explained.
But not everyone behaves this way – far more often they grab a package with the inscription XXL. The psychological effects clearly outweigh the real benefits. (Focus, LR)
Travels from Lithuania to Russia
Condoms are not produced in Lithuania, and how much is consumed can be predicted based on the export and import indicators provided by the State Data Agency.
In 2021, 34.9 tons of condoms were imported for 2.1 million. euros, in 2022 – 52.3 tons for 2.27 million euros, last year – as many as 86 tons for 3.61 million. euros.
In 2021, 30.66 tons were exported (value – 0.944 million euros), in 2022 – 38.5 tons (1.1 million euros), in 2023 – 74.3 tons (almost 2.4 million euros).
Most condoms are imported from Germany. At that time, most of them were exported from Lithuania to Russia, which caused the war in Ukraine.
In January of this year alone, more than 4 tons of these products were exported to Russia, the value of which reached almost 150 thousand. euros.
2024-04-07 04:49:25