Washing-up liquid manufacturer Fit triples its production in Zittau

From Luisa Zenker

The Detergent supplier Fit plans to expand production for the fabric softener brand Kuschelweich at the Zittau triple. The brand is a bestseller for the Saxon company. This is why Fit GmbH is now investing around 25 million euros in the site - the largest single investment in the company's history.

The reason for this is the full utilization of production capacity over the last two years, according to a press release. Despite three-shift operation, demand could hardly be met, which led to an extreme strain on staff. For this reason, new machines are now to be installed at the Zittau site: One key project is a new bottling line from Krones. Here, several machines such as a bottle-blowing machine, filler, capper and labeler are combined in a very small space using so-called block technology. In order to accommodate all this, Fit wants to expand both the production halls and the warehouse.

The company is generally on an enormous growth trajectory: while gross sales in 2019 amounted to 172 million euros, the 270-strong company expects to generate over 390 million euros this year. This is due to fabric softener brand Kuschelweich, which was recently named the top brand of 2024 by Lebensmittelzeitung. According to the company, 7.4 million households buy the brand every year.

They see one of the reasons for the high demand in the marketing strategy. The company's slogan is "Bye-bye microplastics". According to this, the patented cuddly soft fresh pearls protect the environment and water because they are biodegradable. The encapsulated fragrances are also biodegradable.

"We see great potential for further growth, both nationally and internationally. We are also remaining true to our philosophy of relying primarily on partners from Germany when investing in expansion," predicts Wolfgang Groß, Managing Director of Fit GmbH. He was voted "Saxony's Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2011.

Today, the company no longer just stands for the hand dishwashing detergent developed in 1993, but for 350 products - from automatic dishwashing detergents, household cleaners and laundry detergents to fabric softeners and cosmetic products. (SZ/luz)