Comprehensive provider for clinics turns 100 years old

In the 1950s, female employees cut gauze from variously sized gauze rolls into different lengths. (Photo: private)

Sebastian and Anja Danz, main shareholders and managing directors of NOBA, are showing a so-called perforated drape for an operation. (Photo: Elisabeth Semme)

From bandages to compresses, from plasters to incontinence pads, from wound dressings to complete surgical sets with cap, gloves, mask, and gown, the 2,400-product range of NOBA, a bandage product company in Wengern, covers everything. The eventful history of the family business Danz began on January 31, 2015, exactly 100 years ago in Wengern.

Initially, the company produced almost exclusively gauze bandages — and these were made with special web edges that could be washed up to eight times and did not fray after the first wash, unlike the conventional cut-edge bandages of that time. Today, Noba is a "full-range supplier for hospitals," as pharmacist and deputy managing director Dr. Anja Danz explains: "We manufacture products for hospitals, medical practices, and pharmacies, mostly located in Germany. From 1961, we were a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and since 1994, the Medical Devices Act has been in place, which is a separate legislation for the type of products we produce." To clarify, she explains the terms: "A medicinal product always has a pharmacological effect, a medical device has a physical effect."

And whether it's an operating mask or latex gloves, instrument table covers or fixation plasters — today, all of these are considered consumables from a hygienic point of view — i.e., items for single use. "Patient safety is the most important thing, and such items cannot be reprocessed," she emphasizes.

Most of the items are produced in cleanrooms, into which employees must be admitted. "They have completed hygiene training beforehand, wear area-specific clothing, which always includes a cap and special shoes, and sometimes also wear gloves and masks. Humans are the greatest germ carriers, and they are the ones who enter these rooms," says Anja Danz. "Subsequently, the products are sterilized in their final packaging to ensure safety."

Global Suppliers

The raw materials, such as cotton, are purchased worldwide. Some products are also manufactured directly where the raw materials are grown. For example, NOBA produces latex gloves in Malaysia, which require rubber. "We have global suppliers, but all products are manufactured according to our development specifications and go through our quality control laboratories. Because production involves a high ethical responsibility that we must fulfill," notes Anja Danz. In Wengern, mainly specialized vacuum surgical packaging is produced, which immediately reveals whether a package is airtight and therefore sterile.

The company has grown slowly and steadily, according to the managing director. In the beginning, it had just under 20 employees; by 1983, this number had increased to 56. At that time, her husband Sebastian and his brother Paul Benedikt Danz took over management in the fourth generation. Today, the company employs as many people as it has years — namely 100.

Family-Friendly Workplace

70 percent of the employees are women, which Sebastian Danz explains: "The textile industry is traditionally staffed by women." But NOBA's commitment to family friendliness is not only due to the high proportion of women. "We are a member of the Success Factor Family network and have flexible working models that allow employees who prefer to work in the afternoons or evenings to set their priorities," says Anja Danz. The company also engages as a school partner at Hardenstein Comprehensive School in Witten-Herbede and is a sponsor of the "School against Racism" project. And last but not least, NOBA has been supporting the fire brigade for 40 years, as the managing director mentions with regard to her brother-in-law and deputy fire chief in Wetter, Paul Benedikt Danz.

Textile Craftsmanship Has Tradition - Paul Danz Founded the Company in 1915

In 1915, Paul Danz founded the Ruhr Valley Bandage Factory in Wengern on the Ruhr. He comes from a family that has practiced weaving since 1620. His son, Paul Danz Jr., guided the company through World War II. In 1951, the third generation, Paul Wolfgang Danz, took on entrepreneurial responsibility.

In 1984, the company name was changed to NOBA Verbandmittel Danz GmbH & Co. KG. At the same time, Sebastian and Paul Benedikt Danz entered the management as the fourth generation. Today, with around 100 employees, the company is a globally operating manufacturer of modern medical products in Germany. An interesting detail: "The last weaving mill on Nansen Street was closed in 2000. And the women who worked there all obtained forklift licenses, so no jobs had to be eliminated," explains Anja Danz.

Book on Company History

For the 100th anniversary, a book on the company's history has been published. On behalf of NOBA, the history office Reder in Cologne created the book "Knowledge Connects — 395 Years of Woven History," which will be given to every employee. The 80-page work, filled with many photos, will also be available in bookstores.