US healthcare products and services provider, Hollister, has announced a new €25 million investment in its production operations in Kaunas, Lithuania. This project will create approximately 50 new jobs and is expected to bring the total number of associates at the facility to 750 by the end of the year.
The investment, which will be spread over a three-year period, will enable the company to install state-of-the-art machinery at its production facility, as well as upgrade its warehouse and building infrastructure. This follows a €23.6 million investment in manufacturing technologies at the same site less than a year ago.
Hollister Lietuva, the company’s Lithuanian entity, was established in 2017. The advanced production facility in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (FEZ) opened in 2019. The company chose Lithuania for its favorable production conditions and strong cultural fit.
The new €25 million investment will allow the facility to expand the range of products it manufactures, explains Saulius Bitinas, General Manager of Hollister Lietuva:
“Since our establishment, we have expanded our Ostomy and Continence Care manufacturing plants, built one of the largest clean rooms in the Baltics, and opened a Center of Excellence for financial functions. Now, we are striving to achieve 100% utilization of our current facility’s capacity. To support this, we are adding new machinery and improving the building’s infrastructure. These upgrades will enhance our ability to produce a wider range of Hollister products.”
As part of this expansion, Hollister Lietuva will be recruiting engineers, operators, quality assurance specialists, finance and accounting professionals, as well as SAP and master data analysts.
“This latest expansion will further strengthen our position within Hollister’s global family,” Saulius Bitinas added. “More global roles are being located here, and our share of the company’s global production is growing. Out of the approximately 4,000 Hollister associates engaged in manufacturing worldwide, 750 will be based in Lithuania by the end of the year.”
Hollister is also collaborating closely with Kaunas University of Technology and Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, and it plans to expand partnerships with Vytautas Magnus University.
According to Elijus Čivilis, General Manager at Invest Lithuania, Hollister’s continued expansion brings significant economic and social benefits:
“Hollister’s involvement in Lithuania’s life sciences ecosystem clearly demonstrates the country’s ambition to be a global leader in innovation, talent development, and advanced manufacturing. Since establishing operations here, Hollister has more than doubled its initial plans, solidifying Lithuania—and Kaunas specifically—as a prime destination for foreign investors. As an independent, employee-owned company that actively collaborates with universities, Hollister is accelerating innovation and driving significant social and economic progress, making it a cornerstone of the country’s life sciences cluster.”
About Hollister Incorporated
Hollister Incorporated is an independent, employee-owned company that develops, manufactures and markets healthcare products worldwide. The company spearheads the advancement of innovative products for ostomy care, continence care and critical care, and also creates educational support materials for patients and healthcare professionals. Headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, Hollister has manufacturing and distribution centers on three continents and sells in nearly 80 countries.
