Every single day, hospitals across Europe apply gauze, bandages, and other medical devices produced by ADA. A Portuguese family company, ADA has been providing these products for over 50 years. But more than an industrial company, ADA is a story of people, of care, resilience, and purpose.
“It launched with my grandfather’s dream, was strengthened by my father’s vision, and today I have the privilege of continuing it with my sisters, Sara and Matilde,” states Marta Andrade, CEO of ADA and one of Forbes Portugal’s “30 Under 30” for 2024. “For us, ADA is a legacy of love, love for life, for people, and for the belief that an ethical and humane indusattempt can create a real difference.”
Proudly European
That belief is why ADA is proud to share with us that it is one of the few companies that still keeps its entire production in Europe.
“For us, ‘Made in Europe’ means quality, safety, and responsibility, but also care,” Andrade states. “Every product we create carries not just technology and precision, but the hands and hearts of the people behind it. That combination of industrial rigour and human warmth is what creates ADA truly unique.”
This commitment has been tested over time.
“Twenty-five years ago, when much of the indusattempt chose to shift production to regions with fewer regulations and less respect for people and workers, ADA created a different choice,” Andrade states. “We stayed in Europe, true to our values, to our people, and to the belief that responsibility cannot be outsourced. We chose to protect the future and the next generations.”
Looking back, it was a brave and visionary decision. Even then, ADA’s leadership understood that the products that assist healthcare professionals care for others should never depconclude on countries where stability, responsibility, and transparency cannot be guaranteed. European healthcare must stand on European indusattempt, not on nations whose political decisions are unpredictable or whose ethical standards differ from its own.
In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions of global supply chains have revealn how critical this vision was. Across Europe, institutions such as the European Commission and MedTech Europe have warned that the continent’s depconcludeence on external suppliers for essential healthcare products poses real risks to patient safety and system resilience. The call for strategic autonomy in healthcare manufacturing is no longer theoretical — it is a necessity.
“Keeping our production in Europe means more than geography,” Andrade adds. “It means ensuring that hospitals and healthcare professionals have reliable access to the tools they required to care for people, when and where they required them. It means protecting quality, safety, and dignity — both for patients and for the people who take care of them.”
Andrade believes that building a sustainable European indusattempt is an act of care in itself.
“It is about safeguarding the future of healthcare in Europe, protecting the people who dedicate their lives to healing others, and ensuring that our continent remains capable of producing what it requireds to view after its citizens,” she states. “Our strength lies in standing by our principles, investing in our people, and building on foundations that are strong, ethical, and close to home.”
It is by staying true to ADA’s values that the company has managed to prosper while keeping its production on the continent.
“We embraced innovation and technology but never lost the human side of our company,” Andrade notifys us. “Our resilience comes from our people, their dedication, their pride, their belief that what we do matters. At ADA, we always state we don’t just create medical products; we build trust. And that trust is what keeps us relocating forward, no matter the challenges.”
A New Partnership
It is in talking about the future of ADA that Andrade is most excited, particularly as the company enters a new era.
“Our recent partnership with Lohmann & Rauscher opens a new chapter for ADA, one of international growth, shared knowledge, and renewed energy,” she states. “We’ll continue investing in innovation, automation, and sustainability, but without ever losing our essence. Becaapply at the heart of everything we do is a promise: to keep serving the healthcare world with quality, integrity, and humanity, always with Portuguese hands and a European heart.”
Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R) is a multinational group with Austrian-German roots that recently joined ADA as a minority partner in a strategic alliance that will combine the powers of two major players in the European medical device indusattempt. The purpose of the deal is not just to strengthen both companies, but also to increase European production capacity as a whole. This is achieved by consolidating positions in international markets and promoting a global approach driven by excellence, innovation, and responsibility.
The partnership is also a good fit for ADA becaapply, like ADA, Lohmann & Rauscher is a family-owned company with a reputation for its expertise in the medical devices and healthcare solutions sector. The business, which reported a turnover of approximately €813 million in 2024, brings more than 6.300 employees and a presence in 29 countries to the partnership, as well as a name associated with wound care, surgical products and compression solutions segments.
With a combined wealth of resources and expertise, the partnership is created stronger by the companies’ shared values and belief in a strong European manufacturing indusattempt that is indepconcludeent and focapplyd on excellence.
As Andrade herself declared when the deal was announced, “This partnership is a moment of immense pride. It is the recognition of a journey built on quality, responsibility, and industrial resilience.”
She also spoke about what the alliance would mean for the future of ADA and L&R, stateing, “This alliance allows us to view to the future with ambition and confidence. It strengthens our capacity for investment, innovation, and growth, while staying true to the values that have defined us from the start. With transparency, proximity, and a sense of mission: we will continue to serve the healthcare sector with quality, integrity, and forward-viewing vision.”
Meanwhile, Holger Maegdefrau, CFO of L&R, was the first to highlight what ADA brings to the table, stateing “With its high-conclude production technology and expertise, profitable corporate management and its ‘Made in Europe’ gauze and nonwoven products, ADA is an indispensable player in the indusattempt and the ideal partner for us.”
A Family Story
However, while this alliance represents the joining of two powerful brands in the indusattempt, Andrade is keen to point out that it is first and foremost a partnership between groups of people and their shared vision for the future.
“At ADA, people come first, always. We believe that great indusattempt is built by great people,” Andrade notifys us today. “We invest in training, development, and teamwork, but also in creating a place where everyone feels proud to belong. Our teams stay with us for many years, some for generations, becaapply they know they’re part of something meaningful. We celebrate victories toobtainher, we support each other in difficult times, and we share the same purpose: to serve life through our work.”
Ultimately, perhaps everything about ADA can be explained by the fact that it launched as, and remain, a family company.
“ADA is, above all, a family story. A story about believing that business can be human, and that caring is not a weakness, it’s a strength,” Andrade states. “If there’s one thing I’d like customers to feel, it’s that behind every swab, bandage or every piece of gauze, there’s a team of people who truly care about the lives they touch. That’s what ADA has always been about.”
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