Faze Three acquires bath rug producer Pana  

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/25/2007 12:55:00 PM

Mumbai, India – Indian bath rug manufacturer Faze Three Ltd. is calling its acquisition of the major European bath rug company Pana Textil GmbH a “cost effective synergy” that marries the former’s breadth in rubber-backed cotton bath rug production with the latter’s high-tech printing capabilities.

“The Pana acquisition brings some new technologies to our portfolio of products, printing in particular,” explained Joe Shafran, vp, Faze Three USA. “Now we can print on any material – nylon, cotton, micro-fiber, acrylic, etc., and we can print on cotton at various pile heights.”

Added Ajay Anand, managing director of Faze Three: “The strategic acquisition of Pana widens our reach into Europe as well as opening new opportunities in the U.S. It is a perfect synergy. [We] will leverage [Pana’s] strengths in cost competence, design, wide product portfolio, central procurement and systems and processes.”

Pana, founded in 1953, has two manufacturing plants, one each in Germany and Hungary. Considered the second largest supplier of bath rugs in Europe, its bath rug assortment comprises tufted and printed bath rugs, but the company also makes and sells accent- and area-size woven and tufted rugs.

While Faze Three will hold Pana distribution mainly in Europe, Shafran said, “We think we can take some of those attributes and apply them to the U.S. market. The new U.S. offerings will fill a different niche than we already offer.”

Faze Three is said to have the largest capacity of rubber-backed synthetic fiber bath rugs in India. The company also manufactures other home textiles products, including blankets, bedding, decorative pillows, kitchen textiles, window coverings, “and anything that uses woven fabrics.”

Faze Three will include new products from its Pana acquisition at Heimtextil in Germany in January and at the HFPA’s New York winter market Feb. 11-15.