News regarding the plastic-backed Abena Abri-Form products:

December 28, 2011:

Over the past few months there has been news circulating that Abena was planning to discontinue their entire line of plastic backed products. During the month of October we learned form Abena that these rumors were true and that they were planning to switch to a cloth-like outer covering on all of their products in the beginning of 2012.

While I will not go into the exact numbers here, I will say that many, if not most, of our customers prefer the plastic backed product. We heard from a lot of you over the past few weeks, and let me just say that we understand. As a user of these products myself, I am quite aware of the many shortcomings of the "textile" backing, and was frustrated at hearing that it might be discontinued.

While I am always sad to see the plastic backed products replaced with imitation cloth, I do understand that the cloth like outer meets the needs of some very large market segments (nursing homes, hospitals). It is not a coincidence that cloth-like is most popular among those who are choosing a product for another person. If you have never used either, the cloth-like seems like an obvious advantage and it does have unique breathable properties that are very valuable for some users.

However, for many customers (especially those who choose their own products based on personal experience) the decision is not as clear-cut. Stretching, sagging, poor tape adhesion, wicking of wetness, poor odor containment, friction on skin and clothing are among the criticisms leveled at the cloth like products. This is why we always appreciated that Abena offered both versions. To just take one away seemed like a poor business decision and a disservice to a lot of loyal customers.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to voice these concerns with Abena at the beginning of December. The representatives from Abena promised to thoroughly consider the matter at their highest levels and get back to us in a few weeks. A few weeks has passed, and we received the following from Abena just before the Christmas weekend:

Dear all. Normally I/we would have contacted you differently concerning updates on what the future will be for M4 + L4 in the Comfort range but since Christmas is coming within a few hours here in Denmark, I decided to quickly give you some feedback on what will happen to the above products as this is important for us all. Based on the concerns you had on the consequences of especially moving M4 + L4 from PE and all the way to Premium (M4 + L4 will not be in the Comfort TBS range) it was this morning decided to put this project on hold for North America, so you will also after the 1st of February be able to purchase M4 + L4 in PE. As these two products accounts for a very large volume of our sales in the US, we will over the next 6 month have to find/decide on what the final assortment for the US/Canada should be. Having 4 ranges in our assortment (Delta TBS (future) Comfort PE, Comfort TBS and Premium) is not ideal. As for the rest of Comfort PE range, we will not discontinue right now, but I still expect that we will not continue with the whole range for a long period. I hope to have more on this in the beginning of January. I hope this helps and comforts many of the users out there. It has never been in our interest not to supply what users wants, but we still want to influence if we can. In the next month we will have to look further into the disadvantages of TBS/Premium from the point of end-users in North America, as we have not had any negative feedback from other markets. Our goal would be eventually to supply similar products to all markets. Will not be easy but maybe by working closer together on this project we might succeed ? From us here in Denmark, we wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Med venlig hilsen / Best regards Abena International A/S

Based on feedback from customers, Abena has changed their mind and decided not to discontinue the plastic X-Plus in sizes Medium and Large. The fate of the other products and absorbency levels will be decided sometime in 2012, likely based on sales levels.

Overall, I think this is very good news, as the popular plastic backed M4 and L4 continue to be available for the near future at least. I suspect that as long as sales of these products remain robust, Abena will continue their manufacture. I am pleased that Abena is willing to listen to their customers and adjust their plans accordingly. Please keep the feedback coming, it is always good to know what our customers are thinking.

Best Wishes,
Gary Evans
Owner, XP Medical
mail@xpmedical.com