About Us
A Brief History of Ostomy Developments
Founded in 1952, MARLEN remains one of the oldest ostomy companies in the World. Today, MARLEN offers the most comprehensive and innovative line of products available.
As a pioneer in the ostomy field, MARLEN was the first to:
• Create a post-operative pouch
• Develop a lightweight, odour-proof plastic pouch
• Introduce convexity to flat surfaced products
• Develop double-sided adhesive tape discs
• Produce rings made from Karaya
In addition to the many traditional, reusable products developed over the years, MARLEN was the first in 1986 to introduce the ULTRA™ one-piece, disposable convex pouches for Ileostomy, Colostomy and Urostomy drainages. Available with flat, shallow and deep convex surfaces, the ULTRA was the first truly flexible convex product on the market.
Later, the ULTRA line was refined with new shapes and more barrier choices and was introduced as the UltraLite line of Drainable, Close End and Urostomy pouches.
MARLEN has continued to innovate by introducing the one-piece, disposable UltraMax™ product to the market. This odor-proof, leak-proof line has four flange options that include cut-to-fit or pre-cut in flat or shallow convexity. This line also introduced the Kwick-View™ feature which provides an easy method for seeing inside the pouch even when the back of the pouch is made with opaque material. The recently introduced UltraMax™ MiniMax™ has all of the features of the UltraMax™ Drainable Pouch but is 30% smaller.
For two-piece products, the latest MARLEN innovation is the UltraMax™ GEMINI™ family of products with the fool-proof E-Z Guide™ Locating System, four flange choices and MARLEN’S exclusive AquaTack™ Hydrocolloid Barrier.
The newest innovation is SuperFlat™, a family of one-piece pouches that includes Drainable, Closed End, Urostomy and a MiniMax™ version. SuperFlat™ is our flattest pouch ever.
Other MARLEN innovations include the Kwick-Klose™ fastener available on UltraMax, MiniMax and UltraMax Gemini drainable pouches, MaxSeal™ and UltraSeal™ Barriers and Skin Shield™ Adhesive Skin Barrier and many more.