CHICAGO – Kimberly-Clark Corporation has announced plans to invest over $2 billion over the next five years in its North America business, marking the company’s largest domestic expansion in more than 30 years.
Amid rising demand for its consumer brands which include Huggies diapers, Depend incontinence products and Cottonelle bath tissue, the investment will significantly enhance the company’s US manufacturing capacity, accelerate its innovation plans and support its ambitious growth targets.
The broad-based investment programme centres on two transformative projects – a new advanced manufacturing facility in Warren, Ohio, and an expansion of the Beech Island, South Carolina, site with a state-of-the-art automated distribution centre. Plans also include additional capital expenditure linked to innovation and automation upgrades across KC’s North America supply chain network.
These projects are expected to create more than 900 highly skilled new jobs in industrial automation and advanced manufacturing.
“This landmark investment represents a strategic bet on the American consumer and our ability to drive innovation-led sustainable growth for Kimberly-Clark,” said Russ Torres, group president of Kimberly-Clark North America. “It reflects the confidence we have in our long-term growth plans and complements a broad range of commercial and R&D investments we have been making throughout the business as part of our Powering Care transformation journey.”
Vital Hub
The new facility in Warren, Ohio, strategically located in geographic proximity to roughly 117 million consumers will serve as a vital hub for the Northeast and Midwest regions.
Spread across more than a million square feet, the Warren facility will provide the capacity needed to drive future growth for Kimberly-Clark’s fastest growing personal care categories. Its proprietary manufacturing technologies will enable the creation of new and improved next-generation consumer products, rooted in material invention, product engineering, and manufacturing process innovation.
“We welcome Kimberly-Clark’s first investment in Ohio,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Kimberly-Clark has advanced-production facilities all over the world, and the fact that it is now coming to Trumbull County says a great deal about the area’s workforce and Ohio’s leadership in rebuilding the domestic manufacturing supply.”
Speed to market
Meanwhile, a new regional distribution centre (DC) in Beech Island, South Carolina, will create the infrastructure necessary to support future scale and unlock network efficiencies. Located next to the company’s largest manufacturing facility, the automated DC will significantly increase the site’s ability to direct-ship and streamline its distribution footprint. The facility will leverage advanced robotics, AI-powered logistics systems and high-density automated storage to dramatically improve operational efficiencies and fast-track speed to market.
“Thanks to South Carolina’s exceptional business climate, global leaders like Kimberly-Clark Corporation are finding lasting success in our state,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. “The company’s commitment to investing in South Carolina is truly something worth celebrating, and we congratulate Kimberly-Clark and Aiken County on this milestone.”
“These investments in North America represent the strong progress we are making on our end-to-end supply chain transformation, specifically in terms of network optimisation,” said Tamera Fenske, Kimberly-Clark’s chief supply chain officer. “By bringing together manufacturing and distribution under one automated roof, we are building a more agile, responsive, and resilient manufacturing network that will enhance service levels for our retail partners and contribute to our gross productivity plan. Beech Island is the largest site in our network, so this new investment will drive impact at scale,” she added.
