Huggies, Kleenex Maker To Invest $2B To Expand U.S. Manufacturing
The company behind the Huggies, Kleenex, Depend and Poise brands is ramping up its U.S. manufacturing.
Kimberly-Clark plans to expand its operations over the next five years with over $2B in investments, it announced Thursday. The investments are centered around two major projects in Ohio and South Carolina.
The projects — in Warren, Ohio, and Beech Island, South Carolina — are expected to create more than 900 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," Russ Torres, group president of Kimberly-Clark North America, said in a statement.
The Ohio facility is an $800M investment and will service the Northeast and Midwest regions. The development would bring just under 1M SF of industrial space for material invention, manufacturing and e-commerce uses. When completed, the project would create 491 jobs.
The South Carolina facility will be a $200M investment and will create more than 150 jobs. The 1.1M SF facility is planned to be developed next to the company's largest manufacturing facility and will target advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and automated storage.
Irving, Texas-based Kimberly Clark owns and leases 28 facilities in North America and 54 outside of the market as of 2023.
The company is the latest to announce investments in the American industrial landscape in the wake of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policies and calls for manufacturers to open more U.S. factories. Tech giants Apple and Nvidia have announced massive investments in the development of new U.S. facilities in recent months.
