KIMBERLY-CLARK TO CONSOLIDATE ITS NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN ADULT AND FEMININE CARE MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS: COMPANY WILL EXPAND PRODUCTION AT THE
July 26, 2005
Conway, AR — Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) announced today that it is consolidating its six North American and European adult and feminine care operations into three strategic sites.
Locally, production capacity at the Conway facility will be expanded. The company also will expand production at its Neenah Cold Spring, Wis., plant and will maintain its operation in Litovel in the Czech Republic. The company plans to phase out operations at another facility in Neenah, Wis., and at plants in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada and Forchheim, Germany next year.
"We are excited by the opportunities this decision represents for us," said John Pownall, Conway Facility Manager. "We will increase the scope and scale of our operations, and we plan to hire approximately 50 additional hourly and salaried employees by the end of 2006, bringing our total workforce to approximately 500. This is good news for both Kimberly-Clark and the community."
Conway was selected as a strategic site because of management's confidence in the facility's ability to deliver consistently strong performance in production and cost efficiencies and because of the quality and scale of its existing assets and its strategic location for efficient product distribution.
Tim Lehman, President, North American Adult and Feminine Care business, said, "By consolidating our sites in North America and Europe, we will be able to increase efficiency, reduce overhead costs, leverage common product design and benefit from low-cost global sourcing, creating a more competitive platform for growth and margin improvement."
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading global health and hygiene company. Its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for more people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries.
CONTACT:
?Mitch Chandler, 501-682-5154?mchandler@1-800-ARKANSAS.com?Brad Lacy, Director of Economic Development?Conway Development Corporation?501-329-7788
