The Challenge
Kimberly-Clark is a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of personal care and hygiene products. Many of its brands—including Kleenex, Huggies, Cottonelle, Scott, and Depend, among others—are well-known worldwide. The demand for Kimberly-Clark products has been high, creating a need for the company to expand its manufacturing capacity in the fastest-growing personal care categories: baby and childcare, and adult and feminine care.
The Solution
After an extensive search, Kimberly-Clark decided to build a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility in Warren, Ohio. Spanning more than 1 million square feet, the $800 million plant in Trumbull County will add nearly 500 new high-quality jobs to the area and enhance the company’s ability to serve millions of consumers across the midwestern and northeastern United States with greater speed, agility, and resilience.
The Trumbull County property spans Howland Township, Warren Township, and the City of Warren, and includes sufficient acreage for future growth.
Key factors in choosing Ohio included:
Ohio’s pro-business climate
Reliable and affordable energy
Warren’s geographic proximity to roughly 117 million consumers—the ideal location for a regional hub
Access to a pipeline of skilled talent in the Mahoning Valley area
The close, effective collaboration of JobsOhio, Lake to River, and state and local government officials.
This highly efficient team responded quickly and effectively to coordinate essential planning, which demonstrated the community's readiness for a project of this scale.
The Results
Jobs Created: 491
Total Payroll: $49.1 million
Total Investment: $800 million
Economic Impact: The manufacturing facility not only brought hundreds of direct jobs to the Warren area, but also attracted ancillary businesses, boosted housing, and invigorated the local economy.
Strategic Advantage: For Kimberly-Clark, this was an opportunity to build a facility from the ground up that reflects the future of manufacturing. The facility was the company’s first in Ohio, representing both a strategic expansion and a decisive step in doubling down on growth in the American market.
Our investment in Warren is a pivotal step forward in our North America business and strategy. By establishing a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ohio, we’re enhancing our ability to serve millions of consumers across the Midwest and Northeast with greater speed, agility, and resilience.
-Tamera Fenske, Kimberly-Clark Chief Supply Chain Officer