Kimberly-Clark Opens First Manufacturing Plant in Russia

The facility will produce HUGGIES(R) diapers

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Jun 02, 2010, 06:00 ET

DALLAS, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) held a grand opening ceremony of its first plant in Stupino, Russia, which is located near Moscow. The new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility features two HUGGIES® diaper lines.

Russia has been identified as a key growth opportunity for Kimberly-Clark's international strategy. Today Kimberly-Clark holds significant market shares in the baby and child care, consumer tissue and feminine care categories. Investment in the Stupino plant will allow Kimberly-Clark to support its continued growth in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

Global growth strategy in Russian market

Taking into account continued favorable market developments in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries, Kimberly-Clark decided to build a new-generation plant in Russia in 2007. The active stage of construction of the plant began in 2009 and was completed earlier this year.

"Kimberly-Clark has made significant investments to establish our brands and build our organization in Russia since 1996. K-C has increased its sales 10 times in 10 years in the region. The decision to invest into development of local manufacturing became an important part of our strategy to support our continued growth," said Thomas Falk, chairman of Board of Directors and chief executive officer of Kimberly-Clark. "This investment confirms the success we have had in building our business in Russia over the last 14 years and the confidence we have in delivering future growth for many years to come."

Currently, the plant has about 200 employees; 90 percent of them are from Stupino. Specialists involved in the operations' process have passed extensive training in K-C facilities in the United States, Europe and Korea.

"The Stupino plant is one of biggest capital investments Kimberly-Clark has made over the last two years. But this is only the beginning," said Jonathan Tarr, managing director of Kimberly-Clark Eastern Europe. "The facility was built with the ability to add further capacity as appropriate.

"We see the opening of the plant as a major step in the development of Russia's hygiene and personal care industry, which will get new energy due to the addition of our new production facility," he added.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for 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 No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 138-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation