YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s new $800 million plant in Trumbull County will be designed to manufacture most of the products in its personal care line, a company spokesperson said Friday.
The Dallas-based consumer paper products manufacturer announced Thursday that it would move forward with construction of a plant on 560 acres of property it purchased for $9.9 million from the Western Reserve Port Authority in December 2023.
Site preparation work is underway at the property, which is in Howland and Warren townships just outside the city of Warren’s downtown. Construction is expected to get underway this month on the more than 1 million-square-foot plant and take two to three years to complete.
“The Warren plant will be equipped with advanced technologies to enable Kimberly-Clark to adapt its production as consumer demand changes,” the company spokesperson said. “When fully operational, the facility will be capable of making most products in our personal care portfolio.”
Those include but are not limited to Huggies diapers, Huggies wipes, Pull-Ups training pants, Goodnites night time underwear, Poise pads and liners, Depend incontinence products, Kleenex tissues, Viva paper towels, Scott paper towels and toilet paper, and Kotex pads, tampons and liners, the spokesperson continued.
“Our investment in Warren is a pivotal step forward in our North America business and strategy,” Kimberly-Clark’s chief supply chain officer, Tamera Fenske, said. 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.
“It’s a once-in-a-career opportunity to build a facility from the ground up that reflects the future of manufacturing,” she continued. With the support of local partners like JobsOhio, the Ohio Department of Development, Lake to River, Economic Development, Western Reserve Port Authority and local governments, the company has “the unique opportunity to create high-quality jobs and long-term economic impact in the region.”
The plant will be Kimberly-Clark’s first plant in Ohio and 17th in the United States, serving some 117 million consumers in the Northeast and Midwest regions.
“We’re thrilled to be putting down roots in Ohio and bolstering our presence in the region,” the Kimberly-Clark spokesperson said. Company officials “put a lot of thought into this historic U.S. manufacturing investment” and are confident the company is joining “a terrific community with Trumbull County.”
The spokesperson cited several factors that put the site ahead of others it considered.
“The Mahoning Valley has so much to offer. From a buildable land standpoint, state and community efforts to make the former BDM steel site project ready was a significant factor,” the spokesperson said. “A strong manufacturing workforce, ease of distribution to Northeast and Midwest consumers and a welcoming business climate helped complete the picture for this site selection decision.”
The plant will employ approximately 500 workers, but Anthony Trevena, WRPA executive director, said he hopes that is just the beginning. The project Kimberly-Clark has outlined will take up about 100 acres of the land it acquired.
“Our hope is that they feel so welcome and feel at home here in the Mahoning Valley that they just keep bringing more jobs,” he said.
The Kimberly-Clark spokesperson responded to an inquiry about expansion down the road by saying the company was “focused on celebrating the announcement of this state-of-the-art manufacturing plant” and the upcoming groundbreaking.
Sarah Boyarko vice president, economic development, for Lake to River, recommended vendors looking to work with Kimberly-Clark should contact her organization. “We’re assisting regional suppliers and service providers in connecting with the company,” she said.
Pictured at top: A rendering of Kimberly-Clark’s proposed facility in Trumbull County.