09.07.23
Dallas, TX
www.kimberly-clark.com
2022 Nonwovens Sales: $1.5 billion (estimated)
Key Personnel
Michael Hsu, chairman and chief executive officer, Kimberly-Clark; Russ Torres, president, North America Consumer Business, Kimberly-Clark; Ehab Abou-Oaf, president, Kimberly-Clark Professional; Lori Shaffer, vice president, Global Nonwovens
Global Nonwovens Manufacturing Facilities
Corinth, MS; Hendersonville, NC; LaGrange, GA
ISO Status
Corinth, MS; Hendersonville, NC; LaGrange, GA
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, SMS, BCW, hydroentangled, film lamination, airlaid and Coform
Brands
Kimberly-Clark Professional: Protective Fabrics: Block-It, Dustop, Evolution and Noah; Filtration Media: Intrepid, Powerloft, Cyclean; Delivery Systems: Hydroknit
Kimberly-Clark Personal Care: Huggies, Depend, Kotex, Poise
Major Markets
Filtration, construction, acoustics, consumer hygiene, industrial, medical, packaging, protective, sorbents, textile linings and wet wipes
Nonwovens continues to be a key driver of innovation and growth for both business and brands at Kimberly-Clark. The maker of Huggies diapers and Depend adult incontinence undergarments continues to see the greatest demand for nonwovens within the consumer areas with its brands being the biggest focus.
“We strive for innovation, and we’re continuing to leverage our technical expertise in the nonwovens space to drive value for our consumers,” says Lori Shaffer, vice president, Global Nonwovens.
To better serve its internal and external nonwovens business, in 2022, Kimberly-Clark completed work on a 150,000-square-foot expansion to its plant in Corinth, MS—reportedly its largest-ever investment in nonwovens. The investment is allowing Kimberly-Clark to combine its unique technical expertise in global nonwovens with new innovative technology to continue to deliver value and raise the bar on performance. “Kimberly-Clark is dedicated to providing the best quality and care with our essential products and continuing our commitment to strengthen the communities where we work and live,” Shaffer says.
The expansion has allowed Kimberly-Clark to expand manufacturing of components for Huggies, Pull-Ups, Poise and Depend products using unique raw materials with a particular focus on comfort and skin health, as well as sustainability.
When developing nonwovens, Kimberly-Clark continues to focus on three main priorities—skin health, garment-like comfort and sustainability when it comes to developing benefits for its consumers. For skin health, Kimberly-Clark wants to provide nonwoven solutions that leave the skin in a better condition than when they found it. Meanwhile, garment-like comfort allows its products to achieve a better fit for the person wearing them. “Because we make products that either replace underwear or are used in conjunction with underwear, achieving a more garment-like fit and feel is important, and much of the technology we’re developing helps create softer, stretchier material,” Shaffer says. “Consider a diaper, which consists of 65% nonwovens by weight. It is not only the first thing a mom touches, but it also stays on her baby all day, ensuring dryness and comfort. Our products provide peace of mind, and we are committed to delivering a quality consumer experience, with nonwovens playing a critical role.”
In terms of sustainability, Kimberly-Clark continues to develop more sustainable materials and is committed to looking at alternatives to plastic like bio-based or naturals to provide consumers with no compromise solutions. “There are a variety of ways in which we are doing this - reducing the amount of material and using proprietary raw materials and processing techniques that allow us to deliver more sustainable products,” Shaffer says. “Growth and sustainable innovation/practices should go hand-in-hand. Our 2030 ambition to advance the well-being of 1 billion people in vulnerable and underserved communities with the smallest environmental impact is at the center of everything we do—not just from a global nonwovens standpoint. This is woven into all our brands and plans.”
In terms of recent accomplishments, Kimberly-Clark has continued to drive material development on the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) platform in collaboration with RWDC Industries. This partnership brings together Kimberly-Clark’s deep experience in nonwoven technologies and resin development with RWDC’s innovative and cost-effective biopolymer solutions. RWDC is providing its PHA source material, Solon, which the company will use to develop additional products that are marine degradable. The partnership with RWDC on PHA represents just one of the ways the company is exploring sustainable alternatives to plastic as it works to reduce its use of new, fossil fuel-based plastics by 50% by 2030.
“To advance our sustainability goals, we have continued to work with strategic universities and businesses within the private sector, like RWDC Industries, a biotech company working to replace petroleum-derived materials with safe, sustainable alternatives,” Shaffer says. “We regularly prototype across multiple product categories to pull solutions to market, collaborating with other experts to bring the most innovative products to market.”
Global Nonwovens’ business model is built on open innovation, in which it identifies and works with external subject matter experts such as RWDC, which offers exceptional resins development know-how. “Kimberly-Clark is not looking to get into that space, and we’re focused on what we’re good at—taking raw material and translating it into our products,” Shaffer says. “That’s our model, and it will continue to be moving forward. Ultimately, we recognize innovation to market happens faster together versus alone.”
Shaffer adds that investment behind sustainable innovation pathways continues at Kimberly-Clark, ultimately targeting alternatives to plastic—whether that’s PLA (polylactic acid) or PHA. “We will continue to innovate on that platform internally and seek external options that meet the single-use plastic (SUP) requirements and other requirements where we do business,” she adds.
Innovation has also been a key defense against overcapacity in the nonwovens industry for Kimberly-Clark.
“Overcapacity is still a challenge with many companies still feeling the aftereffects of the pandemic and trying to deplete inventory produced during that time,” Shaffer says. “The way we’re dealing with these issues is through innovation, and we continue to invest in making materials and products that allow us to win in the market and leverage the volume we’ve invested in.”
“Being a large multinational company with strong brands has proven to be highly beneficial for us,” she adds. “Our brands serve as a powerful force and play a vital role in fulfilling our commitments. The scale in which we operate, coupled with the strength of our brands, is having a positive impact overall.”
www.kimberly-clark.com
2022 Nonwovens Sales: $1.5 billion (estimated)
Key Personnel
Michael Hsu, chairman and chief executive officer, Kimberly-Clark; Russ Torres, president, North America Consumer Business, Kimberly-Clark; Ehab Abou-Oaf, president, Kimberly-Clark Professional; Lori Shaffer, vice president, Global Nonwovens
Global Nonwovens Manufacturing Facilities
Corinth, MS; Hendersonville, NC; LaGrange, GA
ISO Status
Corinth, MS; Hendersonville, NC; LaGrange, GA
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, SMS, BCW, hydroentangled, film lamination, airlaid and Coform
Brands
Kimberly-Clark Professional: Protective Fabrics: Block-It, Dustop, Evolution and Noah; Filtration Media: Intrepid, Powerloft, Cyclean; Delivery Systems: Hydroknit
Kimberly-Clark Personal Care: Huggies, Depend, Kotex, Poise
Major Markets
Filtration, construction, acoustics, consumer hygiene, industrial, medical, packaging, protective, sorbents, textile linings and wet wipes
Nonwovens continues to be a key driver of innovation and growth for both business and brands at Kimberly-Clark. The maker of Huggies diapers and Depend adult incontinence undergarments continues to see the greatest demand for nonwovens within the consumer areas with its brands being the biggest focus.
“We strive for innovation, and we’re continuing to leverage our technical expertise in the nonwovens space to drive value for our consumers,” says Lori Shaffer, vice president, Global Nonwovens.
To better serve its internal and external nonwovens business, in 2022, Kimberly-Clark completed work on a 150,000-square-foot expansion to its plant in Corinth, MS—reportedly its largest-ever investment in nonwovens. The investment is allowing Kimberly-Clark to combine its unique technical expertise in global nonwovens with new innovative technology to continue to deliver value and raise the bar on performance. “Kimberly-Clark is dedicated to providing the best quality and care with our essential products and continuing our commitment to strengthen the communities where we work and live,” Shaffer says.
The expansion has allowed Kimberly-Clark to expand manufacturing of components for Huggies, Pull-Ups, Poise and Depend products using unique raw materials with a particular focus on comfort and skin health, as well as sustainability.
When developing nonwovens, Kimberly-Clark continues to focus on three main priorities—skin health, garment-like comfort and sustainability when it comes to developing benefits for its consumers. For skin health, Kimberly-Clark wants to provide nonwoven solutions that leave the skin in a better condition than when they found it. Meanwhile, garment-like comfort allows its products to achieve a better fit for the person wearing them. “Because we make products that either replace underwear or are used in conjunction with underwear, achieving a more garment-like fit and feel is important, and much of the technology we’re developing helps create softer, stretchier material,” Shaffer says. “Consider a diaper, which consists of 65% nonwovens by weight. It is not only the first thing a mom touches, but it also stays on her baby all day, ensuring dryness and comfort. Our products provide peace of mind, and we are committed to delivering a quality consumer experience, with nonwovens playing a critical role.”
In terms of sustainability, Kimberly-Clark continues to develop more sustainable materials and is committed to looking at alternatives to plastic like bio-based or naturals to provide consumers with no compromise solutions. “There are a variety of ways in which we are doing this - reducing the amount of material and using proprietary raw materials and processing techniques that allow us to deliver more sustainable products,” Shaffer says. “Growth and sustainable innovation/practices should go hand-in-hand. Our 2030 ambition to advance the well-being of 1 billion people in vulnerable and underserved communities with the smallest environmental impact is at the center of everything we do—not just from a global nonwovens standpoint. This is woven into all our brands and plans.”
In terms of recent accomplishments, Kimberly-Clark has continued to drive material development on the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) platform in collaboration with RWDC Industries. This partnership brings together Kimberly-Clark’s deep experience in nonwoven technologies and resin development with RWDC’s innovative and cost-effective biopolymer solutions. RWDC is providing its PHA source material, Solon, which the company will use to develop additional products that are marine degradable. The partnership with RWDC on PHA represents just one of the ways the company is exploring sustainable alternatives to plastic as it works to reduce its use of new, fossil fuel-based plastics by 50% by 2030.
“To advance our sustainability goals, we have continued to work with strategic universities and businesses within the private sector, like RWDC Industries, a biotech company working to replace petroleum-derived materials with safe, sustainable alternatives,” Shaffer says. “We regularly prototype across multiple product categories to pull solutions to market, collaborating with other experts to bring the most innovative products to market.”
Global Nonwovens’ business model is built on open innovation, in which it identifies and works with external subject matter experts such as RWDC, which offers exceptional resins development know-how. “Kimberly-Clark is not looking to get into that space, and we’re focused on what we’re good at—taking raw material and translating it into our products,” Shaffer says. “That’s our model, and it will continue to be moving forward. Ultimately, we recognize innovation to market happens faster together versus alone.”
Shaffer adds that investment behind sustainable innovation pathways continues at Kimberly-Clark, ultimately targeting alternatives to plastic—whether that’s PLA (polylactic acid) or PHA. “We will continue to innovate on that platform internally and seek external options that meet the single-use plastic (SUP) requirements and other requirements where we do business,” she adds.
Innovation has also been a key defense against overcapacity in the nonwovens industry for Kimberly-Clark.
“Overcapacity is still a challenge with many companies still feeling the aftereffects of the pandemic and trying to deplete inventory produced during that time,” Shaffer says. “The way we’re dealing with these issues is through innovation, and we continue to invest in making materials and products that allow us to win in the market and leverage the volume we’ve invested in.”
“Being a large multinational company with strong brands has proven to be highly beneficial for us,” she adds. “Our brands serve as a powerful force and play a vital role in fulfilling our commitments. The scale in which we operate, coupled with the strength of our brands, is having a positive impact overall.”