This regional Innovation Center integrates laboratories with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, enabling analysis, comparisons and development of materials, products and manufacturing processes. With this structure and a team of scientists who are responsible for all of Kimberly-Clark's innovations in the regional market, the most urgent needs of consumers are identified and solutions are developed to improve their daily lives.

In 2022, the company once again revolutionized personal care and hygiene by launching the first pH-indicating daily cleanser developed in Latin America at this Innovation Center.

"Over the past three years, we have invested US$300 million in our plant infrastructure and technologies to accelerate innovation, developing products that provide better care for consumers by meeting their most pressing needs. That is why today, we are confirming that for the next 10 years we will invest US$80 million so that - through our Innovation Center located in Brazil - we can enhance the capabilities, talent and processes to accelerate the innovation of our products in the region and export them to the world. We want our brands to provide better care for every occasion and revolutionize personal care in the future", says Gonzalo Uribe, president of Kimberly-Clark Latin America.

A history of innovation

Since its founding in october 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, the company has had innovation in its DNA. Creating five of the eight product categories in which it competes, Kimberly-Clark's history literally merges with the chronology of the best-known personal hygiene items and habits, pioneering the production of children's and adult diapers, toilet paper rolls, paper towels, facial tissues, feminine wipes and disposable underwear.

With the purpose of offering "Better Care for a Better World," all of the company's business decisions are based on caring for and meeting society's most important needs, continuing a legacy of innovations that are an indispensable part of the daily lives of consumers in 175 countries, at different stages of their lives.

In the early 20th century, Kimberly-Clark began evolving its operations from a pulp and paper company to a personal care company as it introduced trusted brands such as Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies, Scott and Plenitude that are now part of the daily lives of one billion people around the world.

The launch of the Kotex brand in 1920, for example, was a pivotal moment as Kimberly-Clark launched the modern feminine hygiene category, with products new to the world that also brought the promise of new opportunities for women.

In Latin America, it has been developing essential products for hygiene and human dignity for more than 60 years, through 13 iconic and category-leading brands in all markets. It is currently present in 17 countries in the region, with 14 active factories, 14 distribution centers, 15 offices and more than 10,000 employees.

A history that began to be written in 1960, with the start of operations in Panama, just five years after the start of operations in Mexico and the United Kingdom. Shortly thereafter, in 1964, Kimberly-Clark began operations in Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala under the Scott brand, with Colombia being the last Latin American country to begin operations in the 1960s, in 1968.

During the 1990s, specifically between 1992 and 1998, it was the turn of Kimberly-Clark to start operations in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

In El Salvador, Kimberly-Clark has been operating for 58 years.  Its production plant located in Sitio del Niño is one of the largest operations in Latin America in the company's tissue paper business and manufactures family care products under its Scott and Kleenex brands (toilet paper, kitchen towels, napkins, facial tissues, among others).

According to Eduardo Nieto, general manager of North Central America at Kimberly-Clark, the company is pleased to celebrate this 150th anniversary locally and also in El Salvador. "We are proud to share our legacy every day through social and environmental projects that have a great positive impact on our communities, as well as hygiene and wellness through our leading brands in the different categories in which we participate in the market", said Nieto.

Contributing to impact society

In 2022, in addition to its 150th anniversary, Kimberly-Clark celebrates the improvements made in access to sanitation and clean water for more than 11 million people in 15 Latin American countries through the "Toilets Change Lives" program.

Moreover, the expansion of the "A Hug for Every Baby" initiative, which since 2019 supports UNICEF's Early Childhood Development programs in 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, allowed Kimberly-Clark to directly help close to 3 million people (1.5 million children, close to 1.2 million parents and caregivers and 33,000 professionals involved).

At the same time, through the “Ella Puede”, initiative, the company has positively impacted the lives of 4 million girls and women with initiatives in favor of menstrual health. Between 2020 and 2021, Kotex donated more than 10 million units of menstrual hygiene products in actions in regional and local partnerships, with organizations such as Red Cross, Food Bank and Plan International.

"We seek sustainable, long-term growth. Latin America is providing fundamental solutions toward the company's global goals for 2030. In this regard, we highlight the social programs we have developed in the region through our brands, investments in energy efficiency and water management in plants, as well as innovations focused on reducing plastic in our products and packages. We will continue to invest in the business in order to prioritize growth that is not only profitable but also sustainable", concludes Uribe.

Translated by: A.M