Kimberly-Clark
has announced that it will invest $20 million to upgrade its 50-plus-year-old
Millicent plant, increasing its capacity to make Kleenex products.
Managing
director Robert Rietbroek made the announcement last week, saying that the
company was committed to increasing its efficiency within a difficult environment
for manufacturers in Australia.
“Investments totalling $20 million will
go into capacity improvements and equipment upgrades to enable us to sustain
and increase production of our high quality Kleenex products,”said Rietbroek.
The mill celebrated a half-century of production in July 2010.
Kimberly-Clark recently invested in a $33 million cogeneration facility at Millicent, taking
it off the electricity grid.
“Kimberly-Clark Australia’s new
cogeneration facility at the Millicent Mill supports the Premier’s strategic
priority of growth through innovation and the Government’s commitment to
advanced manufacturing,” said Tom Koutsantonis, the state’s manufacturing minister.
The company is the biggest employer in the south-east of South
Australia. Kimberly-Clark recently announced a global restructure, scheduled for completion
in 2016, which will remove up to 1,300 positions from its workforce worldwide.
Image: http://www.kcpreducetoday.com/