NEENAH (NBC 26) — Kimberly-Clark announces a major investment, just not in Wisconsin.

The Neenah-born company behind major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, and Scott products announced a $2 billion plan to expand U.S. operations, including a brand-new manufacturing plant in Warren, Ohio. The facility is expected to bring over 900 high-tech jobs to the region and serve as a key hub for the Northeast and Midwest.

A second project will add an automated distribution center to Kimberly-Clark’s Beech Island facility in South Carolina.

In a press release, North American President Russ Torres called the move “a strategic bet on the American consumer and our ability to drive innovation-led sustainable growth.”

But in Wisconsin, where Kimberly-Clark was founded in Neenah more than 150 years ago, the announcement is triggering alarm and raising a question: Is the company distancing itself from its roots?

“I was disappointed to hear that because it originated here, you know, in the Fox Valley,” Kelly Sherman, an Appleton native, says. “I feel like that business should stay within the state of Wisconsin and Wisconsin needs them. We need the jobs. You know, we need the income.”

Kimberly-Clark’s footprint in Wisconsin has steadily shrunk over the past two decades:

• 2006: Lakeview diaper plant and Neenah distribution center closed– 500+ jobs lost
• 2018: Plans to close the Cold Spring plant and Neenah Nonwovens facility—nearly 600 jobs on the line
• 2019: Neenah Nonwovens officially closed
• 2021: More than 250 corporate roles moved to Chicago

Just a few years ago, state lawmakers approved a $28 million incentive package to keep the Cold Spring plant open, but this latest announcement of billions of dollars being invested outside of Wisconsin is once again shaking confidence in KC’s long-term commitment to the Badger State.
We spoke with one local woman who thinks the investment is a wise move.

“They’re really committed to innovation, and it sounds like, you know, this is a step in the right direction,” says Mel McCarthy of Appleton. “Keeping it in the country and keeping it accessible for us, I think, will keep prices down, and so, nothing but good stuff.”

Kimberly-Clark still employs more than 2,500 people in our state. NBC 26 contacted the company to comment on the expansion, but has not yet received a response.

Construction on the Ohio and South Carolina projects is expected to begin this month and be completed within three years.