Kimberly Clark History

Quick Navigation:

1. Kimberly-Clark at a Glance
2. Brief History of Kimberly-Clark
3. Kimberly-Clark Professional Brands

Kimberly-Clark at a Glance

Over 130 years since its founding, Kimberly-Clark Corporation is one of the world's leading producers of tissue, personal care products, and health care products. The company sells its products in 150 countries and maintains manufacturing operations in 41 countries. In addition to its market leaders in tissues and personal-care products (which include the brands “Huggies”, “Kotex”, “Depend”, “Kleenex”), Kimberly-Clark is also a major producer of premium business, correspondence and technical papers. Other popular brands from Kimberly-Clark include “Wypall” utility wipes and “Kimwipes” scientific cleaning wipes. The company is also the market leader in health care products such as facemasks, surgical gowns, and sterilization wrap, and, with its 1999 acquisition of “Safeskin”, Kimberly-Clark is currently the number one producer of disposable gloves in the United States (International Directory of Company Histories, 2006).

[back]

Brief History of Kimberly-Clark

“Kimberly, Clark and Co. was founded in 1872 by John A. Kimberly, Havilah Babcock, Charles B. Clark, and Frank C. Shattuck in Neenah, Wisconsin with $30,000 capitalization. Their first business was running paper mills, a business they grew throughout the following decades.” In the early 1900’s, the company developed several personal-hygiene products that would begin their success. “Kimberly & Clark joined with The New York Times Company in 1926 to build a newsprint mill in Ontario, Canada. Two years later, the company went public as Kimberly-Clark” (Kimberly-Clark, 2007).

The firm expanded internationally in 3 countries during the 1950s, and began operations in 17 more foreign locations in the 1960s. “The company formed Midwest Express Airlines from its corporate flight department in 1984. Kimberly-Clark's headquarters moved from Neenah, Wisconsin to Irving, Texas, the following year” (Kimberly-Clark, 2007).

Kimberly-Clark bought Scott Paper in 1995 for $9.4 billion. “The merger with Scott solidified Kimberly-Clark's position as the number two player in the paper products industry and nearly doubled the company's revenues. The company also began to expand its line of professional health care products - In 1997, Kimberly-Clark acquired Tecnol Medical Products, manufacturer of half of all surgical masks used in U.S. hospitals. Adding to its lineup of medical products, the company bought Ballard Medical Products and disposable glove maker Safeskin in 1999” (International Directory of Company Histories, 2006).

“The turn of the century saw the company continuing its rapid expansion through acquisitions. In 2000, the company grew its Asian markets when it acquired the Taiwanese company S-K Corporation and the Taiwan Scott Paper. In 2001, Kimberly-Clark bought the Italian company Linostar, the second largest diaper manufacturer in Italy. In 2000, the company achieved sales of nearly $14 billion. The annual report for that year reported that in coming years the company would focus on product innovation, strategic acquisitions, and geographic expansion, especially introducing Kimberly-Clark products into countries where they were not currently sold” (International Directory of Company Histories, 2006).

[back]

Kimberly-Clark Professional Brands:

KLEENEX - premium tissues and towels; patented manufacturing advancements like Absorbency Pockets with Fast Drying Ridges for Towels make Kleenex products unique.

SCOTT - tissue and towel products; manufacturing advancements similar to Kleenex.

WYPALL - From heavy-duty Wypall X80 Towels to versatile light-duty Wypall L10 Wipers, excellent performance and versatility characterize this line of products.

KIMTECH - From biotechnology industries to research laboratories to the electronics industry, the Kimtech Wiper line offers a full selection of wipers for critical and controlled environments and tasks.

KLEENGUARD – personal protective equipment (PPE) that includes eye protection, gloves, and apparel; Kleenguard effectively addresses both protection and comfort.

KIMCARE - includes gentle cleansers to wash away light soil, gritty cleansers for tough grease and grime, and cleansers that attacks germs.(Worldwide. World Class, n.d.)

[back]