US tissue paper maker is withdrawing from its European disposable nappies business.
According to a statement to Euwid, Kimberly-Clark reported that it was not able to establish a sustainably profitable nappies business in Europe. For this reason Kimberly-Clark has made the decision to close nappy production and sales in Europe and exit the diaper category. Only Italy remains exempt from this move.
“We’ve been in the European diaper market for more than 20 years and we’ve made a number of attempts to find a winning business model there,” chairman and chief executive Thomas Falk said, as quoted by Reuters. He added: “We’ve concluded that we can create more shareholder value by getting out of this business rather than by continuing to try to turn it around.”
The company will also be examining a variety of other sales or withdrawal options for areas of business with poor margins and poor growth especially in the Consumer Tissue segment.
Five production facilities in Europe are affected by the decision; four of them part of the group’s Consumer division and one in the Professional segment. The changes will affect between 1,300 and 1,500 employees. The plants are located in the UK, Spain and Poland.