Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation
	File:Kimberly-Clark logo.svg Logo of Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Company type	Public
Industry	Consumer goods, Personal care products
Founded	December 0, 1872; 154 years ago in Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S.
Founder	John A. Kimberly, Havilah Babcock, Charles B. Clark, Franklyn C. Shattuck
Headquarters	Irving, Texas, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Michael D. Hsu (CEO)
Products	Kleenex, Kotex, Cottonelle, Scott, Andrex, Wypall, KimWipes, Huggies
Number of employees	38,000 (2024)
Website	www.kimberly-clark.com

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational enterprise specializing in consumer goods and personal care products primarily made from paper. Its brand lineup features prominent names such as Kleenex facial tissues, Kotex feminine hygiene products, Cottonelle, Scott, and Andrex toilet papers, along with Wypall utility wipes, KimWipes laboratory wipes, and Huggies disposable diapers and baby wipes.

Established in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has been headquartered since 1985 in the Las Colinas district of Irving, Texas. The company managed paper mills worldwide for many years but shuttered its final mill in 2012. Reporting annual revenues surpassing $20 billion as of 2024, Kimberly-Clark is consistently ranked among the Fortune 500. Its global workforce numbers roughly 38,000 employees as of 2024.

The company’s strategic approach centers on innovation within personal care offerings and broadening its international footprint by leveraging strong brand equity and a wide range of products. Leadership under CEO Michael D. Hsu and other key executives ensures Kimberly-Clark sustains its competitive positioning in the consumer goods sector.

History

In 1872, John A. Kimberly, Havilah Babcock, Charles B. Clark, and Franklyn C. Shattuck founded Kimberly, Clark and Co. in Neenah, Wisconsin, starting with $42,000 in capital. Initially focusing on paper mill operations, the company expanded steadily over the following decades. After a fire destroyed its "Atlas" paper mill in 1888, the firm rebuilt it within five months with increased capacity and began rapid growth, including constructing a groundwood pulp plant in what would become Kimberly, Wisconsin—named after John A. Kimberly.

The company was a pioneer in adopting the sulphite pulp process west of Pennsylvania and invented cellu-cotton in 1914, which the U.S. Army utilized during World War I. This breakthrough led to the introduction of Kotex—the first disposable feminine hygiene product—in 1920, followed by Kleenex disposable handkerchiefs in 1924. In 1926, Kimberly-Clark collaborated with The New York Times Company to establish a newsprint mill in Kapuskasing, Ontario, and went public two years later.

International growth accelerated during the 1950s and 1960s with new facilities opening in Mexico, West Germany, the United Kingdom, and seventeen other countries. In 1984, the company founded Midwest Express Airlines from its corporate flight operations and moved its headquarters from Neenah to Irving, Texas in 1985 while continuing production at Neenah. Under CEO Darwin Smith (1971–1991), Kimberly-Clark transitioned its focus from business paper toward consumer paper products.

During the 1990s, Kimberly-Clark divested its Kapuskasing mill and entered Argentina through a joint venture while acquiring stakes in personal care businesses across Europe and China. The $9.4 billion merger with Scott Paper in 1995 substantially increased market share. Subsequent acquisitions included diaper manufacturers in Spain and Portugal; surgical mask producer Tecnol Medical Products; Swiss tissue firm Attisholz Holding for $365 million (1999); Ballard Medical Products for $774 million (1999); and Safeskin gloves for approximately $800 million (2000).

The company expanded its Taiwanese operations by acquiring S-K Corporation and Taiwan Scott Paper, merging them into Kimberly-Clark Taiwan. In 2001 it purchased Italian diaper maker Linostar and shuttered four plants across Latin America to enhance operational efficiency.

Between 2002 and 2003, Kimberly-Clark acquired full ownership of an Australian joint venture previously shared with Amcor and bought Polish tissue manufacturer Klucze to grow its global consumer tissue business. Chairman and CEO Thomas Falk launched a worldwide business strategy in 2004 that unified North American and European personal care and tissue divisions under North Atlantic groups. Falk stepped down as CEO in 2019 but remained chairman; COO Michael D. Hsu assumed the CEO role.

By March 2020, Kimberly-Clark employed around 40,000 people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic initially caused a 13% surge in consumer tissue sales during Q1 2020 due to panic buying but eventually resulted in an eight percent drop in organic sales—the company’s poorest performance in over ten years.

In 2022, Kimberly-Clark diversified its product range by acquiring a controlling interest in period underwear brand Thinx.

On May 19, 2025, after more than four decades listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Kimberly-Clark announced it would move its stock listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market effective May 30th.

Ownership and subsidiaries

The majority of Kimberly-Clark's stock is owned by institutional investors, including The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation. Among its principal subsidiaries is Kimberly-Clark Professional, which plays a vital role in supporting the company's worldwide healthcare and hygiene product operations.

Midwest Airlines

Midwest Airlines traces its origins to Kimberly-Clark's corporate flight division, which was established in 1948 to facilitate executive travel between the Neenah headquarters and various paper manufacturing sites. In 1969, K-C Aviation was formed to oversee the maintenance of corporate aircraft and eventually expanded to provide shuttle services for employees traveling among Appleton, Memphis, and Atlanta. Building on this foundation and benefiting from the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Kimberly-Clark founded Midwest Express Airlines in 1984, rebranding it as Midwest Airlines in 2003. K-C Aviation exited the airline business in 1996 and was subsequently acquired by Gulfstream Aerospace in 1998 for $250 million. This transaction included airport facilities located in Dallas, Appleton, and Westfield, Massachusetts.

Key American consumer brands

Kimberly-Clark's expertise lies in paper-based consumer goods encompassing sanitary paper products and medical supplies. Its prominent brands feature Kleenex facial tissues, Kotex feminine hygiene items, toilet paper lines such as Cottonelle, Scott, and Andrex, as well as utility wipes under the Wypall name, scientific cleaning wipes branded as KimWipes, and baby care products including Huggies diapers and wipes.

Diapers and incontinence items

Huggies: diapers designed for infants and young children
Little Swimmers: swim diapers marketed under the Huggies brand
Huggies Pull-Ups: training pants aimed at toddlers
GoodNites (known as DryNites outside North America): pull-on diapers tailored for children and young adults experiencing nighttime bedwetting
Poise: pads and liners addressing light to moderate urinary incontinence in adult women
Depend: adult briefs and diapers

These categories are integral to Kimberly-Clark's dominance within the hygiene market, driving both revenue growth and overall business success.

Kotex

The Kotex range includes pantiliners, pads, and tampons, representing a significant portion of Kimberly-Clark's product offerings focused on female consumers.

Cottonelle

Cottonelle is recognized as a premium brand offering bath tissue and flushable moist wipes. In June 2019, Kimberly-Clark Australia prevailed in a legal dispute before the Australian Federal Court concerning Cottonelle wipes' flushability claims, with findings confirming their relatively low contribution to sewer blockages compared to alternative materials. However, in October 2020, a recall was initiated for Cottonelle wipes manufactured between February and September due to concerns over bacterial contamination.

Kleenex

As a leading facial tissue brand, Kleenex offers both standard and lotion-infused varieties. The brand's promotional approach has traditionally involved employing media representatives to boost nationwide brand awareness.

Scott

Scott provides a range of paper products including napkins, towels, bath tissue, and wipes, catering to both consumer and commercial sectors within Kimberly-Clark's tissue division.

Viva

Viva focuses on producing durable paper towels, enhancing the company's extensive assortment of household paper goods.

Mexican Consumer Product Lines

In Mexico, the product lineup includes most American brands alongside regional selections such as napkins (Kleenex, Petalo, Suavel, Delsey, Lys), toilet paper (Kleenex, Petalo, Suavel, Delsey, Vogue, Lys), and diapers marketed under the KleenBebe label—a combination of "Kleen" (from Kleenex) and "bebe" (Spanish for baby). The company also addresses the needs of professional and healthcare markets in this region.

KimWipes

KimWipes are specialized cleaning tissues primarily utilized in laboratory settings where lint-free and fiber-free surfaces are essential, such as on slides and pipettes. Although occasionally used for lens cleaning, Kimberly-Clark advises against employing them on optical lenses with specialized coatings. These wipes are manufactured from virgin wood pulp obtained from certified sustainable forests and contain minimal chemical treatments.

WypAll

WypAll represents a line of industrial-strength cleaning towels, wipes, and cloths engineered for demanding laboratory and industrial applications.

DryNites

DryNites is the brand name used in Europe and Australasia for children's disposable underwear equivalent to the GoodNites product line.