Suzano announces purchase of Kimberly-Clark’s tissue business in Brazil

Suzano announced, this Monday, Oct. 24, the acquisition of Kimberly-Clark’s tissue business in Brazil. The operation includes the Neve brand, together with the assets of Kimberly-Clark Professional, in addition to granting licenses to manufacture and market the Kleenex, Scott and WypAll brands in the country.

The transaction, which also comprises the multinational’s plant located in Mogi das Cruzes (state of São Paulo), with an installed capacity of 130 thousand tons of paper per year, is subject to the fulfillment of conditions precedent, such as approval by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).

In a press release, Suzano highlighted that the merger of its consumer goods operation with Kimberly-Clark’s tissue business in Brazil presents complementarity of product categories and geography. “Suzano operates mainly in the toilet paper, paper towels and napkin markets. Kimberly-Clark’s product line includes toilet papers, napkins, baby wipes, tissue paper and dry wipes,” the company said.

“The operation is aligned with one of Suzano’s strategic avenues, which is to move forward in the links of our chain. The complementarity of product categories and geography will allow us to further improve the service provided to different customers and offer a more complete portfolio to consumers throughout Brazil,” said Suzano’s executive director of Consumer Goods and Corporate Relations, Luís Bueno.

While Kimberly-Clark has a strong presence in the Southeast of Brazil, Suzano has a solid presence in the North and Northeast regions. The pulp giant’s entry into the consumer goods market took place in 2017, when it completed the construction of two tissue factories, in Mucuri (Bahia) and in Imperatriz (Maranhão). In the same year, it announced the purchase of Facepa, a company that operated units in Belém (Pará) and Maracanaú (Ceará). In 2021, the company completed the construction of a factory in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (Espírito Santo) and, this year, announced its intention to build a new plant in Espírito Santo, this time in Aracruz.

KIMBERLY-CLARK WILL FOCUS ON THE PERSONAL CARE SEGMENT

In a note, Kimberly-Clark celebrated the transaction and stated that “it is proud to have built a solid foundation, helping the tissue category in Brazil to grow”. Now, its efforts will focus on accelerating the pace of growth of its personal care portfolio, through the Huggies, Intimus and Plenitud brands.

The North American company also emphasized that, in the last three years, it has invested nearly US$ 300 million in state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, preparing for the expansion and growth of its business in Latin America. “In global scale and in Latin America, Kimberly-Clark’s Family Care and Kimberly-Clark Professional businesses continue to play a critical role in the company’s global portfolio, with brands that are leaders in many of the markets where the company has its operations.,” the company said.

“We are proud of the foundation we have built in the tissue category in Brazil and confident that Suzano will leverage the full range of its expertise and scale in the market to take Neve, Scott, Kleenex and WypAll brands to the next level of growth. As part of Kimberly-Clark’s long-term growth agenda, our Brazil business, that is one of the company key markets, will focus on accelerating the momentum of our fast-growing personal care brands Huggies, Intimus and Plenitud,” commented Gonzalo Uribe, president of Kimberly-Clark Latin America.

Uribe stressed that Brazil remains an important market for the company, especially considering its demographics, and that K-C’s focus remains on sustainable growth. “We want our brands to provide better care for each occasion and a milestone to strengthen consumer loyalty for ultimately become N° 1 in their categories. We have a sustainable and long-term growth plan for the region. With our iconic brands in Latin America, our powerful assets, our great quality products and high penetration in the region’s homes, our strong portfolio of innovations and, above all, our people, we will remain committed to promoting ‘Better Care for a Better World’ and impacting positively millions of people around the region,” he concluded.