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Kolmar Korea’s new Pennsylvania plant courts cosmetic exporters to US
Kolmar Group Executive Vice Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun gives a speech to an audience inside Kolmar Korea's new Pennsylvania plant in Scott Township, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Kolmar Korea
By Ko Dong-hwan
Manufacturing bases offer safety zone for avoiding tariffs
Cosmetics original development manufacturing (ODM) company Kolmar Korea began operating its new plant in Pennsylvania on Wednesday (local time), a facility that will serve as a manufacturing base for cosmetic firms with interest in the U.S. market.
The plant, located in the state's Scott Township, is Kolmar Korea's second U.S. plant. During a completion ceremony, Kolmar Group Executive Vice Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun reaffirmed the company's commitment to its U.S. business in front of an audience of 100 dignitaries, including state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski and executives of Kolmar Korea's top clients.
The new 17,805 square meter plant can produce up to 120 million products per year. Together with the existing plant, also in Pennsylvania, the company’s annual capacity in the U.S. is now 300 million products.
With an ODM and original equipment manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada, acquired by the company in 2016, its manufacturing capacity in North America now tops 470 million products per year, the largest among ODM companies on the continent.
“Our second U.S. plant is not just a new factory. It is a new starting point for our vision and partnership (with the U.S.). With our plants, we will make up an innovative ecosystem with our value chain partner firms and grow the plants into North America’s largest cosmetic manufacturing hub,” Yoon said during the ceremony.
Kolmar Korea's second U.S. plant in Scott Township, Pennsylvania / Courtesy of Kolmar Korea
Kolmar Korea said its U.S. plants have now cemented themselves as a “safety zone” for countries wanting to export to the U.S. amid the Donald Trump administration's imposition of new tariffs on imports. To avoid the tariffs, companies outside the U.S. have begun seeking ways to produce their merchandise inside the country.
“We will become an optimal partner for not just U.S. cosmetic brands but also other global companies wishing to put ‘Made in USA’ on their products,” a Kolmar Korea official said.
The new plant, the first U.S. facility built from scratch by a Korean cosmetic company, has implemented an artificial intelligence-aided quality control system and made 80 percent of its production line automated to minimize defects. The features are modeled on those at the company’s plant in Sejong, Korea.
With 4,300 client firms worldwide, the company said it will bolster its U.S. production of sunscreen products, as Korea-made sunscreen items have seen a steep rise in global popularity. The company said that with the new facility, its U.S. plants now have complete production lines for makeup, basic skincare and sunscreen products.