 Kimberly-Clark Innovation Center Asia |
Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and Kotex feminine hygiene products are used by millions of people around the world. Behind these everyday products are innovations developed by scientists and engineers at American consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark throughout the decades.
Innovation lies at the heart of Kimberly-Clark, which started as a paper manufacturer in Neenah, Wisconsin in 1872 and has since grown into a global company with sales of $19 billion in 2009.
Rob Everett, managing director of the Kimberly-Clark Innovation Center Asia, emphasized the importance of innovation for any company.
``I think (innovation) is one of the most important things for a company along with having good ethics. Innovation is one of the most important things for a company because I believe for a company to exist and be successful for a long time, it needs to change and evolve with the environment,’’, he told The Korea Times, at a hotel in downtown Seoul, last week.
Take Kleenex for example, which was born out of Kimberly-Clark’s need to find other ways to use its large supply of creped wadding in the 1920s. Changing ingredients and experimenting with different pulps for the wadding, scientists made a softer crepe. In 1924, Kleenex tissues were introduced in the U.S. market.
Initially, Kleenex was positioned as a product for women who needed a clean facial tissue for removing cold cream. Later, Kleenex became known as a disposable handkerchief that everyone can use. Now, Kleenex has continued to evolve to meet consumer needs with new variations such as Kleenex with lotion and Anti-Viral Kleenex.
Not many are aware that Kimberly-Clark has been running its own innovation center in Korea for the last three years. The Kimberly-Clark Innovation Center Asia, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, formally opened in March 2007. It is the company’s first innovation center outside of North America.
``What really attracted us to Korea was our joint venture in Korea, Yuhan-Kimberly. They have a great reputation here, so the combination of the strong labor pool and the reputation of Yuhan-Kimberly made us feel we would be able to recruit good people here and it has turned out to be true. As an innovation center, the key thing is the people. Nothing is more important than the people that we have,’’ Everett said.
The Kimberly-Clark Innovation Center Asia has 40 Korean employees, who work as part of the global teams for Corporate Research & Engineering and Innovation Design.
``The focus of our work is design and corporate research & development and technology development. But we aren't just focused on Korea and Asia. We're part of the global network, so we develop technology that Kimberly-Clark uses globally. That makes us a little unique here in Korea,’’ Everett said.
The center also works closely with Yuhan-Kimberly, such as developing new technologies and evaluating new products that could be successful in the Korean market.
Kimberly-Clark sees Korea as a good proxy for other Asian markets. Everett noted that if a product is successful in Korea, there is a good chance it will also be successful in China and other Asian countries.
Having an innovation center in Korea has also helped introduce more diversity of thought to the company, now seen as even more crucial in this highly competitive global environment.
Asked about trends in innovation, Everett said companies are trying to strike the right balance between global efficiency and meeting the needs of the local market.
``I think every company is trying to balance selling the same product globally, which is really efficient, with meeting the needs of the individual country's consumers well... Another trend is that there's so much information out there now and being able to not just access it but change it from information to knowledge and utilize it most effectively and quickly is important,’’ he said.
More importantly, innovation is all about understanding consumers and making products that address their needs. ``You have to make sure you understand the consumers and address the needs they have, not one that you wish they had,’’ Everett said.
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