Colombia: Unilever to build new plant

FMCG multinational Unilever has announced plans to build a new personal care plant in Palmira, Colombia for brands such as Tresemme, Dove and Sedal, according to a report in Dinero.

The decision comes a year after Unilever acquired Quala’s personal hygiene unit, which includes brands such as Savital and Savile hair care and skin cleansing products, male hair care and hairstyling brand eGo, hair care brand Bio-Expert, oral hygiene brand Fortident, and Aromatel fabric softener.

Commenting on the new plant, Ignacio Hojas, president of Unilever Middle Americas, said: “We are importers of a number of products in Colombia and the wider region from larger countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The acquisition of Quala’s  brands give us the  critical mass necessary to build a plant, given the scale of these brands. The idea is to transform Colombia from being a country that imports these personal and hair care products to one that supplies demand from Colombia, but can also export to neighbouring countries”.

The plant will be built at an existing Unilever manufacturing complex in Palmira, where food and household products are also produced. The construction process is expected to last 18 months.

Source: Dinero