Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Invests $25 million USD in Colombian Distribution Center

Procter & Gamble, the world's biggest consumer-products manufacturer and maker of household brand names, such as Duracell, Pantene and Gillette, is betting on Colombia as a strategic location to help grow its market position in South America with a $25 million USD investment in a new distribution center in the region. The project, which will add 500 manufacturing jobs, is part of P&G’s vision to become the largest consumer goods company in Colombia by more than doubling its business in the country in the next few years.

P&G has been in Colombia for more than two decades and chose Rionegro, Antioquia, for the site of its new distribution facility based on a variety of factors, including proximity to the company’s existing production plant in Medellin, as well as the nearby location of a major highway that runs between Medellin and Bogota, allowing for direct access to the rest of the country. The nearly 500,000-square-foot center is scheduled to open in April 2011 and will accommodate the distribution of P&G staple products, as well as introduce new products to Colombia and nearby countries.

The company’s choice to grow its business in Antioquia extends beyond just strategic location. P&G is also heavily invested in the surrounding community, supporting programs that benefit the region’s citizens, including donating $750,000 USD to be put toward the construction of an aqueduct, giving away 350 computers to increase the quality of education in the area’s public schools, and assisting in building a toy library. It has also helped create a soccer field for local residents to use and has distributed large amounts of drinking water to the region through P&G’s PUR brand.

P&G’s facility was also designed with sustainability in mind.  The company plans to install solar panels and energy efficient heaters in the coming months that will reduce its energy consumption by 28 percent each year, as well as fit the building with rainwater collection techniques and devices for treating wastewater, thus reducing sewage system output by more than 50 percent.