WARREN — “That is a huge win for you all, for your community.”

That’s according to Will Williams, president and chief executive of Western SC, a regional economic development organization that represents four counties in western South Carolina, including Aiken County, which has been home to a Kimberly-Clark manufacturing facility for more than 50 years.

He spoke with this newspaper about the company and facility Friday, one day after the Western Reserve Port Authority sold the company — one of the largest makers of tissue products in the world — 560 acres of the former BDM Warren Steel Holdings property in Trumbull County for about $9.9 million.

The acreage is a little more than one-half of the 1,000-acre site, which also was formerly Republic Steel and RG Steel.

Although it’s unknown at the moment what Kimberly-Clark — known far and wide for its consumer brands, from Kleenex to Cottonelle to Huggies to Kotex and Depend — plans for the site, it’s expected, according to port authority Executive Director Anthony Trevena, it will be used for manufacturing.

“That’s what they do. Their company is manufacturing, so it will be a manufacturing product here,” Trevena said Thursday after the port authority board approved the sale.

In Aiken County, South Carolina, Williams said the plant produces toilet and nose tissue and diapers for children and adults.

The mill, which sits on about 450 acres, Williams estimates is well over 1 million-square feet; “to get around in there, you get on a golf cart,” he said.

It employs about 1,200 workers, he said.

“That mill has quietly been there, but it has been tremendously engaged in the community over the years. They are not ones to go around beating their chest about everything they are doing, but they have an impact with the jobs they provide, the tax base they provide,” Williams said. “They have been a very strong community partner, and we work together closely with them.

“The community is going to be very happy with them,” he said.

The mill is in a rural, unincorporated area of Aiken County called Beech Island across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. It’s about 20 miles from the Augusta National, the golf course famous for holding the annual Masters golf tournament.

Starting pay at the plant is about $20 per hour for an entry-level position, according to Williams. The average pay for the same position is about $28 per hour, he said.

Also, turnover at the mill is low, J. David Jameson, president / CEO of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, said Friday.

Kimberly-Clark is a “quiet company. They are not flashy. They are very focused on their mission, but they are good to their employee.s and their employees are involved throughout the region,” Jameson said.

Nearby the plant is what’s called the Savannah River Site, a U.S. Department of Energy site that employs about 12,000 with an average compensation of $97,000 per year, Jameson said.

“Now, Kimberly-Clark is not paying that, but the point I want to make is that Kimberly-Clark has been able to retain its workforce, do what it needs to do in the shadow of a big facility like that (Savannah River Site),” Jameson said. “That goes back to how solid they are and how they treat their employees and how they operate.”

Aiken County has a population of about 170,000, Williams said. It’s part of the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes five counties in Georgia and two in South Carolina. Within the MSA, Williams said there are about 650,000 people.

Meanwhile, Trumbull County had a population of about 200,000 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For the same year, the bureau reported Mahoning County had 225,000 residents.

The counties are part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman MSA, which also includes a portion of western Pennsylvania. The MSA had a population of about 540,000 in 2021.

Williams said the company has a solid relationship with the community, which includes having close ties to the government and schools.

“They routinely grant tours to educators, to students and to our Leadership AIken County group to help understand the work they do and the careers that exist,” Williams said.,

Jameson said, “My experience is they are always cutting-edge. They are looking for the next technology, the next improvement to their business, the next product, and so that’s what I would assume they would be doing anywhere they would have a facility.”

A news release from Kimberly-Clark on Thursday states the company is finalizing its development and project plans for the site in Trumbull County and is working toward board approval sometime in 2024.

rselak@tribtoday.com