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P&G to build plant in West Virginia

Procter & Gamble
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Provided

Procter & Gamble plans to expand its manufacturing base with a new facility in West Virginia.  The consumer products giant will build a plant in Berkeley County, which is in the northeast corner of the state, near Hagerstown, Maryland. 

According to a company press release, the one million square foot facility will manufacture multiple P&G brands once it's operational in 2017. It will also be the second new domestic plant built since 1971.  P&G currently has 29 plants in 21 states.

“This new plant will leverage economies of scale and standardized manufacturing platforms to P&G’s advantage by allowing us to produce multiple brands at one strategic location,” P&G’s Global Product Supply Officer, Yannis Skoufalos said.

The company also says the location will allow it to use its new distribution center network, which has hubs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.  “This will enable us to rapidly and efficiently serve retail customers and consumers throughout the eastern half of the United States, reaching 80 percent of them within one-day transit,” Skoufalos said.

“This investment is about the future of P&G’s entire supply chain from sourcing raw materials to production and distribution,” Skoufalos said.  “It integrates our valued external business partners and contractors as well as P&G employees.”

The company says the new plant will cost about $500 million to build. 

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin says the construction will create more than 1,000 jobs, and the operation will employ about 700 people.

Bill Rinehart started his radio career as a disc jockey in 1990. In 1994, he made the jump into journalism and has been reporting and delivering news on the radio ever since.