Kao USA announces downtown headquarters location | Business

CINCINNATI (FOX19) –Cincinnati-based  beauty care brands manufacturer Kao USA Inc. announced Wednesday that the company’s corporate headquarters will relocate from its current facility on Spring Grove Avenue to the 312 Plum Street Building in Downtown Cincinnati. The facility will house more than 200 marketing, sales, market research, creative and administration employees who will occupy over 55,000 square feet of the building.

In February Kao and Ohio Governor John Kasich recently announced the headquarters would move somewhere downtown.

“Kao USA is thrilled about the move to downtown Cincinnati and to a world-class facility,” said Bill Gentner, Kao’s President for Consumer Products Americas and EMEA. “This move demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Cincinnati area and will support our efforts to retain and attract the high-end talent that we need to compete and grow."

In addition, a significant investment will be made to the Spring Grove Avenue facility where the research and development and manufacturing facilities will remain. Kao expects the move to take place this summer.

Kao USA’s headquarters have been in a silvery office building in Camp Washington in the location of the old Andrew Jergens Company, which it bought years ago.  Kao USA Inc's portfolio includes Ban® antiperspirants; Jergens® and Curel® hand and body lotions, along with a number of other hair and skin care brands.  Its parent company, Japan-based Kao Corporation, has a history dating back to the late 1800’s.

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