Name: There's only one place where Kimberly-Clark makes preemie diapers, and it's in Neenah
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There's only one place where Kimberly-Clark makes preemie diapers, and it's in Neenah

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MONEY Becky JacobsAppleton Post-CrescentNEENAH – Before a Huggies diaper ever reaches a hospital and is wrapped around a preterm baby, it is carefully inspected and packaged by hand by an employee in Neenah.On Thursday morning, Natalie Schuelke sat at a metal table in Kimberly-Clark's Prototype and Experimental (KCPX) Facility and picked up a Huggies nano preemie diaper, so small it fit in the palm of her purple gloved hand. First, she looked at the outside, before flipping the diaper over to feel and examine the interior. Next, she folded the diaper and placed it under a silver metal weight to make it easier to package.After finishing a batch, Schuelke placed the diapers one by one into a red box and passed the package to her tablemate, Patti Ritchey, who provided a second set of eyes. Then, the boxes went through a metal detector for another quality check before it was deemed "ready to ship."Scheulke and Ritchey did this over and over, with every diaper that reached their table.“I feel like I’m doing something good for people," Schuelke said.The KCPX facility in Neenah is the only place where Kimberly-Clark makes, inspects and packages its Huggies-brand micro and nano preemie diapers. From there, the diapers are shipped to hospitals across the U.S., Canada and beyond.Neenah employees have made these diapers for the tiniest babies since 2013. Ten years later, the facility's team has produced 30 million micro and nano preemie diapers, as of this month.“Until you see our machines and processes you just have no idea," said Andy Grignon, the facility manager at KCPX. "You see a diaper, it’s like, well how hard is that to make? But the amount of technology and innovation that goes into a diaper is really incredible."While micro preemie diapers are for babies who weigh as much as 4 pounds, the smallest Huggies size that Kimberly-Clark makes is its nano preemie diapers, for infants up to 2 pounds.Emily Schmitz, team leader at the KCPX facility, was part of the group that created the nano diapers in 2017. They worked with nurses in neonatal intensive care units, she said, to ensure the product was practical and helpful for them and the infants they care for.“Every size is very intentionally designed based off the need for a baby of that size," Schmitz said.The inside of a size 1 diaper, for babies between 8 to 14 pounds, is textured because children that age tend to have runny bowel movements, she said. Meanwhile, the interior of a preemie diaper is smooth and dry, Schmitz said. NICU nurses try to disturb preterm babies as little possible, she said, so the infant needs something comfortable to wear for stretches of time.Different diapers also have different shapes. A preemie diaper is very narrow and soft to accommodate a baby who is tucked in a fetal position in a bassinet, Schmitz said, while larger sizes are curvy and form to a baby on the move.The micro and nano preemie diapers also have inspirational words printed on them, like "our hero," to send a positive message to families with babies in the NICU, according to Schmitz.“We don’t want parents … or nurses to be worried about the diaper when ... their baby is in the neonatal intensive care unit," she said. "That’s the last thing on their mind."Before entering the product inspection lab at the KCPX facility, employees take precautions to keep the diapers and workspace clean.Workers wear protective glasses, face masks, hair nets and white, long-sleeved shirts. They wash their hands and put on gloves. Then, they disinfect the gloves with hand sanitizer before going to a table in the lab.Overall, there are about 60 to 80 people who work with the nano and preemie diapers. As they inspect and package each item, employees look for any loose strands and check that components are lined up correctly, while also feeling how soft and flexible the diaper is.“We’re helping out little babies that need it," said Joe Hackel, project manager.Grignon said he likes to tell people, “I really hope you never have to use our products, but if you do, we’re going to be taking good care of you.”In addition to Huggies diapers, KCPX employees produce and develop other products for Kimberly-Clark personal care brands, including Pull-Ups, Goodnites, Depend, Poise and Kotex. The facility is also home to the company's Flushability Lab, where scientists test what can — and can't — go down the toilet."If you’re a technical person, this is an awesome place to work," Grignon said, "because it’s like a laboratory and playground for engineers and researchers, and a lot of creative innovation really starts here.”Grignon added, “We are working on things today that … you won’t see on the shelf for multiple years."More:Kimberly-Clark offers rare glimpse inside Neenah X-Mill, where new products are createdSince its founding in Neenah more than 150 years ago, Kimberly-Clark has invented many items. Kotex menstrual hygiene products and Kleenex facial tissue, for instance, were developed from material used for bandages during World War I. In 1968, the company created Kimbies disposable diapers, and Huggies diapers were introduced a decade later.Kimberly-Clark's micro preemie diapers have been made in Neenah since 2013, and the nano size was added four years later.Sometimes, parents tag Huggies on social media, Schmitz said, and Kimberly-Clark's sales and marketing teams pass along messages and photos to the KCPX employees who make the preemie diapers.It gives them "a sense of accomplishment," she said, "that they’re really helping with promoting the health and development for these babies."Reach Becky Jacobs at bjacobs@gannett.com or 920-993-7117. Follow her on Twitter at@ruthyjacobs.

MONEY Becky JacobsAppleton Post-CrescentNEENAH – Before a Huggies diaper ever reaches a hospital and is wrapped around a preterm baby, it is carefully inspected and packaged by hand by an employee in Neenah.On Thursday morning, Natalie Schuelke sat at a metal table in Kimberly-Clark's Prototype and Experimental (KCPX) Facility and picked up a Huggies nano preemie diaper, so small it fit in the palm of her purple gloved hand. First, she looked at the outside, before flipping the diaper over to feel and examine the interior. Next, she folded the diaper and placed it under a silver metal...

There's only one place where Kimberly-Clark makes preemie diapers, and it's in Neenah

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