L'Oréal announced on February 9th the inauguration of its first factory at the heart of the Arab World, located near Cairo in the Pyramids Industrial Park of 10th of Ramadan. The Greenfield project completed in 2014 runs across an area of 17,000 m2, including manufacturing and warehouse facilities with a three times expansion potential of its current size. With a staged investment totalling 50 million euros, this new factory serves as the production hub for L'Oréal's Consumer Products Division in the Middle East and North Africa region. Initially dedicated to hair care and hair colouring products, the factory has extended recently its production to skincare. "With the rising demand of consumers across the region for innovative and high quality beauty products, it was crucial for L'Oréal to have a production facility close to its key markets and able to adapt the product offer to local specificities. The Cairo plant reflects our confidence in the continuous expansion of the MENA market and our strong commitment to Egypt as a strategic production hub" said Geoff Skingsley, L'Oréal's Executive Vice-President, Africa Middle East Zone. State-of-the-art facility dedicated to consumer products Adding to the total of 43 L'Oréal factories worldwide, the new Cairo plant manufactures L'Oréal Paris and Garnier products. 10% of the production caters to the domestic market while 90% is exported to other countries in the region. In 2014, the plant produced 50 million units and has the potential to double its production capacity in the next three years. The plant features fully automated processing skids with automated recipe control, automated packing lines, fully integrated worldwide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to optimize supply chain and quality management. Special focus was given to environment with an energy efficient building and highly performing state-of-the-art technology for water treatment. Commitment to sustainable development The Cairo plant is the first LEED certified factory in Egypt in any industry and has been built following LEED requirements. These consist of a US quality standard which defines excellence in terms of design and building construction process with regard to key aspects of sustainability including water and energy efficiencies, atmosphere management, materials and resources utilization and environmental quality. The factory aims to contribute to L'Oréal's "Sharing Beauty with All" commitments by limiting its waste generation and water consumption as well as its CO2 emissions. Contribution to local talents and economy L'Oréal's plant in Cairo employs nearly 200 people and is committed to developing local talent by investing in more than 10,000 hours of training per year including tailored induction programs for its managers which take place in North America and Europe. In addition, L'Oréal's factory in Egypt prides itself in sourcing more than 70% of its packaging needs amongst regional suppliers and plans to use local materials and suppliers as much as possible.
