Kolmar Korea to establish new cosmetics production base in Sejong City

South Korea's cosmetic original design manufacturer Kolmar Korea said Wednesday that it would establish a cosmetics production base equipped with artificial intelligence technology in Sejong City 120 kilometers south of Seoul.

The company aims to respond to the rising demand for cosmetic items such as color cosmetics, due to the recent lifting of the mask mandate and moving into the COVID endemic era.

The company revealed that it would secure a 58,895-square-meter site and build a cosmetics plant that can produce 2.2 billion units annually. There will also be an eco-friendly logistics center at the site. Construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of this year and will be completed in 2024.

Once the plant is completed, Kolmar Korea will be able to increase its production capacity of domestic basic and color cosmetics to 870 million units in a year. In particular, the company's color cosmetics production capacity will be about 80% improved compared to the current level.

In the process of designing the new plant, the company focused mostly on maximizing productivity. To this end, AI technology will be applied to the production process. The key point in this is to find the optimal process with the lowest defect ratio through AI big data analysis and to apply it by each item quickly.

There is also a halal warranty scheme within the plant. The company plans to respond to the demand for halal markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, which are attracting keen attention from cosmetic purveyors as a market with high growth potential.

Eco-friendly distribution centers are also built together with production facilities. The distribution centers will be operated with 100% renewable energy sources and plan to install solar power panels on the entire building's roofs.

Write to Jiyoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com