Procter & Gamble Inaugurates Its Modern Facilities In Costa Rica For Its Latin American Supply Chain Planning Center

• To date the P&G Planning Center has hired 200 professionals and expects to hire 300 more in the next few months.
• The new facilities occupy 4 floors in the Forum 1 Business Park with state-of-the-art design, technology and services.

San Jose CR /PRNewswire/ - Procter and Gamble (P&G) inaugurated their new modern facilities as part of their most recent expansion in Costa Rica: the Latin American Supply Chain Planning Center. Attending were Mr. Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, President of the Republic of Costa Rica; Mr. Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade; Mr. Jose Rossi, President of CINDE (Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency); Mr. Jorge Sequeira, General Manager of PROCOMER; as well as local and regional P&G executives.

The President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solis, commented that the inauguration of the P&G Planning Center reflects the valuable movement of the country within the value chain of multinational companies. With the opening of this new Center, P&G will conduct part of its international logistical planning from Costa Rica and that will produce more quality jobs for the citizens.

"We, as Costa Ricans, are ready to provide support for those companies that decide to progress towards new processing areas within their value chain. P&G is a clear indication of this. Today they have given us their vote of confidence and hundreds of Costa Ricans will contribute their talents to bring the work of this company to fruition. I am pleased to know that multinational companies are showing confidence in the human talents of Costa Ricans by expanding their operations."

For the Minister of Foreign Trade, Alexander Mora: "this announcement represents one more achievement for the country that again demonstrates the progress we have made in the complexity and added value of the processes carried out in Costa Rica. Announcements regarding re-investment by companies, such as P&G, that have known how to take advantage of the opportunities the country offers to investors, have a significant impact on the road we have chosen towards the consolidation of our economy increasingly based on knowledge and innovation. In addition, they help to increase levels of satisfaction and further specialization of our Costa Rican human resources. Our goal is for these investments to translate into more links with national companies; and this administration is working diligently, hand in hand with the companies and academia."

The new P&G Planning Center in Costa Rica occupies four floors in the Form 1 Industrial Park, covering 6,000 square meters. The modern design inspires coordination and innovation driven by leading edge technology.

It has been 15 years since P&G arrived in Costa Rica and the win-win relationship we have built with the country, its authorities and communities fill us with pride and hope for the future. These new Planning Center facilities that we are inaugurating today are an indication of our long term commitment to the country" said Tara Polanco, General Manager for P&G in Costa Rica.

Since it was first announced that the P&G Supply Chain Planning Center would be established in Costa Rica in January, 2013, we have travelled a long and successful road. To date there are 200 on staff and the consolidation plan is proceeding as planned. "We have attracted extraordinary national and international talent, and there is no doubt that this has led to the success of this type of operations. Now that talent will work and continue to innovate in the best facilities available" indicated Eduardo Adame, Director of the P&G Planning Center in Costa Rica.

The new P&G Planning Center facilities will be fully occupied with close to 500 employees by June 2015, when the initial set-up stage is concluded. Once that initial stage is completed, the Costa Rican Planning Center will lead planning processes for diverse areas, covering demand, materials, manufacturing, distribution, etc., for more than 40 P&G operations throughout Latin America, including production plants and distribution centers. This journey has already begun.

The growth derived from the establishment of the Planning Center for Latin America, will be in addition to the other two P&G high added value service operations already in Costa Rica: the Financial Services Center (1999) and the Business Transformation Center (2008), both serving Company business throughout the entire American continent. Currently, P&G has more than 1,500 employees in Costa Rica.

"It is satisfying to see how a leading company such as P&G, has once again demonstrated its confidence in Costa Rica with continued growth and more high quality jobs. Costa Rica has become a strategic piece in the operations of this important company that continues to prove our capacity to accommodate high added value, sophisticated operations in our country." commented Jose Rossi, President of CINDE.