Winter/Spring 2021 & 2022

As the oldest account in the Holman portfolio, Kimberly-Clark means a lot to the Holman Team. Holman began servicing Scott Paper in 1967, continuing after the firm was purchased by Kimberly-Clark in 1995, up through today—55 years total and 27 years with Kimberly-Clark. For Steve Stewart, Director of Operations overseeing the Team servicing KC, it’s about collaboration in the name of stellar performance.

“Between our Conway, AR Regional Distribution Center and our DuPont, WA Regional Distribution Center, we’ve been number one and number two in key performance indicators across the KC network for 12 years,” Stewart notes proudly. He adds that meeting and exceeding goals for damage reduction, inventory accuracy, and loading on time result from a willingness to go above and beyond.

The Holman KC Team includes 386 total associates across 1.8 million square feet consisting of two RDCs, one manufacturing plant, and one trucking operation.

“All four Teams know what they’re doing, they stay on top of things, and they are responsive,” Stewart says. “And, we all work together well. Right now, for example, the DuPont site is working hard to handle an increase with inbounds loads, so Conway RDC is sending three clamp operators to DuPont to help manage the increased activity and to keep the yard in great shape.” This all-hands-on-deck approach is helping Holman succeed despite labor shortage issues across the U.S. as well as at the KC locations.

Brought on board for his expertise in startups, closures, and shutdowns of DCs, Kirk Hampton, general manager at DuPont, has been instrumental
in handling a number of new challenges since joining Holman in early March 2020. Overseeing the closure of the previous DC in Kent and opening the new 750,000-square-foot Dupont location with the need to find a significant number of new Team Members was a challenge. Then COVID arrived.

Fast forward two years, and DuPont—a 24/7 facility with roughly 75 Team Members distributing toilet paper, paper towels, hygiene products, and diapers in the Pacific Northwest and Canada—has frequently been ranked number one for combined KPI’s (safety, quality, delivery times, and costs) in the Kimberly-Clark network.

“Our strength comes from unity,” says Hampton. “Everybody is cross-trained in every department. We are flexible and versatile.” A deep bench of experience also helps. Hampton singles out long-term Team Members like Walt Olsen, a supervisor who has been with Holman for 42 years, and 15-year veteran trainer David Williams.

The clamp-based facility uses a fleet of 22 electric forklifts on an opportunity charging system. “Instead of waiting until battery power is pretty much out, you can charge 5% or 10% while you’re on break or at lunch,” Hampton explains. This counterintuitive system puzzles people who are new to it, he adds. “People say, ‘Um, you want me to charge it just a little bit? That’s OK?’”

The fleet is also equipped with the OneTrack.AI system, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to boost forklift safety. The system uses a 360-degree camera combined with onboard AI-based algorithms to offer real-time monitoring to improve service standards and reduce the potential for hazards or impacts. Hampton says it helps the Team in support of the Core Value to “Be Safe.” “We can see what happened during an incident and find out if we need to provide more education or training to support our drivers. The system’s ability to provide feedback on maintenance is also a bonus,” he says.

The most unique thing about the DuPont facility, however, is that the building abuts the Lewis-McChord military base. Watching— and hearing—military aircraft fly overhead is a common activity for Team Members. “It’s pretty cool,” says Hampton.

Known as “Mid-South,” the Conway RDC is a bustling 24/7 operation, encompassing one 200,000-square-foot building and one 550,000-square-foot building staffed by about 70 total Team Members.

Holman started in both facilities in August of 2014. In addition, explains General Manager Rick Angleton, “We also support the Maumelle, AR manufacturing site. Everything they make gets shipped to us.” Of the Mid-South total volume—about 7 to 8 million cases, or over 1,000 truckloads per month — the majority of shipments are sent to downstream KC facilities in Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and New York.

Additionally, shipments are also directed to customers such as Walmart, Dollar General, and Family Dollar.

Like DuPont, this high-achieving location is consistently ranked number one or number two on KPI’s in the KC network, and Mid-South also recently hit a five-year safety milestone of having no recordable injuries—which the Team celebrated with a catered luncheon.

The Maumelle facility closed out its best year ever in 2021 with a core leadership group that has over 15 years’ experience. Adding to that experience is new General Manager Adrian Conley, who is transferring from the closed Conway plant. “I’m excited to be working with this great Team at Maumelle,” says Conley.

“We finished last year strong, and I’m positive 2022 will see even more improvement.” Totaling roughly 700,000 square feet, the Maumelle campus includes the main production facility, at 505,000 square feet, as well as a 125,000-square-foot raw materials warehouse and two overflow buildings totaling about 75,000 square feet. The 24-hour facility has been manufacturing Huggies baby wipes for 18 years.

With a Team of about 200 full-time and 20-40 temp Team Members, Maumelle ships roughly 85% of loads to the Mid-South facility, with the remainder split between other DCs, direct customer loads, and outbound loads to Mexico. The location also does rework. “We bring products with defects back in, strip them down, then redo and repackage them, which helps reduce waste,” Conley explains. Like Dupont, the Maumelle location also utilizes the OneTrack system.

It’s a straight shot on I-40 for 17 miles between the Maumelle plant and the Conway RDC—a route that the drivers managed by Randy Gurley know well. On a 24-hour cycle, the drivers make roughly 30 roundtrips, hauling Huggies wipes from Maumelle to Mid-South for warehousing and distribution.

The transportation fleet includes yard hostler trucks at both MidSouth and Maumelle, three shuttle trucks for daily runs between the facilities, and “one do-all truck, which we can use either as a shuttle or in the yard,” Gurley explains.

A crucial link between the two Arkansas Kimberly-Clark locations, the drivers have a great attitude, says Gurley, which he credits for the Team’s success. “We don’t have much turnover. We have pretty much the same drivers that we’ve had since I’ve been here the last three years,” he says.

A driver of the month recognition, which includes a gift card award, is a nice incentive, but Gurley says the family-like atmosphere at Holman makes the difference. “We try to handle everything like we’re a family. If a driver has an emergency and needs to take off, we just work it out.”