renowned cosmetics and hair care products manufacturer.

During a recent NJBIA site visit, Geoffrey J. Ladue, vice president for manufacturing operations, showed Assemblywoman Linda Stender how they keep their competitive edge.

The Clark facility was the first L’Oreal plant established in the US, but as the company’s American presence grew, it expanded in other areas of the State and the nation because there was no room for expansion at Clark.

"Fifty years ago, we made everything in Clark—hair care products, nail enamel, cosmetics," said Ladue, "but as the company grew, that was no longer feasible."

Today, L’Oreal has four manufacturing facilities in New Jersey, with L’Oreal plants located in West Caldwell, Piscataway and Somerset and facilities throughout the nation. These days, the Clark facility specializes in hair coloring kits, non-aerosol hair sprays and hair styling gels.

Locally, the economic benefits are phenomenal. The union-represented workforce earns very competitive wages when compared to other companies in the area. Workers also receive a full benefits package. Ladue said L’Oreal’s employee turnover rate of less than 2 percent annually can be attributed to the good working relationship between the union and the company.

"We have to be smart about our use of labor in New Jersey if we are going to survive," Ladue said. "(The employees) understand this."

L’Oreal is still bringing in new jobs, Ladue said, describing the company as being "always in hiring mode." Just recently, the Clark plant added 15 new line operators and recruited six new engineers from New Jersey colleges. The company also supports about ten internships a year and typically offers about half of the interns full-time jobs when they graduate.

Economic benefits do not stop at L’Oreal’s door. Like many manufacturing operations, the Clark facility supports surrounding businesses and jobs.

Ladue explained that L’Oreal purchases all packaging materials—the tubes, bottles, and containers as well as the boxes in which they are sold—from area companies. The Clark facility simply does not have the room to make its own packages or keep a large inventory, so packaging is delivered every day, Ladue said.

L’Oreal’s manufacturing process is all about precision and efficiency.
Making hair dyes, gels and other products is similar to following a recipe for baking a cake. When the raw materials are brought in, they are tested by L’Oreal’s on-site lab to ensure they meet company standards. Workers then measure out the ingredients to the precise weights that will be needed for each formula and repackage them. Each package is given a bar code. The pre-weighed packages for one particular "recipe" are delivered to kettles.

Products are made in batches measured in thousands of kilograms. Technicians scan the bar codes of the pre-weighed ingredients to make sure they are the right ones for the recipe, and then add them to the kettle when prompted by the computer.

Pointing to one hair-dye kettle, Ladue explained that just one batch would make enough dye for 35,000 kits.

The product is pumped from the kettles into mobile tanks on the first floor, which are then hooked up to assembly lines for packaging. Precision machines operated by technicians fill bottles, screw on caps, crimp tubes, and assemble the kits automatically.

Over the years, L’Oreal has added newer and better machines. "As the formulas get more sophisticated, the equipment needs to be more sophisticated," Ladue said.