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Reckitt Benckiser is betting that one of the newest products off the manufacturing line at its plant in St. Peters will help it clean up in the $200 million market for automatic dishwashing detergent.
The plant, one of four Reckitt Benckiser household products plants in North America, began manufacturing Electrasol Gelpacs, water soluble sachets containing pre measured detergent, in September, said Ian Fraser, plant manager. The gelpacs went on sale in November, and Reckitt, an Anglo-Dutch company with U.S. headquarters in Wayne, N.J., began a $22 million campaign to advertise the gelpacs in mid-January.
Reckitt lags its main competitor, Procter & Gamble, in market share in the dishwashing detergent and rinsing-aid market in the United States. The Wall Street Journal, quoting market research firm Information Resources Inc., reported Jan. 13 that P&G grew its market share from 44.7 percent in 1997 to 51.6 percent in 2002, while Reckitt's share fell from 23.1 percent...