Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman recently welcomed South Korean cosmetic company COSMAX‘s chairman, Kyung-Soo Lee, in a visit to the borough with a tour of the 1,650-seat state-of-the-art URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center.
COSMAX specializes in innovative formulas and generates $3 billion in annual revenue through operations in 16 countries. It purchased Carteret-headquartered NuWorld Beauty in 2017.
Having officially changed its name on Jan. 1 to COSMAX USA, the Carteret plant recently completed a 9,000-square-foot renovation that created 25 new jobs. A second major expansion project that will increase the size of the 139,000-square-foot plant by more than 25% is aimed at enhancing technology, increasing production capacity, and is expected to further increase the number of jobs available to borough residents.
Lee’s visit earlier this month was his first meeting with Reiman. The chairman was joined by his wife, COSMAX co-founder Sungsuk Suh, and their son, Byung Joo “B.J.” Lee, COSMAX USA’s CEO.
“We were happy to see that COSMAX USA is expanding in Carteret and look forward to helping them build on the success they’re already experiencing operating in the borough,” Reiman said. “These are the first steps to make sure that happens. I was glad to spotlight to Chairman Lee downtown Washington Avenue with the construction of mixed-use properties and the development of our Arts District, the centerpiece of which is Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center.”
COSMAX USA is transitioning operations from a contract packaging base to the innovative cosmetics formulas for which COSMAX is known worldwide.
“We’re starting to put the right machinery in place to do that because the forecast is that it’s catching on in the United States,” Director Richard Kuohn said. “The chairman has aspirations to expand operations in New Jersey, and Carteret continues to be an ideal location for that from a business and staffing standpoint. We’re happy that Mayor Reiman had the opportunity to meet with Chairman Lee and gain firsthand knowledge of how engaged we are in making our business a success in Carteret.”
