AUBURN – Tambrands is on a roll.

The sole manufacturer of Tampax tampons in North America is breaking ground today on a $25.5 million expansion of its Hotel Road plant.

The 47,000-square-foot addition will expand the facility by about 10 percent to accommodate more production, particularly of Pearl tampons, whose popularity continues to grow.

“The Pearl product has grown far beyond our expectations,” said Rick Malinowski, human resources manager. “It’s going extremely well.”

According to Drug Store News, the Pearl tampon saw a 40 percent increase in sales in 2003, one year after it had been introduced to the market. Today it has surpassed its major competitor, Playtex, said Malinowski, who added that the Tampax brand overall now has more than 50 percent of the tampon market.

The addition will allow staff to increase production by about 100,000 tampons per day – a roughly 10 percent increase from current production. It also means Tambrands, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, will hire about 25 new people. The Auburn manufacturer now employs about 525.

“We are competing on a global stage,” Malinowski said. “That we can keep these jobs and production here in Maine means a lot to us.”

Gov. John Baldacci and Mayor John Jenkins are expected to make remarks at a private ground-breaking ceremony planned for today.

Malinowski said this expansion is P&G’s most recent investment, an outlay that has topped $300 million since the huge personal products maker bought Tambrands seven years ago. He has said he is especially pleased that the Auburn plant has been able to remain competitive, owing to its hard-working staff and an occasional helping hand from the state in the form of TIFs, research and development grants and a rollback of the personal equipment tax.

“The state has done things to help us stay . . . and there are still things to do,” he said, mentioning workers’ comp reform and health care as two dominating issues. “But overall, we’ve been able to maintain our competitiveness.”

Seven years ago, the plant initiated round-the-clock staffing and invested in new technology. The result has been an increase in per-employee production from 12,000 cases per year to 31,000. Beginning pay for Auburn Tambrands workers is $30,000 per year.

“You hear so much about manufacturing leaving Maine,” Malinowski said. “And here we are with safe, clean, high-paying jobs staying in Maine because we’re competitive. That’s not easy when you’re competing with overseas sites.”