Company Philip Morris International (PMI) decided part of its conventional tobacco production from its factory in Poland Great Canary by the hand of Dos Santosa company with which he has been collaborating for over a decade, and that will mean: More than €15 million investment and creation of 120 new jobs on the islands.
This was announced by Enrique Jiménez, managing director of the Spanish and Portuguese PMI, after meeting with the Canary Islands president on Wednesday. Angel Victor Torres, that the head of the company wants to present him with all the details of this business project. Carmina Fusté, Philip Morris’ general manager for the islands, and Dácil Barreto, Dos Santos’ director, also attended the meeting.
The intended new production, supply to twelve countries European Union With a total value of over 36 million euros, among which Germany, Italy, France or Belgium, tobacco consolidates tobacco as one of the most exported products from the islands after bananas. In fact, 84% of the total national production of tobacco products is produced in the Canary Islands, which represents 1% of the Canary Islands GDP and creates 5,279 jobs.
The President of the Canary Islands stressed that this commitment of Philip Morris and Dos Santos was justified. a “happy news” for the economic diversification of the islands and for tobacco production.Reminding that it has been accepted as a strategic sector for the Canary Islands by the regional parliament since 1997, mainly due to the employment it creates and the exports it reaches, this investment could be around 170 million euros. obtained from the export of bananas.
“This is good news for the islands’ economic diversification and tobacco production”
Enrique Jiménez, PMI’s managing director for Spain and Portugal, for his part said, “The factory itself is a large-scale operation for the islands’ industrial sector and export balance, and therefore of course this is the tradition that this land has and that Dos Santos can implement and no doubt use it for PMI. A very positive operation described by its innovation that makes it the best choice”.
For Jiménez, this is a possible project. “very relevant” contribution to the islands’ economy He said Philip Morris has demonstrated its “strong commitment” to a “strategic” region, while also “helping to diversify the archipelago’s economy and ensuring that tobacco is maintained as a strategic industrial sector in the islands.”
Meanwhile, Dácil Barreto, director of Dos Santos, stated that it was a great pleasure to be a trustee of PMI and to be chosen to undertake this production after twelve years of cooperation and competing with four other European factories.
In this sense, he was of the opinion that a family company like Dos Santos with Canarian capital showed that it could work with high standards in the hands of multinational companies and that this was due to the tobacco tradition. The Canary Islands industry, which places companies from the islands at the forefront of the industry, a highly globalized and very competitive market“.
A smoke-free future
PMI’s decision is an example of the transformation the company is moving towards a smoke-free future; this means that its factory in Krakow (Poland) focuses solely on the production of cigarettes. fireproof alternatives To meet your increasing demand. In the case of the Canary Islands, Philip Morris’ production will focus on producing the cigarillo, a product similar to a filtered cigarette covered in a natural tobacco layer.
Therefore, the optimization of their processes requires the transfer of part of the production of traditional products to another centre. The selection of the Canary Islands and Dos Santos goes through an internal competition to which four other factories in Europe are applying to take over production.
With this commitment, PMI reinforces its commitment to the Canary Islands and solidifies its tobacco tradition, demonstrating its adaptability by emphasizing the extensive know-how of Dos Santos, a company with a hundred-year history and 100% Canarian capital. high Philip Morris quality standards.