Philip Morris International Shifts Entire Capacity of Its Cigarette Factory in Greece to Smoke-Free Products
March 21 2018 - 8:31AM
Business Wire
- Another step towards its vision to
provide all men and women who smoke with better alternatives
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) announced
today that the factory of its Greek affiliate (Papastratos) in
Aspropyrgos, has ceased cigarette production and is now exclusively
producing HEETS, the tobacco units used with IQOS, the company’s
most advanced smoke-free product. This first full conversion of a
cigarette factory is a landmark step in our vision of a smoke-free
future where people who smoke switch from the most harmful form of
nicotine consumption – cigarettes – to scientifically substantiated
smoke-free alternatives.
The EUR 300 million investment included the construction of
three new buildings and the replacement of cigarette production
lines with high-tech facilities capable of producing 10,000
smoke-free tobacco units per minute. The conversion of the factory
started in August 2017. The facility is expected to be fully
operational by the end of 2018 and will create 400 new jobs.
André Calantzopoulos, PMI’s Chief Executive Officer said: “This
is a historic day for our company. Papastratos is the first of our
factories to end cigarette production and fully shift to
manufacturing our smoke-free alternatives.” He added: “We will
continue to convert existing sites and invest in new facilities to
answer global adult smoker demand for better alternatives to
cigarettes. We made a commitment to provide all people who would
otherwise continue smoking with potentially less harmful products.
The momentum around this revolutionary change for the benefit of
the world’s 1.1 billion smokers, public health and society at large
is growing, and we will continue working towards a smoke-free
future.”
Along with our plant near Bologna, Italy, Papastratos is our
company’s second facility fully dedicated to manufacturing
smoke-free products. We have also announced plans to either fully
or partially transform our cigarette factories in Korea, Romania
and Russia.
Since 2008, we have invested more than USD 4.5 billion in
scientific research, product and commercial development, and
production capacity related to IQOS and other smoke-free products.
In 2017, over 70% of our global R&D expenditure and over 30% of
our global commercial expenditure was allocated to smoke-free
products.
We estimate that at the end of January 2018, nearly 5 million
adult consumers around the world have already stopped smoking and
switched to IQOS. Our ambition is that all those who would
otherwise continue smoking abandon cigarettes and switch completely
to scientifically substantiated smoke-free products as soon as
possible. Appropriate regulatory policies and decisions can
substantially accelerate the speed and magnitude of this historic
change.
Philip Morris International: Who We Are
We are a leading international tobacco company engaged in the
manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other nicotine-containing
products in markets outside the United States of America. We’re
building our future on smoke-free products that are a much better
consumer choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes. Through
multidisciplinary capabilities in product development,
state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, we aim
to ensure that our smoke-free products meet adult consumer
preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. Our vision is
that these products ultimately replace cigarettes to the benefit of
adult smokers, society, our company and our shareholders. For more
information, see our PMI and PMIScience websites.
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Philip Morris International media officeMedia enquiriesT: +41
(0)58 242 4500E: media@pmi.com
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