PM to build RYO factory in Poland

Philip Morris Polska said yesterday that it planned to invest more than PLN150 million (about US$50 million) in building a new facility for the production of fine-cut tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes.

The facility, which will include offices, is to be built in the Małopolska region of Poland.

“The investment is expected to create close to 700 new jobs over the next few years, subject to the successful completion of the investment process and market conditions,” said a press note posted on Philip Morris International’s website. “The construction of the new facilities is expected to be completed by mid-2014. The company currently employs nearly 3,000 people and has invested to date over PLN1.5 billion (US$500 million) in Poland.”

“I am really pleased that Krakow was chosen by Philip Morris International for yet another investment, which will further strengthen the position of our business in Poland and our ability to continue to compete efficiently and effectively in the European market,” Olek Grzesiak, managing director Philip Morris Poland and Baltic States, was quoted as saying.

“The decision to start constructing new manufacturing and office facilities in Krakow was made due to the growth of our business in Poland. Over the past 10 years, our Krakow factory’s cigarette production volume has increased from 30 billion to over 50 billion cigarettes per year and is still growing, with about 70 percent of production destined for exports today,” Grzesiak said.

Meanwhile, Marek Kalinowski, director operations said the factory expansion would allow capacity to be increased by up to 30 percent.