Category: News This Week

  • Malawi commits to tackling child labor

    Malawi commits to tackling child labor

    During a recent conference in Lilongwe, Malawi’s government and other stakeholders endorsed a plan to eliminate child labor in agriculture. Malawi’s child labor incidence is among the highest in southern Africa.

    Held Sept. 4-6, the Malawi National Conference on Child Labor in Agriculture was the first of its kind in Malawi. The event was convened by the Ministry of Labor and sponsored by the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT Foundation) in partnership with the International Labor Organization.

    Themed “Our Children, Our Future,” the event drew more than 350 government representatives, agricultural stakeholders, members of labor organizations, business, civil society and NGOs—and children.

    In her opening address, Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, called for synergy among all stakeholders to end child labor. “I will not let children continue working in these estates instead of concentrating on their studies. And to you who are employing these kids, it is my humble plea that you stop such acts to give room to these children to be future leaders,” she said.

    Under the banner “Anything for us, without us, is against us,” 40 children from Malawi’s agricultural industries presented recommendations for ending child labor.

    The conference resulted in sector-by-sector agreement to actions to be implemented by 2016 and the Malawi government’s charge to conduct a National Child Labor Survey to map child labor and the effectiveness of programs in place to stop it.

    More information about the initiative is available at http://www.malawichildlabourconference.com.

     

  • The ‘Davos’ of tobacco

    The ‘Davos’ of tobacco

    Commentators have already dubbed the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) the “Davos” of tobacco, after the prestigious World Economic Forum meetings in Switzerland—and for good reason.

    From a humble experiment in Rio de Janeiro in 2008, the GTNF has grown into a force to be reckoned with on the international stage of tobacco events. The most recent edition, held  at in October 2014 at the Greenbrier resort, attracted a record number of delegates from around the world, including tobacco executives, financial analysts and even public health advocates. The next GTNF will take place in September 2015 in Bologna, Italy.

    Unlike a traditional congress, in which the audience “consumes” a series of prepared presentations, GTNF revolves around interaction. Participants have an opportunity to engage with the experts, enabling them to make contacts and gain insights that are difficult to achieve in more formal settings.

     

     

  • JTI’s sales volume increased in August

    Japan Tobacco Inc’s domestic cigarette sales volume during August, at 10.5 billion, was up by 2.6 per cent on its August 2011 volume, 10.3 billion, which itself was down by 21.3 per cent on that of August 2010, according to preliminary figures issued by the company on Friday.

    Volume during the five months, April-August, at 50.1 billion, was up by 21.7 per cent on its April-August 2011 volume, 41.1 billion, which itself was down by 33.6 per cent on that of April-August 2010.

    JT’s market share for April-August 2012 was 59.5 per cent, against 54.9 per cent for the full year to the end of March.

    JT has suffered huge volume swings in recent times because of an unprecedented, mainly tax-driven price hike on October 1, 2010, and the massive disruption caused to the company’s manufacturing and distribution operations following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 last year.

    JT’s domestic cigarette revenue during August, at ¥58.0 billion, was up by 2.5 per cent on its August 2011 revenue, ¥56.6 billion, which itself was up by 6.6 per cent on that of August 2010.

    Revenue during April-August 2012, at ¥275.7 billion, was up by 22.2 per cent on its revenue during April-August 2011, ¥225.6 billion, which itself was down by 10.1 per cent on that of April-August 2010.

  • Bulgartabac has big export ambitions

    Bulgartabac, which was sold by the Bulgarian government to a subsidiary of the Russian bank VTB for €100.1 million in September last year, expects its cigarette exports to Western Europe to grow by 35 per cent next year, according to a Novinite story.

    At the same time, the company plans a 31 per cent increase in export volumes to Central Europe and other countries of the Balkans.

    The news agency quoted Bulgartabac’s CEOs, Ventsislav Cholakov and Angel Dimitrov, as saying the company would continue with the policy introduced this year of increasing export volumes to traditional markets while directing efforts towards “new product positioning”.

    About 82 per cent of Bulgartabac’s products are exported, and about two per cent of its exports are of leaf tobacco. The company’s products are currently sold in more than 25 countries.

    Bulgartabac’s consolidated profit during the first half of this year, at BGN27 million, was increased by 8.5 times on that of the first half of last year, and its sales, at BGN244 million, were up by 46 per cent.

    At home, Bulgartabac has retained its leading position on the Bulgarian cigarette market, of which it now commands 33.8 per cent.

  • NewCo to co-operate with Wallace on marketing Malawian tobacco

    NewCo Asia Leaf Pte Ltd. says it as entered into an agreement with R.W.J. Wallace Ltd under which it will assist Wallace to market its Malawian tobaccos.

    Wallace is an established coffee and tobacco exporter that was incorporated as a company in 1951 and that has over half a century of experience in the tobacco industry.

    Based inMalawi, Wallace is a private company, with its own processing facilities for hand strip tobaccos.

    The company is represented by its managing director, Robin Saunders.

  • Altria on sustainability index

    Altria said on Thursday that it had been named a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America), which represented recognition of the company’s ongoing progress in responsibly managing its business practices.

    “Responsibility is core to Altria’s mission and our businesses,” said Jennifer Hunter, senior vice president of corporate affairs, Altria client services.

    “Being named to DJSI North America illustrates our businesses and employees’ progress against our mission and recognition that we continue to make important progress in addressing the expectations of our many stakeholders.”

    ‘DJSI North America includes 140 companies from theUSandCanadathat lead the field in terms of sustainability,’ Altria said in a note posted on its website.

    ‘The index evaluates corporations based on a variety of environmental, social and corporate governance criteria.

    ‘It is used by the investment community to evaluate companies based on their business practices.’

  • Indonesian survey confirms heavy smoking

    More than 67 percent of adult men in Indonesia smoke tobacco products, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), reports the Jakarta Post.

    In 1995, the National Social Economic Survey reported a figure of 53.9 percent.

    The GATS’ 2011 report also shows that about 60 million people, or 34.8 percent of all adults, were active smokers.

    Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said the Indonesian government was embarrassed to hear the findings.

    “It means we have been defeated by the tobacco industry. This is unacceptable,” she said.

    According to the study, each adult smoker consumes an average of almost 13 cigarettes each day, 31.5 percent of which are clove cigarettes. Meanwhile, 2.9 million people use smokeless tobacco products.

     

  • RAI re-qualifies for Dow Jones sustainability

    Reynolds American Inc. has been awarded membership in the 2012-2013 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, effective Sept. 24, 2012. This is the fifth consecutive year that the company has been recognized this way.

    Reynolds American is one of 140 North American companies on the index, which is used by many investment portfolio managers when making investment decisions.

    Companies are selected based on an evaluation of many criteria, including corporate governance, risk management, energy consumption, climate change strategies, supply chain standards and human resources development.

     

  • Test your innovations with Prolab

    Test your innovations with Prolab

    Any manufacturing process developed on Prolab is directly transferable to industrial-scale production on Hauni cigarette makers.

    Next year, Hauni plans to launch Prolab, a cigarette making line designed for the tobacco industry’s R&D departments.

    Tobacco companies spend considerable amounts of time and money on developing new products. Sooner or later developers need to find out how a new idea performs in a manufacturing context. What do their new products look, feel and taste like? Does the material process well? This is the point when quality parameters need to be defined and preparations must be made for the future manufacturing process.

    The new easy-to-handle maker line consists of two units, a tobacco rod maker (Prolab-P) and a filter assembler (Prolab-F), which can be used either separately or linked together. At outputs ranging from 100 to 2,000 cpm, Prolab can make cigarettes with diameters from 4.5 to 9 mm and lengths from 60 to 120 mm. Tobacco rods can be cut in lengths from 45 to 105 mm.

    The maker lets product developers try out different types of materials and substances. Prolab is also suitable for producing the small volumes for test markets.

    Based on Hauni’s venerable Protos line, Prolab includes familiar elements plus the latest features. Any manufacturing process developed on Prolab is directly transferable to industrial-scale production on Hauni cigarette makers.

    The machine can also be fitted with a variety of optional Hauni systems, such as NTRM detection, laser perforation and quick size changes.

    Prolab replaces the Pilot Maker/Lab-Max linkup that was developed in the 1980s.

  • Hauni filter system improves efficiency

    Hauni filter system improves efficiency

    Hauni’s new high-bay storage system allows cigarette manufacturers to separate filter making from the cigarette production process.

    Hauni Maschinenbau is introducing a new all-automatic high-bay storage system that allows cigarette makers to separate filter making from the cigarette production process.

    Apart from maximizing machine utilization, the system’s space-saving storage unit keeps filters ready for use wherever and whenever required.

    “This storage system keeps the filter and cigarette manufacturing processes separate, allowing filter and cigarette makers to achieve optimum utilization figures,” says Patrick Fricke, head of customer project management engineering at Hauni. “A hitch on one machine won’t automatically bring the entire production process to a halt as it soon would with makers in a fixed link-up.”

    When connected to a high-bay storage system, filter makers can be kept running for as long as required. They can even manufacture filters for several shifts in advance, thereby omitting the need for night shifts. This not only improves machine utilization but also dispenses with the need to keep switching from one filter specification to another.

    Having a variety of rod types on hand gives manufacturers the flexibility to make smaller batch sizes. The variety in brands and cigarette formats has risen sharply in recent years, and this trend is likely to continue.

    Another benefit is that the filters stored in this system have time to cure adequately, ensuring smooth processing during cigarette making.

    Storage systems of this type can also help minimize errors in the manufacturing process, particularly when producing multifilters.

    Part of Hauni’s system-integration concept, the storage system is supplied by Dematic of Germany.

    The system is designed to work smoothly with Hauni’s tray fillers and dischargers. “Manufacturing companies can continue using their existing equipment without needing to buy extra machines,” says Fricke. “Also, existing trays can continue to be used.”

    According to Hauni, storage systems installed at two Chinese production facilities operate in perfect harmony with the machines linked to them. Another system is currently being set up in America.