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  • Filtrona Launches Cannabis Division

    Filtrona Launches Cannabis Division

    Photo: yellowj

    Filtrona has launched Cannatrona, a dedicated division serving the cannabis and hemp market.

    The Cannatrona business supplies filter tips, mouthpieces and pre-roll solutions for cannabis and hemp products, alongside scientific services.

    “The cannabis and hemp industry is seeing rapid expansion, but the regulatory landscape is also shifting at speed,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement. “What businesses in this field need is a partner with a proven track record of quality, innovation, brand development and compliance, and that’s exactly what Cannatrona offers. With the company’s launch, we’re looking to propel the sector to even greater heights in a transformative and meaningful way.”

    “In any growing market, new businesses can be found all along the supply chain,” said Jeni Sperry, head of new business development at Cannatrona. “However, Cannatrona has something that the rest don’t, and that’s the century-long experience of Filtrona, one of the world’s leading special filter brands. For cannabis and hemp product innovators, we’re not just introducing filter tip and mouthpiece products to the market, we’re bringing expertise, innovation and a very bright future.”

  • Filter Makers Partner for Biodegradables

    Filter Makers Partner for Biodegradables

    Photo: DragonImages

    Greenbutts and Filtrona have established a partnership to manufacture biodegradable filters for tobacco companies in the U.S.

    Under the joint development agreement Filtrona will lease a manufacturing machine from Greenbutts to produce biodegradable filters using proprietary technology. The partnership supports the strategy of both companies to drive the industry’s transformation by providing alternative sustainable filter solutions to traditional cellulose acetate filters.

    “In response to the detrimental impact of plastic pollution on our planet, there is an urgent need to address the No. 1 most littered item globally. Greenbutts has pioneered proprietary technology and advanced material science to bring a novel, performance-driven plastic alternative to the tobacco industry,” said Greenbutts CEO Tadas Lisauskas in a statement.

    By partnering with Filtrona, this joint endeavor is set to transform the way cigarettes are manufactured, with post-consumer waste and our planet front of mind.

    Tadas Lisauskas, CEO, Greenbutts

    “Our certified biodegradable technology offers a new alternative to single-use plastic filters, providing a pathway for the industry to embrace environmental sustainability without compromising performance or consumer experience. By partnering with Filtrona, a company committed to driving positive change within the industry, this joint endeavor is set to transform the way cigarettes are manufactured, with post-consumer waste and our planet front of mind.”

    We believe that by collaborating with other suppliers who share our environmental goals, we can meet the growing demand for sustainable products more rapidly.

    Robert Pye, CEO, Filtrona

    “We recognize that our customers are increasingly seeking sustainable products, and we are on a journey with them to support this transformation alongside Greenbutts with our advanced filter technology and portfolio of renewable, degradable and sustainable filters that can meet their product and regulatory needs,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye.

    “Today, Filtrona alone cannot meet the volume requirements in terms of sustainable filter conversion. We believe that by collaborating with other suppliers who share our environmental goals, we can meet the growing demand for sustainable products more rapidly. This joint development with Greenbutts is the first of many such collaborations which we will embark on to help drive the industry forward,” said Pye.

    “We believe that true impact can be achieved through strategic collaboration, and that’s why we are partnering with Filtrona,” said Lisauskas. “Our dedicated innovation hub is committed to fostering new technology, collaboration and knowledge exchange, propelling the industry towards a more sustainable future.”

  • A Common Thread

    A Common Thread

    Photo: Celanese

    Filter manufacturers face higher prices and tow shortages, though not everybody has been equally affected.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    Of the roughly 5.2 trillion cigarettes consumed globally each year, 98 percent feature a filter made from cellulose acetate (CA) tow, a thermoplastic cellulose fiber with excellent absorption characteristics manufactured from dissolved wood pulp. Over the past years, suppliers of this base material faced many challenges, among them the continuous decline in global cigarette consumption since 2013, which also meant decreasing demand for tow and cigarette filters.

    Since last year, however, the situation has reversed: The market for acetate tow has tightened. In May 2022, Celanese Corp., one of the world’s leading suppliers of acetate tow products, declared force majeure on western hemisphere acetyl chain and acetate tow products because of unanticipated interruptions in raw material supply in the Texas Gulf Coast. The condition was lifted again in December. Celanese Corp. was unavailable for comment.

    In the meantime, other tow manufacturers announced price hikes. Cerdia, for example, announced a cost surcharge of $0.46 per kilogram on all acetate tow grade shipments as of March 2022.

    Christian Chavassieu

    “Last year, prices for acetate pulp went through the roof because of rising costs for wood, chemicals, labor, energy and shipping,” says Christian Chavassieu, managing partner at CelCo Cellulose Consulting in Geneva. “Manufacturers could either accept the price increase or risk a shortage.” Acetate tow suppliers also suffered from other issues, such as a lack of essential chemicals. Acetate tow is made by dissolving wood pulp in a mixture of acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid. The resulting solution is then extruded through small holes to form thin fibers, which are cut into small lengths after cooling.

    To create high-purity cellulose pulp as used in acetate tow, 95 percent to 97 percent of the cellulose content has to be extracted. Only a handful of specialized companies are capable of this process. The cellulose “bank” is the world’s biggest source of organic raw material with 700 billion tons, according to CelCo Cellulose Consulting. The overwhelming part of cellulose products manufactured every year is used to manufacture paper, packaging and tissue.

    The specialty cellulose industry, of which acetate tow manufacturers are a part, accounts for only 2.5 percent of the entire processed cellulose spectrum. “Hit with higher pulp prices, suppliers of acetate tow have been forced to pass the increase on to their customers. In its recently published second quarter results, Eastman Chemical said that prices for acetate tow went up 33 percent, leading to 32 percent higher selling prices,” says Chavassieu.

    Higher selling prices were also due to more efficient use of production facilities. “Some players, such as Eastman, have diversified their mills to produce textile fibers to improve their capacity utilization,” explains Chavassieu.

    HTPs Drive Demand

    Hyunyoung Park

    Hyunyoung Park, sales and business development manager at Taeyoung Industry Corp., a South Korea-based supplier of mono, dual and triple filters, says the scarcity of acetate tow occurred in part to an unplanned production stoppage at a leading supplier. “This trend has not ended and will continue until the balance shows stable figures,” he says.

    The increasing popularity of heated-tobacco products (HTPs), too, has contributed to the tight market, according to Robert Pye, CEO of specialty filter manufacturer Filtrona. “We see rapid double-digit growth in HTPs, which basically use different grades of tow but actually increase the amount of tow that is used in comparison with combustible cigarettes because of the filter design. It eats up the decline in demand we have seen from traditional cigarettes.”

    Pye also attributes the current challenges in the acetate tow market to the Covid-19 pandemic, which decoupled supply chains. “Before, we were all in a just-in-time sort of mode, developing strategies for our supply chains,” he says. “This has changed—we have seen people wanting to have more inventory in their supply chain. Basically, manufacturers have reduced the risk of shortage and developed a different way of managing supply chains.”

    The Russia-Ukraine conflict has left its mark too, with some supply from those locations affected. “This has definitely made the supply chain more complex,” says Pye. Like Chavassieu, he expects these developments to continue. “We’re seeing an inflationary market in acetate tow,” Pye says. “Supply is somewhat tight. It won’t continue up, but how much it comes back would be something the market would have to see. I don’t see too much change for next year.”

    Their views are reflected by another major acetate tow manufacturer, Japan-based Daicel, whose management recently forecast that the worldwide demand for cigarettes would gradually start increasing after 2026. Daicel’s management said it anticipated demand for acetate tow to remain stable or increase, driven by the proportion of demand for HTPs, which currently account for 3 percent of the global tobacco market and are expected to increase by 0.5 percent to 1 percent annually in the future.

    An increase in the length of cigarette filters to cater to consumers’ growing health awareness and an increase in filter use in countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and India were named as further contributing factors. Daicel expected the recent increases in raw material and fuel prices to level off soon but the demand for acetate tow to consistently exceed supply.

    Sustainable Solutions

    Robert Pye

    As a long-time global player with long-term supplier contracts, Filtrona has been unaffected by the shortages, according to Pye. “The way we had our supply chains organized allowed us to grow in double digits that year. We also supply a sustainable range of products, which helped customers in some markets.”

    Park adds that his company has noticed new requirements for a secure supply chain and sourcing stability. “Customers are benefiting from the stable supply chain network we have built up and continued during the pandemic,” he says.

    Pye notes that the shortage of cellulose acetate has been driving interest in Filtrona’s biodegradable filters, such as the Eco range of products, in more regions, predominantly around western Europe but also elsewhere. “Also, products like BiTech, a mono-segment filter produced in a single pass and offered in various ratios of tow and either paper or other nonwoven materials, thus using less acetate tow than a normal filter, were more sought after,” he says.

    While paper-based solutions have traditionally been more expensive than CA filters, the price gap has narrowed recently. “These days, the cost and capability of the nonwoven products are more interesting,” says Pye. “There are certain characteristics to the product line that make them more interesting to compete with acetate tow.”

    Excluding China, special filters account for 5 percent of the global market. Of these, Filtrona has a market share of nearly 50 percent. The remaining share is divided between smaller local players. “We see the market growing, mainly in areas where tobacco companies may want to differentiate themselves from other brands, for example, when they operate in regions with plain packaging,” says Pye. “Special filters are also becoming increasingly popular with manufacturers with a maturing customer base, i.e., when consumers are moving up from their gross domestic product, more specialty products come into these markets. India is an example of this: A few years ago, the country had very limited flavor-based products. Today, it has lots of flavors, tubes and other complex filters. The market has more specialty filters in the last two years than in the last 10 years combined.”

    Pye thinks this trend will continue. “Filtrona’s task is to bring new filter technologies into these markets,” he says. “That’s why we have a joint venture in China. The Chinese market uses all sorts of slims, such as super slims or demi slims, but not too many combined filters, and previously, there hasn’t been a market for additives either.”

    Despite the challenges, the market is quite dynamic, according to Pye, with different regions having requirements for different filters and specialty filters and even in filter supply. “We see this dynamic playing out not on a daily but on a quite regular basis, with sustainability and HTPs becoming more important,” he says. “The challenges in supply chains haven’t quite left us, so I think it’s an interesting time. As a supplier and committed partner to this industry, we’re making sure that we can help the industry move into more sustainable solutions but also ensure they get the supply because their supply chains are challenged as well.”

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Filtrona Opens New Filters Center

    Filtrona Opens New Filters Center

    Photo: Filtrona

    Filtrona has opened a new Centre of Excellence (COE) in Budapest, Hungary. Combining multiple advanced filter manufacturing machines, the COE will increase the company’s production capacity and speed-to-market of sustainable filter solutions. The COE enables tobacco companies to develop and manufacture a portfolio of sustainable tobacco products by leveraging Filtrona’s expertise in innovative filter designs, processing methods and knowledge of materials.

    The COE combines Filtrona’s extensive experience in manufacturing non-woven filters with advanced, high-speed production technology and the latest testing methods to produce sustainable filters for various tobacco product applications. These include cigarettes, heated tobacco products, cigarillos, cigars, and RYO and MYO cigarettes.

    Globally, consumers and regulators are pushing for more environmentally sustainable solutions for consumer goods, according to Filtrona. Likewise, the tobacco industry is seeking plastic-free alternatives by focusing on the use of wood pulp based non-woven materials, such as papers. The EU Single-Use Plastic Directive provides a roadmap for the phasing-out of single-use plastics, which includes cellulose acetate tow. Using the EU Directive as a blueprint, tobacco companies in territories outside the EU are expected to follow a similar path in reducing single-use plastics over time.

    “As the world’s leading producer of sustainable filter solutions, Filtrona is advancing our sustainability journey by launching our Centre of Excellence to expand our portfolio of sustainable products at a faster pace,” said Filtrona’s Global Director of Innovation and ESG Hugo Azinheira. “With the EU SUPD driving a wider adoption of plastic-free tobacco products, our new production line has the capability to meet the evolving needs of customers, consumers, and regulators rapidly.”

     

  • Making Their Mark

    Making Their Mark

    Illustration: BeMade

    RYO and MYO products continue to present remarkable opportunities to the companies supplying these segments.

    By George Gay

    It has long been debated whether smokers choose roll-your-own (RYO) products over factory-made cigarettes simply because they can save money that way or whether there are other factors in play, most of which revolve around the idea of product customization. One thing that seems certain, however, is that if some smokers want to customize their RYO cigarettes, now is a great time for them to get creative. The product combinations that are possible by putting together the huge range of papers, filters and tobacco now available must be immense and growing.

    This is not to say that RYO is about to experience a boom; taxation and regulation will not allow that to happen. But this category, being lifted by the current cost-of-living crisis affecting many people and by the legalization of recreational marijuana use in a growing number of jurisdictions, is likely to punch above its weight for some years to come.

    Here, we look at the state of various aspects of the RYO and make-your-own (MYO) sectors: machinery, papers and filters.

    Machinery

    Anne Laure Jaeckel

    Although many cigarettes are hand rolled mainly as a way of saving money, whenever I think of the hand-rolling process, I imagine somebody involved not in an economic activity but in an artistic undertaking. This idea might be a little romantic, however, given that many hand-rolled cigarettes appear less than beautiful, so perhaps I am talking more of a craft than an art, an activity akin to constructing dry stone walls or making hurdle fences, which are often beautifully irregular and, in certain instances at least, economically necessary.

    Of course, there is something highly misleading in all this because, unlike the people making dry stone walls and hurdle fences, who are working with crude materials, the person hand rolling a cigarette has in her hands elements that have been produced using advanced designs and technology—elements such as ideally formed, long-stranded fine-cut tobacco and papers and filters fine-tuned for the individual’s preferred choice of cigarette.

    And what often gets forgotten is the technology that goes into producing those tiny booklets of hand-rolling papers. They might look simple and insignificant, but the processes necessary to produce them are far from it. Where bobbins of paper have not been pre-gummed, they must have glue applied to one side, they must be cut to length, interleaved, packed into booklets and the booklets included in multi-packs.

    And I must confess that, in describing this process, I have paid too little attention to part of the undertaking that is technically challenging: interleaving the cut papers. I was reminded of this when Luc Van de Perre, the founder and owner of BeMade, described how his company had a patented interleaving method, ReadyToRoll, which ensures that when individual leaves are pulled by the consumer from the booklet, the gummed side of the paper always comes out pointing upward. At present, says Van de Perre, 99 percent of paper booklets deliver alternate leaves gummed-side up and then gummed-side down, so half must be turned over by the consumer.

    Does this matter? I think it does, if for no other reason than it allows a smoker with impaired vision, who has misplaced her spectacles or is in conditions where the light is poor, to roll a cigarette with confidence. It provides, also, the assurance that she is not going to waste a paper or, even worse, lick the wrong side of a lightweight paper, which will cause it to stick, but only up to a point—that point probably being when the cigarette is lit.

    It also demonstrates that even in what some might regard as a backwater segment of the tobacco industry, attention is being paid to the smallest details. The smoker of hand-rolled cigarettes is being treated as important.

    In fact, such attention to detail is now at the forefront of BeMade’s activities. The company, which was founded in 2005 and which has a background in booklet production, used that manufacturing experience to develop a fully flexible maker/packer that can produce a full range of booklet formats and pack them in a variety of display boxes. But Van de Perre said that whereas his company had in the past taken machinery projects from start to finish, it was now concentrating on machine developments and installations while working with a bigger partner company in building the machines.

    BeMade has also come up with a service strategy recognizing that while its booklet-producing customers are geographically widely spread, it is operating in a relatively modest segment. “Our target is to make sure our customers, booklet producers, get all the tools needed to organize service and maintenance operations in-house or through local support,” said Van de Perre. “This means also that we are prepared to sell the know-how necessary to make our customers independent. All new customers are provided with whatever is necessary to make them self-supporting, though we can also support them via direct web connections to their machines.”

    Photo: SWM

    Paper

    Of course, to produce booklets, you need paper, and, asked about the main RYO market drivers, a spokesperson for SWM and Botani, Anne Laure Jaeckel, product manager of rolling papers at SWM, said the past few years had been all about product research and collaborative developments as their customers had focused on delivering to consumers the best smoking experiences by offering them thinner and lightweight papers. Another important trend had been delivered through developments in botanicals, especially hemp, which had become an essential material in a matter of a few years. In the future, the transparency of papers would be a key feature while the provision of new and exciting colors would also take center stage.

    SWM and Botani comprise the Engineered Papers division of Mativ, with SWM serving the tobacco industry and Botani serving the emerging global cannabinoids market.

    One question that arises is whether RYO has a future given the array of next-generation tobacco and nicotine products that have emerged recently and given people’s apparent tendency to embrace new technology generally. But Jaeckel seemed unconcerned. While, as always in business, things were changing, this did not signal the end, she said. The change being brought in by the trend toward the legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in many countries was a positive, leading to, among other things, an increase in demand for rolling papers and pre-rolled cones, especially in the U.S. All that was needed now to take things forward in a sustainable way was the introduction of uniform legislation governing product standards.

    But some things would remain largely unchanged. For some consumers, RYO had always been and would remain just what they needed—a widely available and cost-effective product. Rolling papers had been invented in the 19th century, and, in part, it was the proof of the product tied up in this history that appealed to many consumers, something to which SWM could attest since its factory in the south of France had been active for 150 years and had witnessed the launch of one of the first rolling paper brands, JOB.

    Generally and historically speaking, wood-based bleached materials have gone into making tobacco rolling papers, but Jaeckel said that customers looking to the cannabis market were preferring thin, unbleached, colored or hemp-based papers. Of course, the market for papers, while being strongly influenced by consumer preferences, was also governed by legislation, she added.

    The base paper for rolling-papers, Jaeckel said, was supplied in rolls, bobbins and reams, depending on the converting capabilities of customers and on end use applications—for instance, interleaved or flat booklets, or even pre-rolled cones and MYO tubes. All grades of paper could be offered pre-gummed and with filigree patterns, which, along with color options, provided for a wide variety of brand differentiation. And for companies that were only brand owners, SWM and Botani could supply their paper through a network of partner converters capable of transforming it into the required forms.

    The range of experiences on offer to the consumer is certainly huge. Indonesia-based The Rolling Paper Company (TRPC), for instance, offers worldwide a wide range of papers, including those made from bleached wood, unbleached wood, unbleached hemp, alfalfa and bamboo. Papers can be watermarked, printed or colored, and the company’s offer also includes blunts, cones and printed cones, all manufactured under one roof using machinery and paper imported from Europe.

    TRPC, which has been in business since 2008, produces its own papers under brand names such as SmokeBox but also contract manufactures for other companies.

    Ashwyn Daryanani, the founder and owner of TRPC, is confident about the future. In reply to emailed questions, he said the main drivers of the rolling paper business in recent times had been the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana in various jurisdictions and the rising prices of factory-made cigarettes just about everywhere. And, he added, the trends toward the legalization of marijuana use and rising cigarette prices would continue in the future, boosting demand for rolling papers.

    Photo: Filtrona

    Filters

    While Filtrona identifies consumer economics as being the key driver for the MYO category, it sees product customization mainly driving the RYO sector. And the company, which develops and manufactures filters for all types of smoking products, including both the categories under review, predicts that two main factors will drive the RYO/MYO market for the next two years to three years: product customization, and sustainability in respect of both filters and packaging. RYO smokers would be drawn to innovative filter shapes, formats and additives, said Hugo Azinheira, global director of innovation and ESG [environmental, social and governance]. At the same time, there would be a growing need for customized packaging that was more sustainable and that delivered improved product freshness when compared with what was on offer now.

    The second driver, meanwhile, meant it was vital for Filtrona to extend its ECO range of filters to RYO/MYO and to work with its packaging suppliers to develop and introduce more sustainable packaging materials.

    “The industry’s shift from acetate filters to more sustainable alternatives presents us with one of our biggest opportunities,” said Azinheira in an email exchange. “Our growing ECO range comprises more than 12 innovative plastic-free filters, providing solutions that address single-use plastic bans by using sustainable, biodegradable and plastic-free non-woven materials. All our ECO filters are suitable for use in RYO and reduced-risk product categories as well as ready-made cigarettes.

    “We are also working with suppliers to develop and qualify new materials with a lower carbon footprint. We believe that it requires an industry-wide effort to support our customers in their ESG journeys; therefore, we are collaborating with a wide array of suppliers.”

    Meanwhile, Azinheira said, because demand for both RYO and, especially, MYO tended to grow when adverse economic environments prevailed, the market for both had been relatively stable during the past five years to six years. But with MYO being a more volatile category, there was higher growth potential in RYO, though both were expected to remain niche categories.

    Overall, the RYO and MYO categories would follow the main industry trends, including in respect of the growing cannabis category in North America, for which special filters were being developed and commercialized. While RYO would remain a niche product, demand for it would grow in markets where hemp and cannabis were legalized, but it was important to keep in mind that, within the EU, the new Tobacco Products Directive would impact these new categories.  

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Filtrona Launches Plastic-Free Filter

    Filtrona Launches Plastic-Free Filter

    Image: Filtrona

    Filtrona launched its latest plastic-free innovation, ECO Tube Triple Carbon Filter, at TabExpo in Bologna May 10-11, 2023.

    According to Filtrona, the ECO Tube Triple Carbon is a patent-pending sustainable plastic-free filter design that offers similar nicotine delivery to current filters, with a unique end visual and clean post-smoking.

    The ECO Tube Triple Carbon Filter meets EU Single Use Plastics Directive requirements, is biodegradable and, based on internal studies, degrades more rapidly than filters constructed with cellulose acetate, attaining 90 percent biodegradation in 90 days. With a similar nicotine delivery as the acetate version of Tube Triple Carbon, its carbon loading capability is up to four times higher compared to existing impregnated carbon paper, according to Filtrona.

    ECO Tube Triple Carbon Filter offers cigarette manufacturers an extensive array of customizable designs in various lengths, circumferences, pressure drops, carbon types, carbon sizes and configurations for ECO Tube combined segments, with each construction designed to enhance a particular brand and suit customer taste and filtration requirements.

    “With sustainability at the heart of our business, we are committed to developing more renewable, degradable and sustainable products,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye.

    The Bologna event was the first TabExpo show for the newly rebranded Filtrona, which adopted its former name earlier this year. Tobacco Reporter published an in-depth report about Filtrona’s rebranding in its March 2023 issue.

  • A Fresh Start

    A Fresh Start

    Photos courtesy of Filtrona

    After a decade of operating under the Essentra umbrella, Filtrona is back as an independent company.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    For decades, it was a household name in the tobacco industry. Now it’s back: Filtrona. Having operated as Essentra Filter Holdings since 2013, the specialty filter manufacturer was sold to a private equity firm last year and is now in the process of rebranding.

    “The Filtrona name has a rich legacy of innovation supported by strong industry partnerships, so we felt it was only right to build on what our partners were already familiar with,” says Filtrona’s CEO, Robert Pye. “We have developed a new logo and branding program and will be rolling that out in the coming weeks to rejuvenate the brand and give it a modern look and feel.”

    The company’s head office will remain in Singapore. Filtrona currently has more than 2,000 employees and is present in 120 markets. The company operates 11 manufacturing facilities across Europe, America and Asia. It also has three innovation centers, an accredited laboratory and a center of excellence focused on sustainability.

    According to Pye, 2022 was a “very solid year” for the business despite the challenges involved in completing the sale and unforeseen issues such as the war in Ukraine, which disrupted global supply chains. Pye says the company achieved outstanding double-digit growth last year. Under new leadership, the company’s focus remains on increasing its market share, particularly by expanding in China, Asia, the Middle East and Africa—where the tobacco industry continues to grow—while driving profitability and transforming its business through innovation.

    Robert Pye | Image courtesy of Filtrona

    “The Filtrona name has a rich legacy of innovation supported by strong industry partnerships, so we felt it was only right to build on what our partners were already familiar with.”

    Robert Pye, Filtrona CEO

    Chinese Venture

    In 2020, a filter joint venture (JV) was established with the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration in Xiamen, China, with China Tobacco Fujian Industrial Co. Its shareholders are Essentra (now Filtrona) and three Chinese tobacco companies in Shanghai, Guangxi and Hunan. The JV manufactures specialist filters at the new facility in Xiamen in Fujian province. It is also at this location that a China Development Center for the introduction of advanced filter solutions has just opened.

    China is one of the last growth markets for combustible cigarettes. “We are delighted with the progress made at the China JV despite seeing many challenges since we held the opening ceremony in January 2020,” says Pye. “The project has been a remarkable success with commercial operation starting in July 2021, with the China Development Center recently established at the end of 2022. The partnership continues to grow capacity and capability and has already created a promising pipeline of innovative projects serving the Chinese market. We look forward to further growth as we introduce our proprietary filter technology to the market.”

    While the tobacco industry is in the midst of an unprecedented transformation with sales of combustible cigarettes stagnating and those of next-generation products rising, Pye sees significant opportunities in the sector. “It is a trillion-dollar* market globally, and we have large market penetration,” he says. “Whilst the total market volume for combustibles is declining, the demand for filter solutions that offer differentiation remains robust. The use of more complex filter specifications continues to grow proportionately in several important markets. Filtrona is also active in the heated-tobacco segment with design, testing and manufacturing of filter solutions. In addition, Filtrona is leading the way forward with sustainable filter solutions, which is becoming increasingly relevant across the tobacco market.”

    Filtrona benefits from being the only global, independent partner capable of designing, testing and manufacturing innovative filter solutions, Pye points out, with Filtrona’s laboratory being one of the few globally accredited independent scientific services for tobacco filtration.

    “In the past, we had a pivotal role in the setup of standards for combustibles through our accredited laboratory,” he notes. “Today, we are assuming a significant role in the setup of global standards for next-generation products (NGPs), including e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products.”

    Filtrona benefits from being the only global, independent partner capable of designing, testing and manufacturing innovative filter solutions.

    Partner in Transition

    Aware that the tobacco industry is changing, Filtrona’s vision is to support its partners in their transition by continuing to deliver quality and innovation. As an example, Pye mentions the research and development Filtrona has conducted for its ECO range of sustainable solutions, which are plastic-free and biodegradable. The ECO range includes sustainable solutions for tear tapes used in packaging. The recently launched Rippatape Halo is a paper-based tape for the e-commerce packaging market. “Brands are seeking plastic-free solutions, and Filtrona is delivering on all fronts,” says Pye.

    The company appears to be well placed to meet growing demand for plastic-free, biodegradable filters driven by legislation such as the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD). While cigarette butts have been exempted from the SUPD for the time being, a provisional agreement in the legislative process encourages the development of sustainable alternatives to tobacco product filters containing plastic through the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR), an application of the polluter-pays principle. EU member states have until Dec. 5, 2023, to set up EPR schemes for tobacco filters that contain plastic.

    Research conducted by Filtrona reveals that in 75 percent of countries, smokers are more eager to positively impact the environment than the general population. According to Pye, “This gives us significant opportunity to innovate and meet these evolving consumer needs.” Pye adds that Filtrona is investing significantly in paper-based filters with improved sensory performance, specifically taste.

    For veterans of the tobacco industry, paper-based filters are a familiar concept; they were standard until the 1950s before the first commercial cellulose acetate filters arrived on the market. “Interestingly, current ECO ranges are loosely based on the first paper filters to arrive on the market, so our long heritage in paper-based filters is highly relevant to the challenge of finding sustainable solutions for today’s market,” says Pye.

    “Whilst the total market volume for combustibles is declining, the demand for filter solutions that offer differentiation remains robust.”

    Robert Pye, Filtrona CEO

    Opportunities Ahead

    Going forward, Pye expects Filtrona to increasingly focus on consumer customization and modularity. “Capsule flavors are likely to be high on the design agenda, allowing the user to pick type and flavor as well as choosing when to crush the capsule. Japan and South Korea are well-established low-tar markets, with a significant slim/super-slim segment. We see this trend growing in other parts of Asia.

    According to Pye, increasing sales of tobacco-heating devices and other NGPs underscore an appetite for innovation that should benefit the company. Filtrona offers a dedicated range of filters for heated-tobacco products.

    “Keeping a close eye on new products launching into the market, we see a fresh wave of innovation in areas such as organic, additive-free and sustainable tobaccos. This further underlines and substantiates the relevancy of our ECO range of filters,” says Pye.

    Filtrona, he says, is looking forward to supporting its customers to transform and grow. “It’s an exciting time for the industry, and we’re proud to play our part,” Pye says.

    *$935 billion, according to Euromonitor

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Essentra Filters Rebrands as Filtrona

    Essentra Filters Rebrands as Filtrona

    Following the announcement about a change of ownership, the former filters and tapes businesses of Essentra will now begin the process of rebranding as Filtrona.

    “This is an exciting time for our business, marking a new chapter in our journey to build a global market-leading company that supports our partners to transform and grow,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement.

    “Many of our customers and suppliers will know that Filtrona was the company name prior to rebranding to Essentra plc. Having talked to them about our plans, it was clear that the Filtrona name represented a rich history of innovation and partnership. It was only right that we adopted the brand again, which had such a strong foundation, and gave it a fresh contemporary design to take us forward.”

    With its rebrand well underway, the business enters 2023 with exciting plans for the future.

    “Both the tobacco and packaging industries are focused on driving innovation in response to ever-changing consumer preferences,” says Pye. “Our customers therefore need global partners that are investing in the future of their business.

    “At Filtrona, we now have a truly global presence with facilities in all major markets worldwide supported by a 2,000-strong team of talented employees working across our 11 manufacturing locations, 3 innovation centers, an accredited laboratory and a center of excellence focused on sustainability. Our mission is to be a responsible, customer-focused innovation leader creating excellence in sustainable solutions for today and tomorrow. We look forward to delivering on this commitment.”

    “We are delighted to welcome Filtrona into our diverse portfolio,” said a representative of the new shareholder. “The business has a rich heritage in providing innovative solutions to a well-established customer base with a global footprint, high quality people and exciting prospects. We continue to support our partners through the next phase of growth relying on our combined expertise in identifying and unlocking value creation opportunities.”