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The history of Philip Morris International Inc. in the Czech Republic began in 1987 when Philip Morris International Inc. granted a license to produce Marlboro to the Czechoslovakian tobacco industry, n.p., a predecessor of the state-owned tobacco monopoly Tabák, a.s.
In 1992 the Czechoslovak federal government announced its intention to privatize the tobacco industry. The interest shown by all major international tobacco companies was significant, not only because the Czechoslovak tobacco industry was well established, but also because of its strong local brands, tradition and skilled employees. Philip Morris International Inc. was the winner of the bidding process and acquired a majority-share in Tabák, a.s. The company Tabák, a.s. was renamed Philip Morris ČR a.s. as of November 1, 2000.
The roots of the company’s factory in Kutna Hora go back to year 1812. In November 1812, in the halls of deserted Cistercian monastery, the production of pipe and snuff tobacco started. The first cigars were manufactured here in 1844, while the hand made cigarettes were first made in 1882. Machine manufacturing was launched in 1896. In the early years there were 5 million cigarettes produced annually. After the installation of machinery the production multiplied. For example in 1902, the annual production increased to 220 million cigarettes , while in 1912 it reached 311 million cigarettes. In 1963, the production of filter cigarettes was introduced. In 1987, after several years of negotiations, the manufacturing of the very first licensed cigarette brand - Marlboro - started.
Since the privatization of the factory in 1992, the manufacturing facility has been repeatedly modernized and enlarged. Between 2008 and 2010 the company invested 750 million Czech crowns in plant modernization projects, increasing the factory’s capacity by one third to 40 billion cigarettes per year.
The modernization and enlargement production processes in Kutna Hora factory allowed the company to centralize its operations there and thus to discontinue its production activities in Hodonin, Novy Jicin and Straznice areas.
In 1992, the headquarters of Philip Morris ČR a.s. were established in Prague. In August 2002, the headquarters moved to Charles Square in Prague 2, where today the departments of Marketing, Finance, Sales & Distribution, IS, HR and Corporate Affairs are located.