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Additional €500 million investment planned to increase production
capacity at Bologna factory to meet growing adult smoker demand for HEETS
for use with IQOS.
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Up to 600 new jobs expected to be created.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 26, 2017--
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) today
announced a plan to invest an additional approximately €500 million to
expand capacity at the company’s smoke-free product manufacturing
facility in Crespellano (Bologna, Italy).
The facility at Crespellano is PMI’s first dedicated manufacturing
facility for large scale production of HEETS, the tobacco units
used with the electronic tobacco heating device IQOS.
Completed in September 2016, the facility currently employs over 600
people with a high level of technical expertise in areas such as
mechanical engineering electronics and chemistry. The expansion is
expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and is part of the company’s
plans to have a total annual installed capacity of approximately 100
billion heated tobacco units by the end of next year.
“Last week, we announced our second greenfield facility in Dresden
(Germany). The expansion of our first one, in Crespellano, shows the
momentum of our efforts to turn PMI’s vision for a smoke-free future
into a reality as soon as possible,” said Frederic de Wilde,
President of PMI’s European Union Region.
Michele Cattoni, PMI’s VP Technology & Operations RRPs, added: “The
opening of the Crespellano plant represented a historic milestone in
PMI’s commitment to replace cigarettes with better alternatives to the
benefit of smokers, public health and society at large. We are now
rapidly expanding our capacity to manufacture smoke-free products in
order to meet growing demand from adult smokers.”
IQOS and HEETS were first made available for adult smokers
in Milan in November 2014. IQOS is currently available nationwide
in Italy, and in key cities or nationwide in more than 25 markets around
the world. More than two million people have already given up smoking
and switched to IQOS.
The expansion of the Bologna facility follows the announcement earlier
this month that PMI will invest approximately USD 320 million in a HEETS
production facility in Dresden, Germany, adding to the previously
announced investments in the conversion of cigarette manufacturing
facilities in Greece, Romania and Russia to HEETS production.
IQOS is one of four scientifically substantiated smoke-free
product platforms that PMI is developing to address adult smoker demand
for better alternatives to cigarettes. Since 2008, PMI has hired more
than 400 scientists and experts and invested over USD 3 billion in
research, product development and scientific substantiation for
smoke-free products. The company openly shares its scientific
methodologies and findings for independent third-party review and
verification, and has published its research in over 200 articles and
book chapters since 2011. Results of scientific research conducted by
PMI to date indicate that switching completely to IQOS is likely
to reduce the risk of harm compared to cigarette smoking, and is a
better choice for those who would otherwise continue to smoke.
Philip Morris International Inc.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is the world’s leading
international tobacco company, with six of the world's top 15
international brands and products sold in more than 180 markets. In
addition to the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, including Marlboro,
the number one global cigarette brand, and other tobacco products, PMI
is engaged in the development and commercialization of reduced-risk
products (RRPs). RRPs is the term PMI uses to refer to products that
present, are likely to present, or have the potential to present less
risk of harm to smokers who switch to these products versus continued
smoking. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development,
state-of-the-art facilities, and industry-leading scientific
substantiation, PMI aims to provide an RRP portfolio that meets a broad
spectrum of adult smoker preferences and rigorous regulatory
requirements. For more information, see www.pmi.com
and www.pmiscience.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170626005604/en/
Source: Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International
Media Office
T: +41 (0)58 242 4500
E:
media@pmi.com