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Another step towards a smoke-free future
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€490 million planned investment.
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300 new jobs to be created
LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 25, 2017--
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) is
planning to invest approximately €490 million to transform its cigarette
production factory in Otopeni, near Bucharest, Romania into a high-tech
facility to manufacture HEETS, the tobacco units used with the
electronic tobacco heating device IQOS.
The conversion of the factory into a HEETS production facility
has already commenced and is expected to be completed and fully
operational by 2020.
The investment will create about 300 additional jobs for highly-skilled
employees at the Romanian facility, which currently employs
approximately 600 people.
Romania will join a growing list of countries where PMI manufactures
heated tobacco units for IQOS. Earlier this month, PMI announced
plans to install two new high-tech production lines in Neuchâtel,
Switzerland, to produce HEETS.
In June, PMI announced it would expand capacity at the company’s
heated tobacco unit manufacturing facility in Bologna, Italy and also
announced plans to build a new facility for HEETS in Dresden,
Germany. In addition, PMI will also convert its cigarette factories in
Greece and Russia and by the end of 2018, PMI plans to have a total
annual installed capacity of approximately 100 billion heated tobacco
units.
IQOS and HEETS have been available for adult smokers in
Bucharest since November 2015 and in 16 cities throughout Romania from
the beginning of this year. IQOS is currently available in key
cities in more than 27 markets around the world and is expected to be
available in 30-35 markets, either key cities or nationwide by the end
of 2017, as capacity permits.
Commenting on this announcement, André Calantzopoulos, PMI’s Chief
Executive Officer, said:
“Our investment in Romania further demonstrates our commitment to a
future in which smoke-free products ultimately replace cigarettes. We
are encouraged by the 2.9 million smokers around the world who have
already given up smoking and switched to IQOS. We expect this momentum
to continue and the conversion of the Romanian facility will help us to
meet the growing demand from adult smokers for better alternatives to
cigarettes.”
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 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/20170725005614/en/
Source: Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International
Media Office
T: +41 (0)58
242 4500
E: media@pmi.com