British American Tobacco (BAT Korea) has announced the completion of its second and third manufacturing plants in its Sacheon Factory.
The manufacturing facility has also been expanded to support the growth of BAT’s 'Tobacco Heating Product', glo. It also announced it will manufacture Neostiks, specially designed tobacco sticks for glo, which are heated by the device to create a ‘vapour with an experience similar to that of a cigarette, but with reduced risk potential’.
BAT Korea has invested approximately KRW200 billion (€158.8 million) and hired more than 200 employees from the Sacheon region. As a result of the investment and expansion, BAT Korea is expecting to produce approximately 40 billion combustible cigarettes a year.
Manufacturing Hub
BAT Korea’s CEO Tony Hayward said: “BAT Korea’s Sacheon Factory is expected to not only take up the role of an export hub of Asia but also a global manufacturing hub of specially designed tobacco Neostiks made exclusively for our THP device glo.
“The BAT Group has high expectations for the expansion of the Sacheon Factory, which is already assessed to be one of the best facilities among the Group’s manufacturing plants. BAT Korea is committed to launching glo in Korea and offering ‘Made in Korea’ products to local adult smokers interested in THPs.”
Glo first launched in Sendai, Japan, last December, and flew into popularity. Its market share reached over 7% in the region within just six months of launch.
At the end of May, BAT announced that it was expanding its sales of the heated tobacco device to Tokyo and other Japanese markets due to high demand.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
