The Philip Morris’s Industry

Who it is?

Philip Morris International is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world:

- It produces many of the world's best-selling cigarette brands, including the most popular brand worldwide

- Its brands are made in more than 50 factories around the world and sold in over 160 markets

- Founded in the 19th century, Philip Morris has grown into a worldwide organization; today Philip Morris International alone employs more than 70,000 people

Its goal, to quote their mission statement, is "to offer the best smoking experience to every adult smoker in the world, today and tomorrow"

What it does?

• Its products

It currently produces seven of the top twenty best-selling global cigarette brands, including the world's number one brand.

Phillip Morris‘s Brands are:

Marlboro
Virginia Slims
Merit
Parliament
Benson &Hedges
L&M
Chesterfield
Lark
Cambridge
Basic

• Tobacco farming

Philip Morris International does not its any tobacco farms. It buys its tobacco from leaf merchant companies and farmers from all over the world, including Brazil, Greece, Italy, Malawi, Poland, Thailand, Turkey and the US.

It works closely with tobacco farmers, government agencies and universities to share and promote best practices in tobacco farming. Its goal is to ensure both that it has a worldwide supply of quality tobacco for its products and that the farming communities on which it depends can thrive on a sustainable basis.

Growing quality tobacco starts with the careful preparation of the seedbed and seedling production. Tobacco seeds are tiny (there are between 10,000 and 30,000 to a gram) but they germinate rapidly in 5-10 days. Under the appropriate seedbed conditions, they will grow to a height of between 15 and 20cm in about two months. They are then transplanted to the field.

After 3-4 months in the fields, the plants are ready for harvesting. Two of the three main types of tobacco - Virginia and Oriental - are harvested in successive stages, starting with the early-ripening leaves closest to the ground, then moving up the plant as the remaining stalk layers ripen. The other main type of tobacco - Burley - is primarily harvested in one operation by cutting down the plant and removing the leaves from the stalk after curing.

The curing process plays a major role in final leaf quality, and the skill of the farmer is crucial to bringing out different tobaccos' characteristic tastes.

Virginia tobacco is cured in a process called "flue curing". The tobacco is hung in specialized curing barns where heated air removes water from the leaves. This process takes up to a week, during which time the temperature must be constantly monitored and gradually increased. Too much heat or cold at any stage of the process will have a negative impact on quality.

Burley tobacco is "air cured" in well-ventilated barns, a process taking up to two months. Oriental tobacco is dried by "sun-curing", in which the leaves are hung outside, exposed to the sun.

Once cured, the tobacco leaves are sorted by the farmer according to stalk position and leaf characteristics, packed into bales and delivered to an auction floor or receiving centre where its leaf buyers, experts in leaf quality and assessment, carefully judge the quality of the leaves by variations in colour, texture and aroma.

• Cigarette production

After harvesting and curing, tobacco leaf is transported to manufacturing sites all over the world. The tobacco is allowed to age for up to three years in controlled environments to enhance its flavour.

Then the tobacco is prepared for processing and cigarette production. Transporting and humidifying the now brittle leaf has to be done with care, allowing for the fine art of blending to take place.

The major ingredient in each cigarettes is tobacco. A number of other ingredients may be added to the tobacco, including processing aids, humectants (which keep the tobacco moist and pliable), preservatives and brand-specific flavours. After the tobacco has been cut, it is stored in giant silos before entering the cigarette manufacturing process.

Manufacturing cigarettes is a fast-paced, highly automated process; machines produce between 8,000 and 14,000 cigarettes every minute. Spools of cigarette paper up to 6,000 metres long are rolled out and tobacco is placed on it. The paper is closed over the tobacco, making one long cigarette known as a "rod".

Machines slice this super-sized "rod" into much shorter lengths, insert filters, and finally cut the shorter lengths into individual filter cigarettes. Every single cigarette is checked at three different stages for the quality of its construction.

The cigarettes are then sorted into pack-sized groups, wrapped in foil to preserve their aroma, packed and put into shipping cases.

Although the manufacture of cigarettes is a highly automated process, it will never lose its human element. Supervision of the production process is vital: inspection of the leaf, blending, and quality assurance of the final product can never be left solely to machines.

• Production principles

Its works with governments around the world to ensure that its production methods are sound, sustainable and socially responsible, and it is committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business activities.

For almost a decade now its family of companies has been guided by a set of nine environmental principles, which include:

-the reduction of waste and of the environment impact of its packaging
-the development of new practices to foster long-term solutions to environmental problems
- programmes to encourage its employees to protect the environment at work, at home and in their communities
- close cooperation with local and national authorities, industry, and public interest groups to develop sound environmental policies
It is these principles that are behind such recent developments as the reduction in the weight of cigarette packaging in Australia, the increased reuse and recycling of waste products, such as tobacco dust, in Europe, and the launch of an agroforestry partnership in Malawi.