PMI Invests Nearly $260 Million for Factory Modernization

Key takeaways:

Philip Morris International's (PMI) Polish subsidiary has completed a nearly 1 billion Polish Zloty (260 million US dollars) investment for the modernization of its factory in Krakow, creating over 300 new jobs.

The factory has added a new heated stick production line to produce specialized sticks for the IQOS ILUMA i.

The CEO of PMI's Northeast Europe region stated that the company is transitioning from a traditional cigarette manufacturer to a producer of new tobacco products. Since the launch of IQOS, global cigarette sales have decreased by 28%.

According to Polanddaily24 on April 3rd, Philip Morris International (PMI) Poland's subsidiary (Philip Morris Polska Distribution Sp. z oo) has completed a nearly 1 billion Polish zloty (2.6 million USD) investment in their Kraków factory for modernization. This investment has created over 300 new jobs in Kraków.

This investment enables the factory to produce heating sticks for the latest IQOS ILUMA i. It is worth noting that the sticks use tobacco locally grown in Poland. Over the past decade, PMI has directly purchased over 40,000 tons of tobacco from Polish farmers.

The modernization of PMI's factory in Krakow includes a new production line for heating sticks. These sticks are not only distributed in the Polish market, but also exported to international markets including European Union countries and Asia, with Japan being a key destination. IQOS devices were first launched globally in Japan in 2014.

PMI Northeast Europe President Michał Mierzejewski stated,

Compared to other tobacco companies, we are gradually phasing out cigarettes faster on a global scale. Since the launch of IQOS, we have reduced cigarette sales volume by 28% in the global market. Now, our Krakow factory has also joined the forefront of global transformation, transitioning from a cigarette manufacturer to a manufacturer of smoke-free products.

PMI has invested over $14 billion in scientific research, technological development, and the commercialization of new tobacco products. The development of heat-not-burn tobacco in IQOS has benefited from collaboration with engineers from the International Tobacco Machinery company (ITM) in Lodz, Poland. Currently, PMI's new tobacco products are being sold in 95 markets worldwide.

According to international estimates, there are still over one billion people worldwide who smoke. In Poland, the number of smokers exceeds eight million.