Continental Tobacco is implementing an investment worth nearly HUF 10 billion in the 130-year-old tobacco factory belonging to the company group in Sátoraljaújhely. As part of the investment, a 3-storey factory hall, with each floor being 1,800 square meters, will be built on the factory site equipped with modern technology. The tobacco primary processing being renewed in the new plant, as the company will further expand and modernize its machine park. On one hand, the investment was necessary by the recent handover of a second tobacco expansion plant, as the company’s two tobacco expanders now have greatly increased demands for cut tobacco, which is difficult for the one plant to serve. In addition, it would not be possible to modernize the process of tobacco preparation in the current building, due to its technical features and limits. Construction work on the plant began in February this year, currently it is proceeding according to plan, and the entire reinforced concrete framework of the plant will be completed by September, therefore the handover can take place at the end of March 2022.
The ground floor of the new plant will be partly sunk below ground level; at this level there will be service rooms such as the spareparts warehouse, maintenance department, vacuum and the compressor room. On the second level, a new tobacco primary line will be placed, equipped with an industrial robot for even more efficient work. All of this not only modernizes the workflow, but also provides more process control, which allows further improvements in product quality. On the third level, a part of tobacco cut filler storage warehouse and part of a technological space will be set up to accommodate machines. The new plant will be equipped with modern infrastructure, thus equipped with automatic humidity and temperature control equipment. On the same floor, new area will be available for secondary equipment as cigarette making machine with laser perforation technology, cigar making and spiral overwrapping machines, packaging machine components and other modern laboratory instruments were procured.
The predecessor factory hall will have new functions upon completion of the investment as new cut filler packaging unit to be added to the old part of the plant, and a new freezer rooms will also be built on this level.
Csaba Füzi, Managing Director of Continental Tobacco Corporation, said in connection with the investment that in the last almost two decades the company has made investments almost every year that have greatly improved its competitiveness. He added that the construction of the new plant hall is another defining milestone in Continental’s history, as it will allow the company to produce even more cut tobacco, increasing the production capacity about 25 percent. The Managing Director said in addition, that the new plant also marks a new era for the company, as the investment will allow them to further modernize their tobacco production processes and put new machines using modern technology into operation. The capacity expansion will also provide an opportunity for Continental to create additional jobs in the region if needed. Finally, Csaba Füzi said that in view of the future, they always keep in mind the continuous development, so they have further plans for both product development and expansion of production capacity.