Tabaqueira has a long history. Founded in 1927, it recently marked some historic landmarks, including the 90th anniversary of its foundation and the 55th anniversary of the inauguration of the factory in the municipality of Sintra. The last 20 years, after joining PMI, represented a new cycle in the life of this which is the largest tobacco company in Portugal and one of the largest companies in the country.
Our Factory
Inaugurated in 1962 in the municipality of Sintra, the Tabaqueira factory is today one of the main production centers of PMI in the European Union. The Albarraque plant produces cigarettes for the domestic market and for export, as well as so-called semi-tobacco products, exclusively intended for export to other PMI affiliates that do not have such a complete production unit.
The continuous investment in the factory, the application of continuous improvement methodologies and our commitment to always achieve results of excellence have been crucial to increase the competitiveness, production capacity, productivity and manufacturing quality of our products.
In the course of more than 20 years after joining PMI, the production volume at the Tabaqueira plant has more than tripled, due to an average annual investment in the order of 15.5 million euros.
In early 2019, Tabaqueira was the first company in Portugal and the first of Philip Morris International’s European affiliates to receive AWS ( Alliance for Water Stewardship ) certification , which recognizes the company’s best practices in the sustainable use of water, leaving clear our commitment to sustainability in all the activities we carry out.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI)
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is a Swiss-American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris International is often referred to as one of the companies comprising Big Tobacco.
Until a spin-off in March 2008, Philip Morris International was an operating company of Altria. Altria explained the spin-off, arguing PMI would have more “freedom,” i.e. leeway outside the responsibilities and standards of American corporate ownership in terms of potential litigation and legislative restrictions to “pursue sales growth in emerging markets”, while Altria focuses on the American domestic market. The shareholders in Altria at the time were given shares in PMI, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and other markets.
The company’s legal seat is in New York City, yet it does not operate in the United States of America. Philip Morris USA, a subsidiary of PMI’s former owner American parent Altria group, owns the Philip Morris brands there. Operational headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
With tobacco being addictive and the single greatest cause of preventable death globally, the company is highly controversial, not least because of its history of obfuscating scientific evidence around the health impacts of smoking. It has been the subject of litigation and restrictive legislation from governments.
In response to awareness of the harm to health of cigarettes, PMI has declared on its homepage the intention to replace cigarettes with smoke-free products, and to “switch … adult smokers” to these products as the first phase of a business strategy, as a decision for the benefit of “adult smokers” and the companies shareholders and employees.
With the world-wide decrease in smoking in the 21st century, shares of Philip Morris were no longer considered the “safe haven” they once were. The company ranked No. 108 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations by total revenue.