Our Strength

Manufacturing Strength & Process

Our manufacturing capabilities are our biggest asset. We can produce quality products of Cigarettes having production capacity of 200 Million Sticks per month. In addition, We undertake stringent quality control from production to distribution and from raw materials to finished products. To ensure the highest quality, we have introduced advanced production and quality control and have enlisted the help of expert professional management personnel.

Process of Manufacturing

1. About Tobacco: - In the first stage of the growing process, tobacco seeds are sown in specially constructed seedbeds. At the same time, farmers carefully prepare the soil in their fields. After two months in the beds, the seeds have grown into plants approximately 15-20 centimetres high and are ready to be transplanted to the field. The plants grow in the field for a further two to three months. Throughout the growing process, the plants are cultivated to maximize yield and quality, the soil is tended regularly, and care is taken to protect the plants from pests and disease. The Picture of the Field is shown as left side :- .

Harvesting is the next stage of the process. Harvesting is either done leaf by leaf or by the whole plant. Harvesting has to take place when the leaves are mature (or ripe) and in prime condition for the next stage, the curing process.

Curing plays a major role in contributing to the final leaf quality. Different ways of curing are used for different types of tobacco: air-curing, flue-curing, and sun-curing. Once the leaves are cured, the farmer sorts them according to their quality and stalk position. The leaves are then packed into bales ready to be shipped. Tobacco bales are moved to a buying station where they are assessed and subsequently purchased by leaf buyers. The tobacco is then processed.

2. Types of Tobacco :- The three most commonly used tobacco types are Virginia (or 'flue-cured'), burley, and oriental.

  • Virginia (flue-cured) tobacco is often referred to as 'bright tobacco' because of the golden-yellow to deep-orange color it reaches during curing. Virginia tobacco is cured in heated barns (thus the name flue-cured). The curing process takes a week. Virginia tobacco has a light, bright aroma and taste. Major Virginia tobacco growing countries are Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Zimbabwe,Tanzania, and U.S.
  • Burley tobacco is light to dark brown in color. Burley tobacco is air-cured in barns. During the long curing process, which takes up to two months, the tobacco loses most of its natural sugars, and develops a strong, almost cigar-like taste. Major Burley growing countries are Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Malawi, and the U.S.
  • Oriental tobacco is highly aromatic. It has small leaves which are harvested leaf by leaf, much like Virginia tobacco and sun-cured in the open air. Major oriental tobacco growing countries are Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and Turkey.

3. Grades of Leaf in Blend :- One tobacco plant can produce several grades of leaf. For example, the leaves at the top of the plant are more exposed to the sun than the ones at the bottom. Grades are generally determined by a leaf's position on the plant, its thickness, aroma, graininess and colour (lemon, orange and mahogany are the most typical) and the quality and maturity of the plant. The quality of the various grades is determined by the leaf's ability to withstand manufacturing, as well as its sensory properties, which can result in taste differences, from a harsh experience to a smoother, richer taste. Leaf is bought from growers and sent for threshing, which separates the stem and lamina parts of the leaves. It is sorted by grade and each grade is stored to mature for three months to two years to allow for taste variations in the final product .

4. Tobacco Blends :- Cigarette styles are characterized by their tobacco blend. Two of the most common cigarette blends are American and Virginia.

  • American blend cigarettes typically use the three main tobacco varieties: Virginia, burley, and oriental. Normally, American blend cigarettes have added ingredients to replace the sugars lost during the curing of burley tobacco and to provide the distinctive flavour and aroma of each cigarette brand. American blend cigarettes are the most popular cigarettes in the United States, most of Europe, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and many Asian countries.
  • Virginia blend cigarettes are primarily composed of Virginia tobacco. Some Virginia blends, called modified Virginia blends, contain small amounts of burley and/or oriental tobaccos. Virginia-style cigarettes are popular in most of the British Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria, the U.K., and South Africa). China, the largest cigarette market in the world, is a Virginia market. Virginia blends typically do not use flavor ingredients. However, Virginia blends do use ingredients as processing aids. Other types of cigarettes include cigarettes made from dark or air-cured tobaccos, oriental tobacco cigarettes, and kretek, which contain cloves and are the most popular style of cigarette in Indonesia.

5. Style of Cigarette: - Cigarette brands offer many different tastes and looks. Like many consumer goods, an important difference among brands is based on the different recipes - the way the various grades of tobacco are mixed to make different tastes. Various blend recipes are used to meet the vast range of adult smokers' preferences. All the grades of lamina are carefully blended and cut to ensure consistent smoking characteristics. Cut stem is then added to the lamina to produce the final blend.

6. Cigarette Production: - When processed tobacco leaf arrives at the factory, it is checked for quality and carefully blended with other ingredients that the brand recipe may call for, such as flavourings or expanded tobacco. Keeping track of the various types of tobacco and blend components in use is key and computers are increasingly used to track production runs. Moisture content is also crucial. Too dry and the tobacco leaf will crumble; too moist and it may spoil during storage. The blended tobacco is treated with just the right amount of steam and water to make it supple and is then cut into the form used in cigarettes. Excess moisture is then removed so the cut tobacco can be given a final blending and quality check.

The technology has advanced dramatically over the years. Cigarette making, once done entirely by hand, is now almost fully automated, with the cut tobacco, cigarette paper and filters continuously fed into the cigarette-making machines. Quality is a top priority. Each cigarette is automatically quality controlled to ensure that it meets every aspect of its specification.

Packing machines put them into the familiar brand packs, wrap the packs in protective film and group them into cartons and cases. There is more testing at each stage to make sure the cigarettes are properly protected before the completed cases are ready for distribution.

In manufacturing, each brand has a specific tobacco recipe, a designated paper, filter, level of filter ventilation, tipping and graphic printing.

All the machinery is pre-set to ensure product consistency. The tobacco recipe is conveyed to a cigarette making machine, which wraps the tobacco at high speed in a high quality flax-fibre paper to form a continuous rod. This is then cut to the right length and joined with the filter, to produce the finished cigarette ready for packing.

7. Health & Risks :- Along with the pleasures of smoking there are real risks of serious diseases such as lung cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease, and for many people, smoking is difficult to quit. Smoking is a cause of various serious and fatal diseases, including lung cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and heart diseases.

  • Studies: The health risks of smoking are derived from epidemiology. Epidemiology is a statistically based science, dealing with risks among large groups of people, rather than with individuals. Through questionnaires and observations of people, epidemiological studies can identify the incidence of disease in a given group, such as smokers, and compare it with the incidence in another group, such as non-smokers.
  • Over many years, epidemiological studies have consistently reported a much higher incidence of certain diseases among smokers compared with non-smokers. The studies also report that the risks are reduced after quitting and that quitting earlier has by far the best effect on reducing risks.
  • Traditionally, epidemiology has been used to identify associations that point to possible causes of a disease, providing direction for thorough laboratory investigations. With smoking, the many laboratory investigations over the years have proved more problematic, and science has not to date been able to identify biological mechanisms which can explain with certainty the statistical findings linking smoking and certain diseases, nor has science to date been able to clarify the role of particular smoke constituents in these disease processes. This means that science is still to determine which smokers will get a smoking related disease and which will not. Nor can science tell whether any individual became ill solely because they smoked. This is, in part, because all the diseases that have been associated with smoking also occur in life-long non-smokers.
  • We do not point out these scientific limitations to cast doubt that smoking is a cause of serious disease. An important point is that the lack of complete understanding about the biological aspects of the disease mechanisms, and the role of particular smoke constituents, creates uncertainty for efforts to design less harmful cigarettes. Our own work for many years has included, and still includes, research into the assessment of potentially less harmful cigarettes. We remain committed to this work, although the scientific uncertainties make it a major challenge.
  • What people should consider about the risks :

    Smoking is a cause of various serious and fatal diseases | The health risks in groups vary by the amount smoked, being highest in those that smoke for more years and smoke more cigarettes per day. | The risks reduce in groups of people who quit smoking, and the reductions increase from quitting earlier. Experts advise no smoking during pregnancy. | The only way to be certain of avoiding the risks of smoking is not to smoke.