STMA Approves Technical Transformation of Production Lines of Key Brand

Source from:  Fujian Province 09/25/2007

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) - the regulator of China's tobacco industry - has approved a plan of Longyan Cigarette Factory in southeast China's Fujian Province to conduct a large-scale technical transformation of the production lines of its big competitive Jingpin (Superior) Seven Wolves cigarette brand. On September 10, the STMA issued an official document to approve the plan of Longyan Cigarette Factory - a key Chinese tobacco manufacturer designated by the STMA - to start the project of large-scale technical transformation of the exclusive production lines of Jingpin Seven Wolves, with an estimated total investment of 1 billion yuan (132 million U.S. dollars). The designed capacity of the production lines after the technical transformation will be 400,000 cases (20 billion cigarettes) per year, with enough room for future development. The project of large-scale technical transformation of the exclusive production lines of Jingpin Seven Wolves covers an area of construction of 86,820 square meters in a new site, mainly including the construction of a new joint production workshop building, a support materials warehouse, an essences and flavorings storage and support facilities for production and living. In the implementation of the project of technical transformation, a series of new production lines will be built - a leaf tobacco cutting line with a comprehensive production capacity of 6,000 kilograms per hour, a cut stem production line with a capacity of 1,500 kilograms per hour and an experimental production line with a capacity of 500 kilograms per hour. Part of the existing cigarette making and packing equipment will be relocated to the new site. In accordance with the needs for the development of production in future, a series of new equipment and systems will be built or installed at the new site - new cigarette making and packing equipment, cigarette case packing and sealing units, filter rods production equipment, and logistic support and distribution systems. Besides, efforts will be made to technically transform or renew part of the existing equipment at the power center, establish a new computer network system, and the fire fighting and production safety control systems and upgrade the existing information system. According to general arrangements for implementation of the project of technical transformation, work will be started to level the ground of the new site and enable it to gain access to electric power supply, water supply and the communications system. Efforts will also be made to start tender bidding for general planning and designing of the project. The technically transformed new production lines of Jingpin Seven Wolves are expected to go into operation in the second half of 2009. Enditem