Farmer-Owned Tobacco Company Wins International Award

Source from:  U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Inc. 01/23/2009

TIMBERLAKE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Inc. today announced that the company has been honored in the tobacco industry's 2008 Golden Leaf Awards. The Timberlake manufacturer owned by a cooperative of southeastern tobacco farmers won in the category of Most Promising Product Introduction for its 1839 brand cigarettes, which launched in 2007. The Golden Leaf Awards is an international tobacco industry honor hosted by Tobacco Reporter magazine and sponsored by BMJ. Winners for the third annual awards were announced in an October 16 ceremony at the 2008 Global Tobacco Networking Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Each winner received a trophy and a $1,000 donation to a charity of their choice. U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers has designated St. Jude's Children's Hospital as its charitable beneficiary. The Golden Leaf Award winners were selected by an independent panel of tobacco industry experts, who based their decision on design innovation, response to a need and projected impact on future production efficiency or improved presentation of a final product. Entrants submitted a comparison of their products to existing products, copies of promotional materials, development timelines, budgets and testimonials from users. "The Awards have been well contested this year," noted a Tobacco Reporter representative, "and the nominations received from the tobacco industry have been at the highest level since we commenced the awards." The award caps a year of successful growth for U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers, which has recently expanded its 1839 product family of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco products with the introduction of small cigars and make-your-own cigarette tubes. [b]About U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Inc.[/b] U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers is a manufacturing and sales subsidiary of Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative, a cooperative of tobacco farmers from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Formerly known as the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation, the organization evolved into a product manufacturer with the 2004 purchase of a tobacco manufacturing facility in Timberlake, N.C. The company and its members are involved every part of the production process, from growing and processing the leaf to product manufacturing and sales. More information about U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers and its 1839 brand products are available at http://www.go1839.com. Enditem