Farmer-Owned Tobacco Company Honored at International Awards

Source from:  BUSINESS WIRE 12/17/2009

U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Inc. today announced that the company has been honored in the tobacco industry's 2009 Golden Leaf Awards. The Timberlake manufacturer owned by a cooperative of southeastern tobacco farmers won in the category of Most Outstanding Service to the Industry. U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers has the distinction of being the only American company winning this year at the international tobacco industry competition, which is hosted by Tobacco Reporter magazine and sponsored by BMJ. Winners for the fourth annual awards were announced in a November 12 ceremony at the 2009 TABINFO Exhibition and Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. 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 company credits its outstanding service in the past year to a newly implemented strategy of using master distributors to get its 1839 brand cigarettes and other products into the marketplace. U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers has switched from a limited sales force selling direct to retailers, to using a network of master distributors with coverage in over 30 states and internationally. The distributors have enthusiastically promoted 1839 as a high-quality product made by U.S. farmers, and the arrangement has resulted in increased satisfaction for consumers, retailers and distributors alike. This award marks the second consecutive year of U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers winning a Golden Leaf Award. In 2008 the company was honored in the category of Most Promising Product Introduction for its 1839 brand cigarettes, which were launched in 2007. "We are very proud of this award, which represents the accomplishments of our company and our farmers," said Jimmy Barefoot, Senior Vice President of Sales and Product Development. "Winning these two awards means a great deal to us, and we will continue providing excellent service recognized throughout the industry." The Golden Leaf Award winners were selected by an independent panel of tobacco industry experts. Entrants submitted documentation of sales and marketing programs and testimonials from consumers and retailers. [b]About U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Inc.[/b] U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers is a manufacturing and sales subsidiary of U.S. 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 has ventured into product manufacturing with the 2004 purchase of a tobacco manufacturing facility in Timberlake, N.C. The company and its members are involved in every part of the production process, from growing and processing the leaf to product manufacturing and sales. Enditem