Relocated Key Cigarette Factory to go Into Operation

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 12/27/2010

Kunming Cigarette Factory of HongyunHonghe Tobacco Group in southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province - a key cigarette factory that has been relocated to a new site in a costly project of technological transformation, is expected to go into operation in the first half of 2011, with the designed annual production capacity to reach 75 billion cigarettes (1.5 million cases). On December 16, a high-level delegation of local Chinese Party and government organs, led by Kunming City Communist Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Kunming City Mayor Zhang Zulin, inspected the site of relocation and technological transformation of Kunming Cigarette Factory, giving instructions on site. Started in 2007, the project of relocation and technological transformation of Kunming Cigarette Factory involves a total investment of 6.346 billion yuan (933 million U.S. dollars). The relocated Kunming Cigarette Factory covers a total area of 1,177.8 mu (78.52 hectares). By the end of September 2010, the construction and fitting of the joint workshop building, the production direction center, the dining hall and other support facilities at the new site of Kunming Cigarette Factory had been completed. In late January and early February 2011, the existing production equipment at the previous site of Kunming Cigarette Factory will be totally moved to the new site. In March 2011, the new Kunming Cigarette Factory is to go into operation. Upon completion of the project of relocation and technological transformation, the new Kunming Cigarette Factory will have had an annual production capacity of 75 billion cigarettes (1.5 million cases), and will have become a first-rate modern Chinese tobacco manufacturing base that will also be advanced in the world. The 6.346 billion yuan (933 million U.S. dollar) project of relocation and technological transformation of Kunming Cigarette Factory covers the construction of the new site of the factory, installation of modern cigarette production equipment, a science-technology development park for the Yunyan brand cigarettes, the management headquarters and logistic support and guarantee facilities of HongyunHonghe, parking systems and other facilities on a area of of 1,177.8 mu (78.52 hectares). Besides completion of the construction and fitting of the joint workshop building, the production direction center, the dining hall and other support facilities that were started in 2007, the installation and debugging of the equipment at the power supply center and public works have also been completed. The leaf tobacco cutting line and the newly imported cigarette making equipment have all been transported to the new site of the factory, and are currently undergoing single-unit and joint debugging. It is expected that the work of loaded joint debugging and shift among different brands of the leaf tobacco cutting line, the distribution system and the newly imported cigarette making line and filter tip shaping machine will be completed by the end of December 2010. According to HongyunHonghe Board of Directors Chairman Yao Qingyan, the existing production equipment at the previous site of Kunming Cigarette Factory will be totally moved to the new site in late January and early February 2011. In March 2011, the new Kunming Cigarette Factory is to go into operation. Upon completion of the project of relocation and technological transformation, the new Kunming Cigarette Factory will have had an annual production capacity of 75 billion cigarettes (1.5 million cases), and will have become a first-rate modern Chinese tobacco manufacturing base that will also be advanced in the world, Yao said. In a related development, the project of technological transformation of Qujing Cigarette Factory - another subsidiary of HongyunHonghe - is also busy underway. The installation and debugging of the distribution facilities and leaf tobacco cutting at Qujing Cigarette Factory were conducted simultaneously in the second half of 2010. The process of establishing a support modern information system at Qujing Cigarette Factory will be started soon. Enditem