Acetate Savings of up to One Fifth in Offing

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 04/24/2009

Filtrona Filter Products says that weight savings of up to 20 per cent can be achieved by using its Randomly Orientated Acetate™ (ROA) in the manufacture of super slims cigarettes. The company made this claim yesterday in announcing the findings of its own research in which it compared ROA, for which a patent is pending, with standard mono-acetate filters in super slim formats. The research was carried out using filter rods of 120 mm in length (comprising four 30 mm filter tips) and 16.8 mm in circumference, constructed with 4.2Y33 denier tow. 'The weight saving is advantageous because it significantly reduces the cost to manufacturers of accessing the super slim market …,' Filtrona said in a press note. 'Previously, super slim filters have required premium priced tow to achieve the necessary pressure drop, [but] ROA means that now standard, lower cost tows can be used.' Meanwhile, Filtrona reported that volume sales in the slim and super slim segment are increasing faster than they are in any other segment. Russia has apparently overtaken South Korea as the largest market for slims and super slims, while there is strong growth also in Greece, the Czech Republic and Romania. Enditem