Fire Levels Picus's Dominican Republic Cigar Box Factory

Source from:  SMOKESHOP 09/04/2009

Santiago, Dominican Republic - A voracious fire destroyed Picus Dominican, Inc., a cigar box factory in Villa González, Santiago in the Dominican Republic on Friday, June 26. Located in the Palmarejo industrial free zone adjacent to the cigar factories of Oettenger Davidoff Group-Cigars Davidoff, Occidental Cigars, and OK Cigars-the building was quickly consumed by the fast-burning blaze. None of the factory's 200 workers were injured, having fled the building at the first sign of fire, according to local reports. Firefighters from Villa González, Tamboril, Navarrete, Esperanza, and Santiago battled the blaze-which reportedly started after 9:30 am-well into the evening hours. A crane was called in to demolish walls on the north side of the facility to allow firefighters to penetrate the blaze even as flames continued to destroy hundreds of tons of timber and fuel stored there. A shipment of mahogany and cedar to manufacture boxes for foreign markets had arrived the night before, an employee who preferred not to be identified told local media. The blaze left all 200 workers jobless. While none of the adjacent Oettenger Davidoff cigar factories were damaged by the blaze, the Picus facility supplied all of the boxes for the Davidoff brands, as well as certain quantities of boxes for other cigar makers including La Aurora. Reports indicate that it will be at least six months before Dominican box production can be restored, potentially affecting cigar exports for the affected manufacturers who must make alternate arrangements. Picus Dominicana is the largest facility of Picus Group, the largest cigar box manufacturer in the world, with additional factories in Nicaragua and the Philippines. Manufacturing was formerly based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, where the company traces its roots back to 1883. Eindhoven production ceased in 2001. Enditem