Factory Focus

At the recent World Tobacco exhibition in Hyderabad, one local company took full advantage of the opportunity to stand out and be counted. Hitkari Group, Established in 1896, comprises Hitkari Multifilters Ltd., India’s number one producer of top quality filter rods, and Hitkari Trading Corporation are exclusive business partners with various leading companies, and Hitkari’s booth was an impressive exercise in marketing savvy and customer service-oriented marketing.

“The Hitkari stand was one of the best stalls in the exhibition and also the most crowded one,” said Hitkari Groups’ c.e.o. Arun Hitkari. 

Celanese Emulsion Polymers has announced the launch of a low odor vinyl acetate/ethylene (VAE) emulsion, Celvolit 149LV, to meet the new national tobacco adhesives standard in China. Celvolit 149LV balances the new standard for residual monomer level with the high-performance characteristics for which Celanese is known in the tobacco industry. 

“Celvolit 149LV is much lower than the new national standard for residual monomer levels in China while still offering adhesive producers good adhesion, wet tack and shear resistance properties,” said Anna An, Celanese Emulsions marketing manager. 

Parkside Flexibles Group has announced the opening of a new world class facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Dato Mukriz Mahathir, Malaysia’s deputy minister of international trade and industry, opened Parkside Flexibles first overseas production facility in Kuala Lumpur last March. Parkside believes its new manufacturing base will enable greater strategic alignment with its customers and will deliver further growth for the business whilst improving the supply chain to its Asian customer base.

NDC Infrared Engineering, UK- and US-based manufacturer of process measurement systems, has announced the launch of its new InfraLab e-Series multi-component at-line tobacco analyzer. Suitable for green leaf threshing, incoming bales/cases, primary, expanded tobacco, reconstituted sheet tobacco, treated stern, chewing tobacco/snuff, final blend, roll-your-own, pipe tobacco and cigar filler, the analyzer uses non-contacting multi-wavelength NIR technology to measure the key parameters of moisture, nicotine and sugars. Calibrated to the process plant’s primary reference methods, the InfraLab provides measurements right beside the production line - to laboratory accuracy.