Philip Morris International investing over CZK 1 billion in Kutná Hora factory

Philip Morris International (PMI) plans to invest over CZK 1 billion in its plant in Kutná Hora, which has long been one of the company's key production sites for traditional tobacco products. The investment will expand the plant’s capacities for making fillings for smokeless products and add technical laboratories aimed at ensuring production quality standards.

PMI Group CEO Jacek Olczak visited Czechia to make the announcement. He said the investment is part of the company’s plan to replace cigarettes with better alternatives as quickly as possible. The investment is another step forward that supports the growing adoption of smoke-free products and declining cigarette smoking rates in Czechia, Olczak added.

“Symbolically, Kutná Hora, which has more than two centuries of history in tobacco processing, is now becoming an integral part of a movement leading the future of the industry, society, and public health,” he said in a press release.

The investment will also help PMI meet its sustainability goals, which include manufacturing practices that respect the environment, as well as supporting and developing local business, including employment, Olczak said.

The Kutná Hora plant is one of the five largest PMI cigarette manufacturing facilities. Most of the current production is exported to other European and non-European markets. The production of consumables for smoke-free products will further contribute to the country’s exports.

PMI says its non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes such as heated tobacco or e-cigarettes are addictive and not risk-free but can generate significantly lower levels of harmful compounds compared to cigarettes.

In the first quarter of 2023, around 35 percent of PMI’s total net revenues came from these non-combustible products, and PMI hopes to become a majority smoke-free business by 2025.

Andrea Gontkovičová, chairman of the board of directors and managing director of Philip Morris ČR, said the investment is an important signal of the parent company’s confidence in the Czech economy and its potential, along with the country’s ability to leverage innovation. “I am very happy that my dream of our Kutná Hora factory producing smoke-free products is starting to become a reality,” she said.