The market for innovative tobacco products is growing dynamically and today it makes up about 11 percent of the entire tobacco market in Poland. Recognizing this trend, JTI group not only introduces a new tobacco heating device to the Polish market, but also expands its production plant for innovative products in Stary Gostków near Łódź. The value of this investment this year will reach about 200 million dollars. One of the most modern factories of this type in Europe will significantly increase employment by the end of the year. – Poland perfectly fulfills conditions for a production centre, so investing in the local market is a logical choice – says Edoardo Voletti, president of JTI Poland.
– JTI has made significant investments in Poland, which amount to nearly 1.3 billion dollars, and we still allocate substantial funds for them. Our plant is currently equipped with the most modern devices and we produce, among other things, inserts for heating tobacco, which go all over the world. The plant is also developing in terms of the number of employees, and by the end of this year, we plan to increase employment – Voletti announced in an interview with the Newseria Business agency.
JTI Group has been investing in Poland since 2007. Since then, it has managed to almost sixfold increase its share in the Polish tobacco market – from 5 percent to almost 30 percent. The flagship investment of the conglomerate is the factory in Stary Gostków near Łódź, one of the most modern in Europe, where almost all categories of tobacco products are manufactured. Over the years, the plant has been successively expanded, and currently about 80 percent of its production goes to export to 70 countries around the world.
– In Gostków we have one large facility divided into four factories – a factory of traditional cigarettes, a factory of liquids for electronic cigarettes, a factory of cigars and smoking tobacco, and now also a plant producing innovative tobacco products. This is a plant that uses the latest technologies currently available on the market – says the president of JTI Poland. – At the moment we employ about 2 thousand people in Gostków, and in the factory producing innovative tobacco products we currently have about 150 employees. By the end of the year, we plan to increase their number to 200, so we are currently looking for new employees.
The expansion and increase in employment results from the introduction to the Polish market – as one of the first for JTI – a new tobacco heating device under the Ploom X brand. The tobacco inserts for it are produced exactly in Poland, from where they will also reach other European markets. The factory of innovative products in Poland is the only one of its kind JTI factory outside of Japan.
– The value of investment in the new plant will reach 200 million dollars. – says Edoardo Voletti. – Poland has a favourable location in the centre of Europe, you can easily get here from all directions, so it perfectly fulfills the definition of a production center. But that’s just one of the reasons, because Poland also has a professional, well-trained workforce. In addition, it is a stable and trustworthy country in terms of politics. Most importantly, it is a large market for tobacco products. Taking all these factors into consideration, investing in Poland is a logical choice.
The launch of tobacco insert production is to satisfy the growing demand for innovative tobacco products on the Polish and European market.
– In recent years there has been a significant increase in the market for heated tobacco products. Currently, their share in the total consumption of tobacco is about 11 percent and continues to grow – says the president of JTI Poland.
Data cited by the company from the Market Monitoring Centre shows that in Warsaw this share may even be twice as large (25 percent). Throughout the country, the market for heated tobacco products is developing dynamically, and its value is estimated at PLN 4.8 billion.
– We strive to offer consumers the widest choice and the best options in individual product categories. Now, when we have a ready, new product, we decided to enter the market with it not only in Poland, but in several countries worldwide – says Edoardo Voletti.
The factory in Gostków is not the only JTI investment in Poland. In Warsaw, the company has its Global Business Services Center, which has been operating for four years and supports its processes around the world, in areas such as finance, human resources management, marketing and sales, as well as legal and regulatory issues. Total employment of JTI in Poland is over 3.4 thousand people.
– Our sales unit currently operates in Warsaw with a team of 400 people and a large business services center, employing about a thousand workers – says the president of JTI Poland. – It is the employees who are at the heart of our activities. As a confirmation, let me mention that for the last six years we have taken the top two places in the ranking of the best employers in Poland.
According to this year’s report by the Polish Academy of Sciences, nearly one in three adult Poles (28.8 percent), which is over 10 million people, smoke cigarettes. In 2022, 30.8 percent of men and 27.1 percent of women admitted to smoking every day. The tobacco industry has been undergoing a technological revolution for several years, the result of which is a gradual shift away from traditional cigarettes towards smoke-free innovative products (NGP, next generation products). The Japan Tobacco Group stated that in 2023-2025, it intends to invest approximately 300 billion yen or over PLN 8.8 billion in the global expansion of heated tobacco products.
