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Reemtsma
The company was founded by Bernhard Reemtsma who acquired the Dixi cigarette factory at Erfurt in Central Germany in 1910. After World War I he switched from hand to machine production and at the same time introduced the stylized Viking boat prow as the company trademark carried on Reemtsma products. In 1923 the company transferred its headquarters to Hamburg and in succeeding years took over half a dozen smaller cigarette companies. By the mid-1930's Reemtsma had sales of 30 Billions p. a., some 75% of total German volume. Following World War II, with its factories bomb-damaged or confiscated in what is now East Germany, Reemtsma rebuilt and today is again West Germany's largest cigarette producer. It owns many of the top brands in that market: PETER STUYVESANT, ERNTE 23, R6 and ATIKA. In 1957 a close association developed with the Badische Tabakmanufaktur Roth-Handle, who have always specialised in black tobacco, and they became a Reemtsma subsidiary in 1959. Roth-Handle brands now account for nearly a quarter of Reemtsma's total cigarette business. In the 1960's the company looked for expansion overseas and established itself in Argentina (Imparciales/Grego) and in Brazil (Santa Cruz), and licence agreements were made in Austria, Finland and Holland. Reemtsma also acquired interests in concerns in Switzerland and Belgium and presently their sales outside West Germany account for 22% of their cigarette business. The company has diversified in recent years and since 1965 has been particularly successful in the drinks sector, especially the beer market, but also in wines. Nevertheless, tobacco still accounts for over 82% of the Group's turnover. In September 1980 the Company was taken over jointly by Tohibo, a major coffee company, and Fran Ingeburg Hertz.
1980 |
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