The ability to reinvent yourself and respond to the different challenges that arise is what often makes the difference between success and failure. It is not the strongest species that survive, said Darwin, but those that are better able to adapt to change, and the same principle could apply to business projects.
Depository of a legacy of more than six decades, the JTI cigarette factory in Tenerife, which concentrates more than 70% of the total tobacco production in the Canary Islands, is an eloquent example of how to evolve to continue adding value in the present and building the future.
Investment and commitment draw a promising future for the JTI factory
The production center has been totally renovated in the last decade thanks to a sustained investment that has allowed it to gain influence and prominence in the manufacturing division of the multinational. The combination of a highly qualified human team, the most advanced technology and a powerful investment of more than 20 million euros between 2018 and 2021, 12 of them in 2021 alone, has made it possible for all the production of cigarettes destined for the European market ( more than 650 million annually) leaves the Chamberí neighborhood in Santa Cruz de Tenerife each year. In this way, the Canary Islands consolidate itself as an industrial powerhouse, capable of competing with other markets whose productive fabric has traditionally enjoyed greater visibility and recognition.
To meet the growing domestic demand, but especially that arising from the foreign market, JTI has reinforced the workforce by 100 new jobs. Jobs that will be added to the more than 300 that the Japanese multinational already generates among its collaborators in the office, commercial network and the aforementioned production plant. The company, with a strong roots in the Canary archipelago, thereby reinforces its presence and commitment to the region.
In addition to improving its competitiveness through innovation and cutting-edge technology, JTI has made a significant effort in recent years to adapt to the new regulatory requirements from Europe regarding traceability. Ensuring that all packs can be monitored from their manufacture to their sale, preventing them from being diverted to illicit channels and therefore the tax fraud that is so damaging to public coffers, has posed a huge economic, technical and human challenge, not to mention the productivity losses from which the sector is still recovering. A challenge that the entire industry has taken on with determination and commitment, and whose results can already be seen in all the packs sold in Spain.
Committed against climate change
Adapting to the new times is not limited to guaranteeing the long-term sustainability of the business, but implies making the challenges and demands of today’s society our own. As a reference operator in more than 130 countries, JTI works actively to minimize the impact of its activity, promoting business practices that are respectful of the environment and at the same time respond to the growing social demand for more sustainable companies and products.
JTI turns its Tenerife factory into the world’s largest cigarette plant
There is a global commitment at JTI to the use of renewable energies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the maximum in all its production centers. In the case of the cigarette factory in Tenerife, an investment of close to 250,000 euros will be made with this objective between 2021 and 2022 to install photovoltaic panels that will reduce CO2 emissions by 160 tons per year. This measure also takes advantage of the enormous potential of the Canarian climate; the place with the most hours of daylight in Europe, with 4,800 solar hours per year.