In 1958 a group of tobacco businessmen founded CITA (Centro Industrial Tobaqueros Canarios) to protect the traditional family businesses in the sector, and after various sales and acquisition processes, in 2007 it became wholly owned by Japan Tobacco International (JTI).
JTI is present in more than 70 countries and has more than 44,000 employees of 110 different nationalities. It is the fastest growing international tobacco company in the last 20 years.
The Tenerife factory is a benchmark in the sector industry for being equipped with cutting-edge technology. The investment in innovation, more than 20 million euros in the last four years, makes this center one of the most modern in Europe.
The Canary Islands have always been a very important market for JTI. «Our particular way of being and doing is synonymous with tradition and quality, and these values have allowed us to gain prominence on a global level over the years. Our factory in Tenerife is currently responsible for almost all of the production of cigarettes that the JTI Group markets worldwide, thanks to an unquestionable commitment to this region and sustained investment over time in technology and innovation”, they say from the company.
JTI has been contributing to the development of the local economy for six decades
In addition, the Tenerife factory, which concentrates more than 70% of the total tobacco production in the Canary Islands, supplies markets outside the archipelago with its products. In this sense, it exports products to countries such as France, Greece or Poland.
In this way, the productive center of Tenerife has remained a historical benchmark in the Canarian industrial fabric, adapting to the new times, emphasizing the quality of the products made in the Canary Islands and offering the more than 300 people who depend directly from JTI, the opportunity to prosper and develop professionally in their own land. “Protecting this valuable legacy is a priority for us,” they say from JTI, who also highlight the historical importance of the tobacco industry in the archipelago.
JTI has been producing in the Canary Islands for six decades and thereby contributing to the development of the local economy.
