Philip Morris International (PMI), a leading company in the products without combustion, today announced the launch in Italy of IQOS ILUMA, the first IQOS device to introduce the induction technology for heating tobacco from the inside, without the presence of foil in the device. The sticks to be used with IQOS are made in Italy for the whole world, in production center of Bologna, the result of an investment of over 1 billion euros, where today more than 1700 people work.
Last October, PMI announced an investment plan for Italy of around 600 million euros over three years, with an estimated direct, indirect and induced impact on employment of around 8000 jobs along the supply chain. Investments are in manufacturing, in new machinery and technologies, linked to new products.
“Starting from the feedback of consumers, we have created a superior product, which is not only the most innovative we have made to date, but also the simplest and most intuitive, offering the real taste of tobacco, but without the combustion" he explains during the press conference Stefano Volpetti, PMI President Smoke-Free Products Category & Chief Consumer Officer, who added: “Our commitment to innovation is central to our corporate mission to build a smoke-free future, and IQOS ILUMA represents another step forward in our efforts to accelerate the global elimination of cigarettes”. Compared to previous versions, the new product leaves no tobacco residue in the device, less odor, and no need to clean the device.
Il title Philip Morris International listed at Nyse it closed at $92,50, up 1,76%.
In Bologna the main global center for manufacturing: 7500 Italian companies involved
The heating technology of IQOS ILUMA is the "Smartcore induction system" which heats new tobacco sticks specially designed and manufactured in Italy in the plant in Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna.
“Italy is increasingly central to Philip Morris International's vision thanks also to an integrated supply chain that starts from the cultivation of tobacco, develops through Italian industrial excellence and arrives at the most innovative digital services for the consumer, employing 38.000 people and collaborating with 7500 companies” said Marco Hannappel, President and CEO of Philip Morris Italia. Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna, created in 2016, is the main global center for the manufacturing of new combustion-free products, which from Italy are exported all over the world for a value that in 2020 was more than 1,5 billion euros.
The production chain involves over 7500 Italian companies and generates approximately 460 million euros for the supply of goods and services in Italy.
“At the end of last September there were 19,5 million smokers who have already switched to IQOS globally (excluding Russia and Ukraine)” says a company note, “of which over 2,5 million in Italy. Philip Morris's goal, globally, is that by 2025 at least 40 million cigarette smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke will choose to switch to products without combustion”. “We are halfway there with respect to the goals up to 2025” explained Volpetti.
From Bologna, a strengthening of the entire tobacco supply chain in Italy
The presence of the Bologna plant for the new combustion-free products has further strengthened the integrated supply chain of PMI in Italy, which had already entered into supply chain agreements with the MIPAAF and Coldiretti in the early 2000s for the purchase Italian tobacco: Philip Morris invested about 2 billion euros and is the first purchaser of Italian tobacco production, the most important in Europe.
MIPAAF and Philip Morris Italia renewed last April understanding for the promotion and sustainability of the Italian tobacco supply chain: an investment of up to 100 million euros for the year 2022 in Italian tobacco, which will have an estimated direct, indirect and induced employment impact of up to 28.700 people and an estimated direct, indirect economic impact and induced up to 75 million euros in Veneto, 77 million in Umbria and 82 million in Campania.
Last October was inaugurated in Bologna the Center for Industrial Excellence, the world's largest SME for industrialisation, process innovation, engineering and sustainability.
The Center involves around 250 highly qualified people, considering the people who currently work in Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna in these activities and the new job positions transferred and created in Italy.
In Taranto the Philip Morris Digital Information Service Center for assistance
In November 2020, the Philip Morris Digital Information Service Center (DISC) was inaugurated in Taranto, the advanced assistance center of current and potential Italian customers of innovative products without combustion. This investment will reach up to 100 million euros in five years. The center, which already employs over 300 people selected and managed by a leading company in the branch of digital services to the consumer, represents a further important step in the integration of the Italian chain of smokeless tobacco products, from agricultural production to Customer Support.
The Philip Morris Institute for Manufacturing Competences for training
In June of this year, the new Philip Morris Institute for Manufacturing Competences (IMC) was inaugurated center for higher education of skills related to Industry 4.0, dedicated to the development of industrial skills of the future, with a particular focus on training and professionalisation, technology transfer and open innovation, applied research and the university-company relationship. The Center was born as an open system, whose activities will be aimed at the people of Philip Morris and its supply chain, as well as at the entire economic, entrepreneurial, education and training world, at a regional and national level. The creation of the Philip Morris IMC sees the involvement of the Emilia-Romagna Region and important entities in the academic and training world, including theUniversity of Bologna, il Polytechnic of Bari e ITSMaker, and technological innovation and skills development, including the BI-Rex consortium and ART-ER.
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