Japan Tobacco International
 |
|
| Industry | Tobacco |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Key people
|
Eddy Pirard President and CEO Masamichi Terabatake Deputy CEO, Executive Vice President, Emerging Products & Corporate Strategy |
| Products | Cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, snus, pipe tobacco, cigars |
|
Number of employees
|
25,000 (2011) |
| Website | www.jti.com |
Eddy Pirard President and CEO
JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco, a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and sells its brands in 120 countries.
As of 2011, JTI employed about 25,000 people around the world at 90 offices, 24 factories (producing cigarettes), 6 research & development centers and 5 tobacco processing facilities.
Eddy Pirard is the President and CEO and Masamichi Terabatake is the Deputy CEO, Executive Vice President, Emerging Products & Corporate Strategy.
JTI was formed in 1999 when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased, for USD 7.8 billion, the international tobacco operations of the US multinational R.J. Reynolds.
In 2007, Gallaher Group, a FTSE 100 business, was acquired by Japan Tobacco Inc. for GBP 9.4 billion. At the time, this was the largest foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.
In 2009, the JT Group acquired part of the worldwide business of Tribac Leaf Limited (a company that trades tobacco in Africa), as well as two Brazilian companies active in the tobacco business, Kannenberg and KBH&C. In the same year, the JT Group also set up JTI Leaf Services, a joint venture with two leaf suppliers in the US – Hail & Cotton Inc. and JEB International.
The three largest Canadian tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-Macdonald Corp and Rothmans Benson & Hedges, are the subject of the largest class action lawsuit in Canadian history. The case started on March 12, 2012 in Quebec Superior Court, and the companies face a potential payout of C$27 billion (US $27.30 billion) in damages and penalties. In addition, a number of Canadian provinces are teaming up to sue tobacco companies to recover healthcare costs caused by smoking.
On June 1st 2015, Quebec Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan has awarded more than $15 billion to Quebec smokers in a landmark case that pitted them against three Canadian cigarette giants, including JTI-Macdonald Corp. JTI was ordered to pay 13% of the total, or C$2bn. The company stated “JTI-Macdonald Corp fundamentally disagrees with today’s judgment and intends to file an appeal,” it said. “The company strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the court’s conclusions.” The plaintiffs in the court case stated that even if an appeal was lodged, the companies were required to pay C$1bn within 60 days.
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