IMPERIAL Tobacco, a subsidiary of the Hanson group, has purchased the small cigar manufacturer, Cadena, which employs 60 people at Conna, Co Cork. The company has also purchased its Dutch sister company, Cadena Claassen, for an undisclosed sum.
The Co Cork company manufactures cigars under the Cadena and Carl Upmann brands, as well as private label products for export to Europe.
The company, together with Cadena Claassen, annually produces 43 million cigars which are sold in Germany, France, Belgium and Norway, and accounts for almost 9 per cent of the Dutch market.
A spokesman for the Imperial Group stressed yesterday that it had no plans to introduce any major changes at the Irish operation, which he said was both "efficient and well run". Cadena has been based at Cork since 1979.
Imperial is the second largest manufacturer of cigarettes, cigars, hand rolling and pipe tobaccos for both the Irish and British markets. Its brands include John Player King Size, Superkings, Embassy and Golden Virginia as well as Classic Cigars. The company reported operating profits of £347 million last year on sales of £3.5 billion.
