New tobacco facility brings jobs to Danville

An international company will bring more tobacco jobs back to Danville.

Japan Tobacco International developed a partnership with Hail & Cotton and J.E.B. International to form JTI Leaf Services, which will process domestic tobacco in Danville, president Steven Daniels of the new company announced Thursday morning.

JTI Leaf Services’ offices, tobacco receiving, processing and finished product storage will be located in the Riverview Industrial Park at 202 Stinson Drive in the former Dan River Distribution Center.

Japan Tobacco’s $19.5 million investment will bring 39 full-time jobs and 150 seasonal jobs by the time the facility is up and running in August 2010.

“We’re excited to be a part of the community and we look forward to a long and successful partnership,” Daniels said.

Daniels, a Danville native, said the company plans to start meeting with local farmers and possibly con-tracting later this fall. The 256,000-square-foot facility should be officially open later this year.

City and state leaders and local tobacco farmers agree that the new company will re-energize Danville’s longstanding tobacco industry.

Because tobacco was once the anchor of the local economy, the new company should have access to a knowledgeable and immediately available work force, Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders said.

“The project will show the agricultural strength of our community and of our region,” Saunders said.

Tobacco is still a key component of the agricultural economy in the area and the state, said Commissioner Todd Haymore of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Haymore, also a Danville native, said the development provides more opportunities for local farmers.

“They’re here. They never left,” Haymore said. “They have the land and the infrastructure. They have the knowledge and the know-how.”

He wants local farmers to persevere in a tough economy as agriculture — the No. 1 industry in the state — is poised to rebound quicker.

“It’d be good to shake things up with another company coming to town,” tobacco farmer Garland Comer of Vernon Hill said.

At age 24, the young Comer would like to continue tobacco farming for a long time and the news provides a “good outlook” for his dream.

“Any time we can get more companies buying our tobacco, that’s good news for us,” tobacco farmer Clarence Emerson of Dry Fork said. “It’s more competition. It gives you options.”

Emerson farms slightly more than 100 acres and agreed the past several years haven’t been so exciting for tobacco producers. He likes the opportunity to sell to an international company, as he sees exports driving the future of the tobacco industry as domestic consumption falls.

“I’m glad to see this industry is continuing to invest and I wish them all the best,” tobacco farmer Johnny Angell of Penhook said. “Maybe I’ll be delivering tobacco to that facility.”

Angell likes how the company offers local farmers more options and an avenue to tap into the export market. For the past several years, he said only one company bought local tobacco in Danville.

The city of Danville worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure the project for Virginia, according to a city news release. The state is committing a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Commission approved up to $250,000 in funding. Tobacco Commission member and Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, presented the funds during Thursday’s briefing.

The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program.

Japan Tobacco International facts:
• JTI, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco Inc, which is the world’s third largest global manufacturer of tobacco products, producing brands such as Winston, Mild Seven, Camel and Silk Cut. For more information, visit http://www.jti.com.
• JTI is the majority shareholder with 60 percent in the JTI Leaf Services joint venture. Hail & Cotton, a tobacco buyer and processor headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., holds 20 percent. J.E.B. International Tobacco Company, a leaf supplier based in Danville that operates tobacco dry storage, holds 20 percent. All U.S. leaf tobacco contracted through
• JTI Leaf Services will be supplied exclusively for JTI.