Imperial Tobacco has sold its manufacturing location in Trossingen, Germany to F + C Papiervertriebsgesellschaft mbH, according to a company press release.

The location in Trossingen has been used for the production of filter tubes, including for the EFKA brand. The change of ownership takes effect retroactively to 1 October 2020. The buyer is part of Mignot & De Block, a Dutch group known in Germany mainly through its subsidiary, GIZEH Raucherbedarf GmbH.
According to the press release, Imperial Tobacco was forced to discontinue its production operation for filter tubes in Trossingen in the first half of 2020. The closure was the result of lasting under-utilisation of production capacity in the wake of declining production quantities and the loss of trademark agreements.
However, with the takeover of the entire EFKA grounds, all of the buildings located there and further parts of the current fleet of machinery like spare parts, the production location in Trossingen, and some 80 local jobs is now likely to be preserved for the future. The traditional EFKA brand, together with all of the related patents and other trademark rights, are not part of the sale and remain the sole property of Imperial Tobacco.
“EFKA has been an integral part of Trossingen for more than 108 years,” said Helmut Rutschke, Managing Director of EFKA. “To have to halt our production here is still very painful personally and, particularly with regard to the employees affected. On the other hand, we are pleased to be able to hand the location over to a buyer that wants to continue production – and, with it, an important part of Trossingen’s economic tradition. We wish all parties involved every success.”
“We are delighted to lead a well-positioned production location with highly qualified employees into a new future, even beyond the production of filter tubes,” Christian Hinz, CEO of the Mignot & De Block Group Germany. “Our investment in the site is long-term and growth-oriented.”