ManufacturerImperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco Canada
Canada's major tobacco company with more than two thirds of the domestic tailor-made cigarette market.
The name Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada first appeared on Montréal’s St. Antoine Street on June 11, 1908, when the then new company was established. It acquired the business of American Tobacco Co. of Canada Ltd. and all of its holdings. These holdings included D. Ritchie and Co. and the American Cigarette Co., the two Canadian firms at the very origin of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
For over 80 years, Imperial Tobacco Canada has been Canada’s largest tobacco company. With its head office in Montréal, the company operates a manufacturing plant in Guelph, Ontario, and a tobacco processing facility in Aylmer, Ontario. Our sales offices are located in major Canadian cities.
The beginning
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, D. Ritchie and Co. operated a tobacco manufacturing business on Dalhousie Street in Montréal. One of its brands was Old Chum. This firm was also one of the pioneers in the cigarette industry, manufacturing Derby cigarettes.
At about the same time, again in Montréal, the American Cigarette Co. began to manufacture cigarettes on Côté Street. In 1895, the American Tobacco Co. – an American company – acquired both the American Cigarette Co. and D. Ritchie and Co.
Shortly thereafter, the American Tobacco Co. of Canada Ltd. was incorporated and purchased the Canadian holdings of the American Tobacco Company of the United States.
Early 1900s
Feeling the need to expand, in 1899, the new company, the American Tobacco Co. of Canada, acquired the firm of Léon Larue Jr., which specialized in snuff manufacturing. It also bought 80% of the shares of Empire Tobacco Co. located in Granby. This company held all the capital stock in La Compagnie de Tabac de Joliette which operated an agricultural plant in Joliette, located north of Montréal.
The next acquisition took place in 1903 with the purchase of B. Houde Co. in Québec City. This company had been in business since 1840 and specialized in pipe tobacco made of "tabac canadien" grown in the Joliette district.
In 1907, the American Tobacco Co. and the American Snuff Co. of New York formed the National Snuff Co., each having a 50% interest. It later became the National Tobacco Co. In 1986, Imperial Tobacco Limited sold the shares it owned in National Tobacco Co. to the United States Tobacco Co., which continues to supply Canadian consumers with smokeless tobacco products.
The American Tobacco Co. of Canada Ltd., which had been operating on Côté Street in Montréal, moved to its new building on St. Antoine Street in 1907. At that time, St. Antoine Street West was far from Montréal's business district and the move was regarded as very radical. The plant was then generally known as the "Sweet Caporal" factory.
In 1908, Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada (ITCo) acquired all of the operations of American Tobacco Co. of Canada Ltd. The B. Houde Co. continued to operate but American Tobacco and Empire Tobacco ceased their manufacturing operations.
The 1908 ITCo was the immediate predecessor of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada Limited (ITCL) which was incorporated on April 3, 1912. The company manufactured cigarettes, smoking and chewing tobaccos, snuff and little cigars but no large cigars. To fill this gap, General Cigar Company, which included the long-established firm of S. Davis & Son, was acquired in 1921. Production of snuff and chewing tobacco ended with the sale of the National Tobacco Co.
1930-1970
In 1930, the company acquired all the common shares of the Tuckett Tobacco Co. The purchase of this company, which originated in 1857 in Hamilton, Ontario under the name of Tuckett & Billings, brought with it Tobacco Products Company of Canada Ltd. and Philip Morris Co. Ltd. In 1942, ITCo also acquired the firm of L.O. Grothé, and in 1949, Newfoundland's Imperial Tobacco Company Limited.
Over the years the company expanded into areas beyond the tobacco industry – a diversification which dictated certain changes in corporate structure. Hence, in 1970, Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada Limited was reorganized and renamed Imasco Limited (IMperial and ASsociated COmpanies), making Imperial Tobacco Limited a subsidiary. Imasco operated in the following areas: tobacco, pharmacies, financial services and real estate. Tobacco products, however, still accounted for a major portion of total Imasco revenues. Imperial Tobacco, then a division of Imasco, manufactured a range of tobacco products, including cigars, cigarillos, fine cut, and, of course, cigarettes.
The recent past
On February 1, 2000, Imperial Tobacco Limited became part of the British American Tobacco Group. This followed the earlier overwhelming support by Imasco shareholders for a special resolution permitting the sale of the remaining 58.5% of Imasco shares not already owned by the Group. Imperial Tobacco Canada has since carried on its business activities under the name of Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited.
In November 2000, following a strategic decision to fully concentrate its activities and focus on the cigarette business, Imperial Tobacco Canada concluded a transaction through which all its cigar trademarks were sold to ST Cigar Group Holding BV. The major trademarks involved were Colts, Old Port, House of Lords and Reas.
A major restructuring of the company, which began in 2003, resulted in the closure of the Montréal plant which had been in operation since 1907. This restructuring also resulted in the closure of the green leaf threshing plant in Aylmer, Ontario, as well as the phasing out of the reconstituted tobacco operations, which have now ceased. Imperial Tobacco Canada currently employs more than 900 people.
Brands: du Maurier, Player's, Matinee, Avanti, Cameo, Medallion,
Peter Jackson, and Sweet Caporal.
Consumer Help: Write a letter, e-mail, or fax using the instructions
given at the Corporate Affairs page of the Imperial Tobacco site.
Official site: www.imperialtobacco.com
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