Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1022507
54 tobaccoasia / Issue 4, 2018 September / October By Thomas Schmid In 2008, the global tobacco industry faced the shortest burley crop supply on record. While mul- tinationals were able to obtain practically all the burley they required, there was preciously little leaf left over for the myriad of small to medium sized companies that desperately scoured the market. Star Tobacco International (STI) was established on the background of that burley shortage. "We believed that everybody should have the same opportunities and it was our motivation to make sure that small to medium sized players were just as well served as the big guys", recalls company president and c.e.o., Dr. Iqbal Lambat, the driv- ing force behind launching the outfit and today a veritable industry icon (see side box). A vision becomes reality Dr. Lambat's vision of concentrating on SMEs as the principal customer base (but not shunning large firms either, mind you!) paid off beautifully and the company has thrived under a quite auspi- cious… well… star ever since. Leaf was soon sup- plemented with further tobacco categories such as cut rag blends and – at a later stage – tobacco de- rivatives like recon, CRES and DIET. "Our moti- vation today remains just as alive and strong as it was on the first day," Dr. Lambat asserts. As business flourished and expanded quickly, Far East Leaf Indonesia (FELI) was established, a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for directly sourcing tobaccos in Indonesia and other Asian countries both for cigar and cigarette manufac- turing. But FELI also sells tobaccos domestically in Indonesia, one of the biggest tobacco markets worldwide. "Our strength in Indonesia is the amount of stock we continuously import into the country, which allows us to meet local demand on time," explains group marketing manager Arda After rebranding its flagship company Star Tobacco International into Star Agritech International, the Star Corporation group of companies harbors quite exciting plans. Tobacco Asia talked to some of its executives to see where it is headed. Star Corporation's new Istanbul head office, occupying a historical building from the Ottoman era Star Agritech: Reaching for the Stars