Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1531857
46 tobaccoasia Issue 1, 2025 January / February (AN ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018 & SA 8000:2014 COMPANY) • MANUFACTURERS OF HIGH QUALITY CIGARETTE FILTER RODS - MONO ACETATE, SLIM, ULTRA SLIM, FLAVOURED, FILTER TIPS FOR RYO SEGMENT. EXPORT ENQUIRIES WELCOMED. • EXCLUSIVE BUSINESS PARTNERS WITH KAYMICH - GLUING & FLAVOURING SYSTEMS, ARKOTE - KNIVES, COESIA COMPANIES (G.D S.P.A./SASIB/ MOLINS/ CERULEAN), MAX SCHLATTERER - ESBAND TAPES, SCHWEITZER MAUDUIT (PDM/LTR), BOEGLI-GRAVURES S.A., BENKERT- TIPPING PAPER, GODREJ - GLYCERINE/CASINGS AND OTHER LEADING COMPANIES. • EXPORTERS OF CIGARETTES AND TOBACCO. EXPORT ENQUIRIES SOLICITED. • PROVIDE MARKETING SERVICES IN INDIA, NEPAL AND UAE FOR THE CIGARETTE/TOBACCO INDUSTRY. Hugo Azinheira, Filtrona. Credit: Filtrona infused with flavor additives or embedded with flavor capsules. In markets where fla- vored cigarettes are still legal, Filtrona does indeed offer these options. A growing pool of users In Europe, Filtrona currently has a pool of about a dozen customers that made the switch to paper. Dannemann, Europe's biggest cigarillo manufacturer in Europe, tran- sitioned about four years ago. "They told us that their vision was to replace all their cellulose acetate with a paper substrate," divulged Azinheira, but added he wanted to make it clear that Dannemann is not exclusively working with Filtrona but also a number of other filter suppliers. The firm is implementing its vision progressively in several markets. "Dannemann is an excellent example for an important company with an important role of leading the transition to a more sustainable product portfolio," said Azinheira. Luxembourg-based company Landewyck, one of Europe's last remaining inde- pendent cigarette manufacturers and proprietor of brands such as Austin and Ducal, likewise picked up on the trend some time ago. One of the SKUs within its EliXyr line now deploys paper filters. And in Switzerland, a cigarette niche brand called Heimat has already been using paper-based filters for several years. In Heimat's case, the substrate is "Genia," a non-woven developed and patented by McAirlaids. Not a matter of if, but of when More companies are either already cuing up to implement the transition or have at least started to take a serious look at the possibility of transitioning. Azinheira related how he was fortunate enough to be invited as a keynote speaker to several tobacco industry exhibitions last year, including InterTabac in Germany. He is convinced that the paper filter trend will accelerate. He said that he pointed out to the audience in all his speech- es that it is "no longer a matter of if but only a matter of when" the transition will happen on a much broader scale. "We do see very concrete movements towards [2025] being the year of plastic-free sustainable filters in the tobacco industry," he said.