The expansion would add up to 25 jobs to Conwood's existing work force of 95 in Clarksville, said the report. Conwood officials said that the company is moving because it is landlocked [image-nocss] at its downtown site, where it has produced smokeless products since 1907.
Tripp Wilson, the general counsel for Conwood, told the newspaper that the company hopes to complete the purchase of the 192 acres and the building by late spring.
"This is an encouraging first step in this process," David Howard, a spokesperson for Conwood and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., told the Journal.
Conwood is playing a strategic role for Reynolds as it puts more focus on smokeless products to counter an industrywide decline in cigarette sales, the report said.
Reynolds bought Conwood for $3.5 billion in May 2006. It is the second-largest smokeless-tobacco manufacturer in the country, most known for its Kodiak and Grizzly moist snuff brands.
Conwood posted a 10% increase in operating profit in the third quarter, with its Grizzly brand delivering double-digit volume growth.
Conwood recently completed the construction of a $30 million, 88,000-square-foot plant next to its existing building. The plant is projected to have a work force of up to 100 when it reaches full capacity, officials said.
In addition to making the Conwood brands at the new plant, Reynolds also is making Camel Snus there, Howard said.
According to The Leaf-Chronicle, Conwood is eligible for a standard package of incentives from the Industrial Development Board in Clarksville that would include a 47% reduction of property taxes over 10 years.
"This step would be a continuation of the expansion Conwood has recently enjoyed in Clarksville," Wilson told the paper. "While Conwood and its predecessor, the American Snuff Co., have been in Clarksville for 101 years, Conwood's local operation almost doubled in the last four years, going from 50 to 95 employees. Unlike most other segments of the tobacco industry, moist snuff has grown over the past several years, and Conwood has grown with it."
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