Stanwell...

Denmark’s Stanwell Pipe Factory to Close by Year-end;
Contract Manufacturer to Assume Production

Skandinavian Tobacco Group has announced it will close its Stanwell pipe factory in Borup, Denmark, and move production of Stanwell pipes to an external partner, citing a shrinking market.

“The continued drop in sales of pipes in Denmark and on Stanwell’s many export markets has made it difficult to maintain a cost-efficient production at the Stanwell factory,” the company said in a statement. Sales of Stanwell pipes have dropped from 126,000 units in 1995 to 65,000 in 2008, according to ST Group.

The production at Stanwell’s present factory in Borup will be gradually phased out during the coming months, and the facility closed entirely by December 31, 2009.

“We regret to have to say goodbye to trusted employees and a unique era of pipe production in Denmark,” the company said; 17 employees will be affected.

Søren Lundh Aagaard, managing director of Stanwell A/S, will continue to be responsible for the Stanwell activities after the closing of the factory. The company says it will continue to develop and market quality pipes in exclusive designs and secure the future of the Stanwell pipe brand.

The future, but as yet undisclosed contract manufacturer, “will be a company with a long history of producing pipes of a quality which can match the present superior quality of Stanwell,” the company said. “The future set-up will ensure that in the years to come Stanwell will maintain the high quality of the Stanwell pipes at competitive prices.”

Stanwell A/S Denmark was established in 1942, and moved to its current production facility in Borup in 1965. Since 2000, Stanwell has been owned by Nordisk Tobaks Kompagni A/S, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Skandinavian Tobacco.


http://www.smokeshopmag.com/0609/industry.htm

Triste nouvelle, indépendamment de la suite des événements.
Espérons que ce nouveau "mode de production" permettra effectivement de maintenir la marque dans l'horizon rétréci du petit univers de la pipe.

aurais-je eu le nez creux, pour une fois?