One of the world's largest tobacco companies to further develop its Pécs factory

Although the relationship between tobacco and Pécs dates back to the 1750s, when tobacco production in South Transdanubia was already significant, the decision to build a tobacco factory in Pécs was not finally taken until 1906. In favour of the city's tobacco factory was the fact that the vineyards in the hills around Pécs had been completely destroyed by phylloxera, so many people lost their source of livelihood, but there was also an abundant supply of women in the city, and raw material could be obtained cheaply and easily from the tobacco-producing areas in the surrounding area.

As emphasised in jelenkor.hu, his contemporaries also highlighted the city's excellent railway connections. In 1906, the city of Pécs was chosen as the location for the new cigar factory, and in 1908, the plans for the Art Nouveau building complex designed by Lajos Zobl, Pollacsek and Epstein were completed, with production commencing in 1912.

The biggest innovation in the history of the factory, which had become obsolete by the 1940s, was the transfer of the Fecske brand of filters to Pécs (later Eger): in the next ten years, the company started to produce the then new combined filters made of creped paper and acetate fibre, containing activated carbon, which brought the company international success. In 1992 the factory was privatised and became the property of BAT. Since then, the company has undergone significant and continuous improvements: the tobacco factory in Pécs was renewed, and by the turn of the millennium BAT Hungary had become a modern, national enterprise, one of the leaders in the Hungarian tobacco market with high-quality products.

13 thousand square metres of production halls are built

Today, BAT remains one of the largest employers in the region, employing more than 1,000 people. In addition to the Art Nouveau tobacco factory, production is currently carried out in two other modern sites, both of which are certified carbon neutral. And the current development will support the company's operations with a new nicotine pillow production hall and three floors of new offices. The investment will create 450 new jobs in the region, of which more than 100 positions are already open.

The company's new development covers 13,000 square metres, which will include a production hall, a high-bay warehouse and an office building, designed by CENC Kft.. The STRABAG Építő Kft. contract covers the earthworks for the foundations, followed by the construction of block and slab foundations, and then the construction of prefabricated reinforced concrete structures. The contractor's excellent scheduling is demonstrated by the fact that, although the work site was taken over in October, the entire prefabricated and monolithic reinforced concrete structure of the three-storey hall building, with a height of between 11.5 and 18 metres, will be completed by February.

Tight pace

"Approximately 4 000 m³ of land has been removed from the site so far, and landscaping, the construction of the platform and the foundation works for the block foundations are underway"

- we learned from Robert Jakab, project manager of the STRABAG.

As the construction of the depot areas, the crushed gravel bedding and the slab base, ironwork and concrete have been completed in the past two months, the contractor has now started the construction of the prefabricated structures on 8 000 m² of the site.

Cup foundations, columns, beams and slabs are built simultaneously in different parts of the building, which makes precise organisation exceptionally important. As Róbert Jakab told us about the work in progress:

"All the pillars in the office area are set. There we are currently in the "diving room" where the formwork for the beams, the concreting and the slab formwork are being done. Today, the cup foundations in the storage area are almost complete, while in the production area we have just started the foundation work."