TRIESTE – British American Tobacco is about to set up a plant to produce electronic cigarettes in Bagnoli della Rosandra, near the port of Trieste. The agreement was signed by Interporto spa and BAT a few days ago. Still, the official announcement will be made this morning in Trieste on the occasion of a conference at Molo IV, in the presence of Ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti (Economic Development) and Stefano Patuanelli (Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies). The factory will be located in the area called FreeEste, where the Free Point regime could be exploited. At the moment, no details have been revealed, but the plant will probably have important employment effects on the territory, with the hypothesis of more than 400 jobs once it is fully operational. The agreement could open a new season for the policy pursued in recent years by the Port Authority of Trieste, which is focusing on the establishment of new companies in an area where the GDP of the industrial sector is below the national average. The contract with BAT was signed by Interporto Trieste spa, the company (controlled by Friulia, Duisport and the Port Authority) in charge of managing the regional logistics network of Friuli Venezia Giulia. BAT Italia S.p.A (BAT’s subsidiary in Italy) was officially established on 1 January 2002 and in June 2004 merged with Ente Tabacchi Italiani S.p.A, for the acquisition of which the British American Tobacco Group (BAT) won the privatization tender on 16 July 2003. The British American Tobacco Group, founded in 1902 and headquartered in London, is today a leading global consumer goods company with a multi-category product portfolio and is reducing the impact of its business on health by offering a wide range of less risky products to consumers. Owner of the Rothmans, MS, Lucky Strike, Vogue, Dunhill, Rothmans, Export, Kent, Lido and Samson brands, BAT also owns several vaping products (electronic cigarettes or e-cigs) that do not contain tobacco but e-liquids that may or may not contain nicotine. BAT now employs more than 53,000 people, operates in more than 180 markets and has facilities in 43 countries worldwide. “A Better Tomorrow Innovation Hub. BAT presents its investment project in the country” is the name given to today’s event in Trieste, which will be attended, in addition to Ministers Giorgetti and Patuanelli, by Ettore Rosato (Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies), Roberta Palazzetti (CEO and President of BAT Italia), Paolo Privileggio, President and CEO of Interporto Trieste), Zeno D’Agostino (President of the Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea), Marcello Minenna (General Manager of the Customs and Monopolies Agency) and Massimiliano Fedriga (President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region).