1 of 4
Huabao manufactures RTL using different methods. Photo credit: Huabao
2 of 4
PT. Warlbor International Indonesia is Huabao’s principal reconstituted tobacco leaf manufacturing facility. Photo credit: Huabao
3 of 4
The Huabao flavor capsule factory. Photo credit: Huabao
4 of 4
Huabao’s seamless capsules are state of the art. Photo credit: Huabao
As the Chinese conglomerate rapidly develops into a multinational supplier, it is becoming the “go-to place” for tobacco industry raw materials.
Established only in 1996, Hong Kong-headquartered Huabao Group quickly developed into one of China’s most prolific conglomerates, serving a broad range of industries. The group owns three major listed platform companies: Huabao International, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; Huabao Shares, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; and Amber Corporation, listed on the New Third Board. Today, Huabao Group is active in 8 countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, the US, and Germany, operating more than 140 subsidiary companies.
The conglomerate pursues in its expansion drive what is commonly known as a “concentric diversification strategy,” which has allowed it to rapidly evolve into a modern multinational company (MNC) in the truest sense.
All things flavor
Yingtan Huabao Flavours & Fragrances Co. Ltd., founded in 2010, and Jiangxi Huabao Xinhui Technology Co. Ltd., established in 2017, were set up with an initial investment of US$18 million and act as Huabao’s principal flavor and flavor capsule research and production base. The plant of the latter encompasses a total area of 33,000 square meters, of which the production halls cover 8,000 sq.m. and the clean area with its state-of-the-art temperature and humidity control system is taking up 5,000 sq.m. of floor space alone. Besides flavors, aromas, and fragrances for food and personal care products, a growing variety of tobacco, HTP, and vape flavors are also developed and manufactured here under one of the world’s top teams of aroma experts. With the flavor capsule market booming, traditional flavors such as menthol or blueberry mint can no longer satisfy increasingly diversified consumers. With nearly 30 years of technological innovation under its belt, Huabao successfully developed literally hundreds of unique flavors that expand far beyond the limited traditional range.
Seamless capsules drive the future
In terms of capsule shells, the company focuses on the manufacture of seamless capsules, which is quickly becoming the global new standard. Using the most advanced equipment imported from Japan, the production flow rate of each dripping head can reach 30-50 pills per second. Fully automated control helps reduce manual errors and fluctuations. A three-dimensional motion drying process is deployed to guarantee the perfect roundness of each capsule. In addition, low-temperature drying considerably lowers flavor volatilization.
The seven independent lines are equipped with intelligent production data sensors that help improve product yield and reduce human intervention, This automated monitoring allows for quick adjustment and shortened response times, ensuring a stable supply chain by avoiding potential output bottlenecks. At present, the facility has an annual production capacity of up to 640 tons of flavored capsules. An added bonus is of course the fact that the manufacture both of flavors and capsules takes place under one and the same roof. As a one-stop center that handles everything from flavor design to production and capsule manufacturing and filling all the way to filter testing, the company boasts lightning-fast delivery times of only three weeks.
A major RTL supplier for HTP and beyond
With the global tobacco industry having entered into the NGP era, a category that Huabao focused on quite early with r&d were heated tobacco products (HTP). Providing integrated technology solutions, the main product groups in this sector include reconstituted tobacco leaf (RTL), granulated tobacco, plant-based filter materials, as well as HNB devices. Demand for RTL especially has risen sharply since those early days in 1999, when Huabao established two RTL production bases, one in China, the other in Indonesia.
The plants are capable of producing a wide range of RTL variants, including slurry type RTL, papermaking type RTL, and air-laid RTL. The Indonesian plant, PT. Warlbor International Indonesia, presently operates three RTL production lines, with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons. HTP devices – or rather, the heat sticks with which they are loaded, have high requirements on flavor continuity and flavor concentration to ensure a smooth and satisfying consumer experience.
The firm’s RTL production lines are thus equipped with DCS control systems that monitor GSM (grams per square meter) sheet thickness, moisture content, tensile strength, glycerin, nicotine and sugar content, as well as uniform product consistency and stability overall. The automated production also deploys the Microtrac MRB S3500 rapid detection system, which controls and adjusts the particle size of the tobacco powder. In addition, and in view of some markets’ or regions’ restrictive policies on specific flavors or ingredients, Huabao’s technical teams are able to flexibly cope with any challenges encountered by fine tuning and optimizing ingredient lists.
Flavored filter tow: a new way of enhancing the sensory experience
Traditionally, the main method of flavoring combustible tobacco products was to add flavors to the actual tobacco filler. Of course, the downside of that approach always has been that combusting those additives caused the creation of certain harmful chemicals that the user then inhaled. This issue can be effectively avoided by adding flavors to the filter tow instead of the tobacco filter, which prevents combustion and instead merely evaporates the flavors. This is of course easier said than actually done, as flavor formulations need to be adjusted and optimized for this novel delivery method. In this regard, Huabao developed a specific manufacturing process for “impregnating” tow in a way that not only ensures effective evaporation but also even and consistent aroma release.
A vision for ESG
Huabao Group has been an early adopter of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) compliance and developed a strategy that helps the group companies reach the set goals and achieve certification. Annual ESG reports have been released by Huabao since 2016. As a result of concerted effort, data collations in these reports have shown consistent improvements across the group companies, with water and power consumption decreasing year after year.