The opening was the finalisation of an idea originally instigated by the previous long-serving Chairman, Mr Mohamed Sadek Ragab, who many years ago foresaw the need for Eastern Company to hold all their tobacco leaf and cigarette manufacturing facilities in one main factory complex. The result today is an ultra modern manufacturing complex with the latest technology being provided for both tobacco processing and cigarettes making. The factory complex also has the capacity to allow for an increase in future cigarette production from the present 80 billion per year to 120 billion per year.

The opening ceremony was attended by the present Chairman, Mr Nabil Abdel Aziz, together with senior management from Eastern Company and the Chairman and Directors of The Holding Company. Also present were many overseas visitors and local representatives of machine and product suppliers. After the opening ceremony, visitors were taken to the new factory where they were shown the 10 ton / hour primary plant in full automatic production. Also being shown on a wide screen nearby was a simulated animation of the plant provided by Garbuio Dickinson with expressed in more detail the complexities of the total plant operation.

Garbuio Dickinson has a long established business relationship with Eastern Company that goes back over forty years and during this period they have provided and helped Eastern Company keep in the forefront of the tobacco industry with the continual supply of new and innovatively designed equipment using the latest technology available.

Garbuio Dickinson was therefore pleased and proud to have been nominated as the equipment supplier for the 10 ton / hour Primary Department in the 6th October Factory. We have provided equipment using the latest design and technology with all machines possible of being operated in a fully automatic mode and monitored from a separate Control Room. The plant consists of Robotic Case Opening for the virginia and burley leaf handling, separate oriental and homogenised conditioning, full burley toasting, a separate 1500 kgs / hour CRES Line, cut lamina Air Drying with shorts and ESS add-back lines prior to a fully automated 10 ton / hour Box Storage Unit for the final product. Also supplied was a Kitchen capable of preparing light and heavy casing, which is fed on request to nominated storage tanks local to the appropriate cylinders.