Cigar Wrap Company?

[kymiwi]

As silly as it sounds, I have always had a fantasy of owning my own cigar wrap company. It is not something I actively pursue, but I have always considered it to be something I wanted to do. If I could get certain info on such an endeavor, I might start planning ahead a bit more seriously. One question that I haven't found an answer to is how to find the actual machines that are used to make cigar wraps. I have not found what machines make such things or even what they are called. I also do not know who I would even attempt to contact to get such machines. This seems basic, but I have searched for a while now and I haven't found any clues. There are other questions I have, but I can't remember them at this time. I'll update if I recall them. If anyone could help me with this question, or with any aspect of starting such a company, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks for your time and help!

[David Hunter]

Howdy, Kymiwi!

I don't like smoking or cigars, but I did a quick Google search and found a cigar wrapping/making machines.

Maybe this will help: Machines | Cigar Making | ATD Machinery (http://www.atdmachinery.com/machines/cigar-making)

Good luck on your business adventure!

[Brian Altenhofel]

Those just make the cigars, the OP wants to make the wraps. Cigar wraps are basically a paper made from tobacco pulp. Completely different market from machine-made cigars, especially ones that use wrapper leaves. and even further away from the cigars that I like.

I'm not sure what to actually call those types of machines. I know I've seen some patents where some machines take the pulp and basically extrude it (probably not the right term when dealing with pulp) into a tube with one closed end to make filling the wrap easier.

[kymiwi]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it! I have emailed the company David posted, and hopefully will get some relevant information. I'll keep you guys updated. A bit off track, but is there a place on this forum that knows about patent laws? I'm trying to decide if my idea is already covered, without doing an in depth patent search. The claim of the patent in question does not cover me, as far as I know, but the summary contains information that is worrying. I do not know if the Summary is what is legally binding, however.

[kymiwi]

I received a reply from the company, and unfortunately they do not produce the machinery I need. I replied and asked if they knew of any companies that do produce such machinery, and for any relevant info on such machines. I hope they give me something, because otherwise it is back to square one.

[billbenson]

I received a reply from the company, and unfortunately they do not produce the machinery I need. I replied and asked if they knew of any companies that do produce such machinery, and for any relevant info on such machines. I hope they give me something, because otherwise it is back to square one.

That could be a good sign. Not being a fine cigar smoker some of what you guys are talking about is Greek to me. However, since you are having trouble finding information on something may mean it is a pretty small niche which is frequently a good thing for a small business. Less competition, easier to get on top of Google, not competing with WalMart etc.

[kymiwi]

I didn't think of it like that. That outlook does give me hope. As far as I know, and I haven't done any real research, just observed, is that does appear to be somewhat of a niche market. There's a small amount of companies that produce my exact product, and a small amount that produce something similar. Over all, I think if I can just get everything I need together, I will be set. It's just the first hoops are the hardest to jump.

[TAAccounting]

Kymiwi,

It's a pretty neat idea actually. As a cigar smoker myself (and a scotch drinker), I have actually came across this before.

One of my networking strategy is to give away free cigars to potential clients I meet -- not many people do it and I have had people remember me, some four or five years down the road because I gave them a cigar. One thing I started doing was, I requested my favorite cigar producer (Ashton) to produce me a box of cigar with my company logo on it.

What started as a jest, became a reality when they told me that if I can produce the label for them -- they would have it put on 400 cigars, just for me. I found out that actually any printer can create cigar bands. It's just the way that they're cut and the glue is applied when they are wrapped.

The request isn't unusual by any means -- some weddings will have personalized cigar bands as well. So to be honest, if you have a classy printer, you can make your own cigar bands.

I hope this helps!

[Brian Altenhofel]

For reference, this is the sort of product that the OP is talking about -

Patent US6357448 - Tobacco product - Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents/US6357448)

There was another patent that I found a few weeks ago where one end was closed, but I don't recall the search terms that led me to it.

[kymiwi]

Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it. Everything you guys give me is one less thing that I have to worry about later. Just had a late night thought pop up. Today I received another email from the ATD machinery company. I asked if they knew about anyone who produced the machinery I want, and they did not. They did mention however, that there were only a few people world wide who produce the homogeneous tobacco paper I would use. This had me thinking, there may not be that many machines or people who make them. Say this is the case, and such machines would be essentially unavailable. Would it be possible to hire or pay someone to design such a machine for me? I've never heard of such a thing, but I figure it is in the realm of possibility. Again, thanks for all the help, you guys are really helping me.

[David Hunter]

In this day and age, you could probably have a machine printed up for you on a 3D printer. hahaha

[kymiwi]

I wonder if that is a possibility haha. I don't know anything about 3D printing though. Right now I'm just passively looking for companies that do custom machinery design and production, just in case that's how I have to get my machinery. I was also thinking, I don't know too much about the production process as a whole, ie how the wraps are made, how they are packaged, what machinery packages them, how they stay fresh, etc. I was wondering if there was a specific type of person, like a consultant or something akin to that, who would know this information and be able to advise me on what my needs are. Is there such a thing? I hope so, because this would be a miracle for my potential business.

[kymiwi]

I just heard back from a company that does tobacco related service. When asked about where to acquire the machinery I need, they recommended me to Tobacco Solutions Asia Limited, or TSAL. This company appears to have much of what I need for my company. I'll still keep my eyes open for other venues for machinery though. I will email them and see if they can do anything for me, since I believe they are based in China, but have offices in Luxembourg, and South Africa. If they can't help me, I'll ask them to recommend someone who can. Also, is there a way to run a search on a company, see if it is reliable? Just thought that something like that would come in handy.

[kymiwi]

Long time no see guys, I'm back! I hope everyone is well. Again, I'm here to make an update and ask another question haha. The only recent events for me have been that TSAL has not responded to my email. I will be sending another shortly, and hopefully they will get back to me. Another thought that popped up though, was what if they cannot help me due to my being in the US. This stumped me for a bit, but I figured if that was the case, I might be able to start a factory in another country, and ship it here. I don't know if this would work, mostly due to so many variables such as shipping costs, laws in the country I would produce in, and countless others. Does anyone have any experience with starting a business in another country, or at least any thoughts or advice? I would truly appreciate any input.

[Fulcrum]

Have you considered starting your business with hand rolled wraps rather than investing in a machine right away?

[kymiwi]

When you say hand rolled, you mean just hand made correct? Just making sure, my mind is functioning at about 50% today haha. I have not thought of that however. It certainly is a good idea with lots of merit. I will look into it and see exactly what I would need. That would save me a bunch of time and money, so it is definitely on my to-do list.