KT&G Establishes Eurasian Export Outpost with Completion of Kazakhstan Factory

- New Kazakhstan factory with total gross floor area of 52,000㎡ expected to meet Eurasian demand as core manufacturing base
- MOU signed after completion ceremony to assist Abai wildfire recovery and reforestation

SEOUL, South Korea, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G (KRX: 033780), on the 22nd, hosted the completion ceremony of its new Kazakhstan factory which will be the production hub for the Eurasian market.

The ceremony took place at the factory grounds in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Approximately 100 notable participants including KT&G CEO Kyung-man Bang, Almaty Governor Sultangaziev Marat Eleusizovich, and Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Taeik Cho were present at the event.

KT&G's Kazakhstan factory with three manufacturing facilities has a total gross floor area of 52,000㎡ and an annual production capacity of 4.5 billion cigarette sticks. The factory will be an export outpost and core production base that meets the demands from recently growing Europe, CIS, and the Eurasian markets.

The new KT&G Kazakhstan Factory operates based on cutting-edge automated facilities, and strict quality standards conforming to international quality standards are applied to the production process. A precise management process is applied to every step of production, from material procurement to product packaging, to refine quality. With the completion of the factory, KT&G expects a stronger global competitiveness in the local Kazakhstan market as well as in the Eurasian market.

The construction of the new factory in Kazakhstan is part of KT&G's CAPEX investment program announced at the "Future Vision Declaration Ceremony" held in January of 2023. KT&G plans to increase the proportion of global revenue to 50% by 2027 through expansion of direct global operations and other measures heightening core business competitiveness

With the completion of the new Kazakhstan factory, KT&G successfully set up a "Global Manufacturing Network" across factories in Korea, Indonesia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and other locations. Based on the global production bases, KT&G plans to increase profitability by establishing fully local value chains that directly manages everything from production to operations and distribution.

KT&G CEO Kyung-man Bang said that "with the completion of the new Kazakhstan factory, KT&G has laid the foundation of a Global Manufacturing Network that will tow our global competitiveness" further stating that "KT&G will accept challenges in the future and expand our global direct business to increase profitability as well as corporate value, and share the gains with our stakeholders."

After the ceremony, KT&G signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the "Green Globe Project" that aims to assist in local reforestation efforts. Through the project, the company plans to assist recovery from the June 2023 Abai wildfire. 

The MOU was formed based on the trilateral cooperation between KT&G; the Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources; and the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), the first international organization dedicated to forestry agendas in Asia. Based on the MOU, the three parties will jointly conduct recovery assistance and prevention, restoration effectiveness monitoring, and other activities. The cooperation will mark the first case of a private enterprise participating in the Abai wildfire recovery project. 

Young-ah Shim, Director of KT&G's ESG Management Office, stated "through the 'Green Globe Project,' we will provide quick Kazakhstan wildfire recovery assistance and respond proactively to the global climate crisis," also commenting that "in order to fulfill its social responsibility as a global corporate-citizen, KT&G will closely cooperate with nations it operates in to seek a path that is mutually beneficial."

KT&G, the manufacturer of the global brand ESSE, is a Korean corporation with a number one position in the Korean electronic cigarette NGP (Next Generation Products), health functional foods, and combustible cigarette markets. As of 2024, KT&G offers 870 brands across 148 countries.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

KT&G Establishes Eurasian Export Outpost with Completion of Kazakhstan Factory

KT&G Establishes Eurasian Export Outpost with Completion of Kazakhstan Factory

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Soft tissue regeneration company, Aroa Biosurgery, is pleased to announce a milestone in clinical evidence.

There are now over 100 peer-reviewed studies describing the efficacy of the company's proprietary AROA ECM technology.

AROA's most recent publication was a large retrospective analysis of real-world evidence (RWE) from wound care centers in the US, assessing the efficacy of the company's Endoform Natural^TM product in treating venous leg ulcers (VLUs), in comparison to a leading reconstituted collagen dressing.

VLU's are open sores that are hard-to-heal because of impaired blood flow and can be very debilitating and painful.  These types of wounds are difficult for clinicians to treat successfully. For example, only ~40% of VLUs can be healed after 3 months of treatment and there is a relatively high chance that these wounds will recur^[1].

The peer-reviewed study, entitled "Clinical Efficacy of Ovine Forestomach Matrix and Collagen/Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose for the Treatment of Venous Leg Ulcers: A Retrospective Comparative Real-World Evidence Study" was published in the open access journal 'International Wound Journal in April 2025.

The study compared 470 VLU's that had been treated with Endoform Natural to 360 VLU's that had been treated with a reconstituted collagen product. The study used existing data from 223 wound care centers with minimal inclusion or exclusion criteria so that 'real-world' use of both products could be compared.

"There is a growing awareness of RWE studies to validate clinical performance" says Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Barnaby May. "These types of studies enable much larger patient numbers to be compared versus traditional randomized controlled trials. Given that RWE studies use data from 'real-world' use of a treatment, the results can be more meaningful, especially in wound care where there is a high degree of variability in how wounds are cared for and patient factors."

The study found that VLUs treated with Endoform Natural healed up to ~ 8 weeks faster versus the comparator group, and the chances of the wound healing were significantly improved when Endoform Natural was used as part of treatment.

The striking difference in the healing outcomes demonstrate the potential for considerable cost reductions and improvements in patient quality of life, due to the significant improvements seen when VLUs were treated using Endoform Natural.

Dr. Gregory Bohn MD was part of the research team. "I was first introduced to Endoform in 2012 and started using the product to treat my own patients with VLUs. This new data validates what I have seen in my own practice managing VLUs with Endoform."

This is the second large retrospective RWE comparing Endoform Natural to a leading reconstituted collagen dressing. A previous study included the analysis of over 2,200 diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and also demonstrated significantly faster healing of DFUs using Endoform Natural^[2].

The study is available online here.

[1] Kolluri R, Lugli M, Villalba L, Varcoe R, Maleti O, Gallardo F, et al. An estimate of the economic burden of venous leg ulcers associated with deep venous disease. Vasc Med. 2022;27(1):63-72.

[2] Bosque BA, Frampton C, Chaffin AE, Bohn GA, Woo K, DeLeonardis C, Lepow BD, Melin MM, Madu T, Dowling SG, May BCH. Retrospective real-world comparative effectiveness of ovine forestomach matrix and collagen/ORC in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Int Wound J. 2022 May;19(4):741-753.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

AROA hits evidence milestone with real-world study validating the efficacy of Endoform in treating challenging venous leg ulcers.