Dominican Cigar Maker Litto Gomez: Winning Through Quality

 

Introduction: Rito·Gomez and his workers put more emphasis on quality than on cigar production. They select tobacco leaves and carefully roll each cigar.  

. Chinese e-cigarette news: For Rito & middot; Gomez, became a cigar maker purely by accident. He worked as a jeweler in Miami, but as a cigar smoker, he decided to make his own cigars in 1994 and named them Lafrol Dominican. The company was small at first and he worked with his wife Ines. Today, the company has completed its expansion and has joined the Dominican Cigar Manufacturers Association, which aims to promote the Dominican Republic as a source of high-quality cigars. Not long ago, Rito was interviewed by Smoke Shop to talk about his entrepreneurial history and where the company is now.   Reporter: What is your company's current production level? Rito: We're only producing a few tons of cigarettes a year. Rito: Right now our annual production is just over 2 million cigarettes. If there is tobacco and there is a market demand, we can produce more. Like three years ago, the first four months ---- from January to April, we have a batch of Maduro (maduro) cigars have not been shipped, a batch are not. Why? Because we did not have the right tobacco. The first four months of January to April, we did not ship a batch of maduro (maduro) cigars. Reporter: What's wrong with the tobacco? Rito: It's very simple. Rito: Simply, the color of these leaves was not right. Some of the edges of the leaves were a little lighter in color, so the product could not be sold. Our maduro cigars have always been dark brown, and consumers are used to this color. Whatever color we were producing before, we are producing now. We are serving the consumer by offering dark brown cigars as we have always done. We can't expect consumers to change their habits or preferences, we have to offer a product they love. We have to offer a product that they love. Reporter: Does your company have any plans to increase production?   Rito: If there is market demand, the right tobacco, and will not increase the burden on factories and tobacco suppliers, we will increase production. If there is market demand but no suitable tobacco, we will not increase production. Frankly, I don't think it's necessary to increase production; quality is more important than production. We feel that this is an appropriate way of production. Of course, we will consider increasing production if it is beneficial to the company's long-term development. This is our basic guideline. We have no financial pressure, no board of directors, no need to repay anything within 30 days, and have never taken out a bank loan.   Reporter: What was the company like when it was first established? What difficulties have you encountered in the course of business?   Rito: When the company was founded, Ricciardo was, and still is, our first supervisor, and he was able to keep the quality of the cigars consistent. At the beginning of the company, we destroyed a lot of cigars due to inconsistent product quality.   Initially, we produced between 200,000 and 300,000 cigars per year. There were 70 to 80 cigar workers in the company, and since we only used trusted, good quality tobacco and the supply of raw materials was insufficient, they often sat around doing nothing. We have always believed that the quality of cigars should be guaranteed regardless of the number of orders. It doesn't matter how many cigars you sell, what is important is to have the right cigar production plan and to keep the production small and high quality.   The tobacco suppliers we have worked with have insisted on honesty and integrity, which has allowed us to stay in business. At that time, there were many people with bags of cash offering to buy tobacco at any price, and if the tobacco suppliers had accepted this temptation, our factory might have closed down. It was because of the integrity of these suppliers that we were able to continue to survive.   Reporter: In the beginning, La Flor Dominicana was a light cigar, then you tried to produce a double ligero, was that a major change?   Rito: Of course, Double Ligero means a lot to us. It was because of Double Ligero that many of our customers thought we were primarily a strong cigar producer and gave our company a reputation. These accolades have stayed with us over the years and have been the driving force behind our efforts to move forward. The Chisel is the newest size of the Double Rigatoni and the Air & middot; Bender is two years old. We also produce the Limitado. In addition, we also produce small batches of LG every year or every year and a half in quantities of about 20,000 to 30,000 units, with a very distinctive flavor. The flavor is very distinctive. Reporter: How does your company guarantee the quality of Ligero cigars?   Rito: We work on the raw material of the tobacco. We have our own growing area and instruct farmers to remove many of the leaves from the bottom of the tobacco plant to ensure that there is more space between the crops. Typically, we remove four to five leaves from the bottom end and do this early in the tobacco growing season. For example, a Piloto & middot; Gubarig Road plant has 12 tobacco leaves, and generally we only leave 7 or 8 leaves. When you remove the bottom leaves, this will supply the plant with more energy.   We're always looking for better ingredients and ways to grow ingredients for Rigolos. For example, by allowing the plant to grow in a harsher environment, the plant's roots can continue to go deeper into the ground in search of water; keeping the plant clean, leafing early, and doing what needs to be done. La Canela, Dominican Republic, where our raw materials are grown, has plenty of sunshine and hot seasons, which is good for the plants to gather energy and bring us a lot of tobacco with unique flavors.  ; Reporter: What are your plans for the future?   Rito: Next year will be the year of our company's founding. Rito: Next year is the 20th anniversary of our company. Right now, the company has enough tobacco to produce 3 million cigars, but maybe we won't do it. I know the company is still there and moving in a good direction. I have plans to continue working in the cigar industry, and with my oldest son Tony learning the cigar making process at the factory, and my youngest son being only 12 years old, we are hoping that he will enter the industry as an adult as well.    #p#Page Break #e#