R.I.P. Hav-A-Tampa, Cigar City loses another one.

[rizzle]

TAMPA — They made their first cigar in Tampa in 1902.

In July, they will make their last.

A piece of Tampa history was extinguished Tuesday when the parent company of Hav-A-Tampa cigars announced it will close its local production plant, near E Broadway Avenue, leaving almost 500 employees jobless.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/busines...cle1012864.ece

[replicant_argent]

and the impact to the cigar economy begins?
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[CBI_2]

The dominos start falling.

[BlackDog]

I was going to just post this. Not a brand I smoked, but I hate to see anyone in our hobby go out of business.

[csbrewfisher]

I saw this on Drudge earlier. The first cigar I smoked was a Hav-A-Tampa, so I hate to see this.

Did you notice the jobs are being moved out of the country? Altadis will still supply the product, but the reduced foreign wage margin will cover the SCHIP increase. The headline should read "Obama Administration Sends Jobs Overseas", because that's exactly what happened.

How's that hope and change working out for you?

[rizzle]

Originally Posted by csbrewfisher

I saw this on Drudge earlier. The first cigar I smoked was a Hav-A-Tampa, so I hate to see this.

Did you notice the jobs are being moved out of the country? Altadis will still supply the product, but the reduced foreign wage margin will cover the SCHIP increase. The headline should read "Obama Administration Sends Jobs Overseas", because that's exactly what happened.

How's that hope and change working out for you?

Yep, the brand will now be produced in Puerto Rico.

Hav-A-Rican??

[macpappy]

While I don't believe it was just the tax increase that caused the factory to close, it was the voters who have allowed the tax increase to happen.

[alley00p]

Originally Posted by macpappy

While I don't believe it was just the tax increase that caused the factory to close, it was the voters who have allowed the tax increase to happen.

Yep, they wanted "hope and change"....

now they're hopin they'll still have a job in the near future...
and all they have in their pockets is change!

[csbrewfisher]

Originally Posted by macpappy

While I don't believe it was just the tax increase that caused the factory to close, it was the voters who have allowed the tax increase to happen.

While I don't mean to be confrontational bro, the Altadis rep quoted in the article said the tax WAS a factor. If you choose not to believe that, then it's up to you I guess. What would it take to convince you?

[Dunkel]

Yep Obama's speech should have been "You need to HOPE you'll have any CHANGE left. Tax you blind? YES WE CAN!"

I started on these and Backwoods. Not bad if ya need a quick kick around smoke. Unfortunately I think Backwoods will disappear as well due to the new FDA deal

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by csbrewfisher

While I don't mean to be confrontational bro, the Altadis rep quoted in the article said the tax WAS a factor. If you choose not to believe that, then it's up to you I guess. What would it take to convince you?

Semantics I guess. What I meant to say was I didn't believe that the tax was the ONLY factor. I'm sure it was a factor, I just believe that there may have been other factors in the decision also - like an mandatory increase in the minimum wage, etc.

I didn't find you confrontational. You just pointed out the lack of clarity in my statement.

[Scottw]

My dad used to smoke these when he bowled. I used to remember the smell and would even try to take a pull when he'd rest it in the ashtray. I was probably 10 at the time.

[The Poet]

I haven't Had-A-Tampa in forty years, and won't miss it if another forty passes. And I understand the economics involved, though I won't comment of the politics - too testy an issues for all the testosterone here. Still, it's sad to see Ybor-tions like this occur.

[Drazzil]

I saw this on Drudge earlier. The first cigar I smoked was a Hav-A-Tampa, so I hate to see this.

Did you notice the jobs are being moved out of the country? Altadis will still supply the product, but the reduced foreign wage margin will cover the SCHIP increase. The headline should read "Obama Administration Sends Jobs Overseas", because that's exactly what happened.

How's that hope and change working out for you?

Thats a vast oversimplification, and out right wrong in the extreme. The reason Hav-a-Tampa failed is because of the bad economy. The bad economy that we are suffering through was a direct result of the failure of not one, but MANY administrations on both sides of the isle, from the seeds of the disaster planted in the Carter administration, to the spendthrift attitude of the Bush administration and a whole lot of screwing the pooch in between.

I'm not going to elaborate on my grand theory of how things have gotten to the point that they are in, because this reply is likely to be deleted, what I will say is that the middle class worldwide, which is the driving force of any economy, has taken a pounding at the hands of the multinational corporations and the NAFTA agreements, and that, my friends is the cause of this whole problem. Obama is merely a politician, part of the same system that has systematically failed the American public for the last fourty years.

The system is the same four hundred pound gorilla giving it to you the wrong way, except the Democrats tend to wear masks and whisper "for the children" while doing it.

[BigAl_SC]

They will be missed. When I was 20 or so I dated the granddaughter of a roller there. I'm sure she is long retired but like the saying goes 'rolled on thighs of Cuban women' brings back memories of the granddaughters thighs.

I guess those were my first hand rolled cigars also.

[Tio Gato]

Originally Posted by Drazzil

Thats a vast oversimplification, and out right wrong in the extreme. The reason Hav-a-Tampa failed is because of the bad economy. The bad economy that we are suffering through was a direct result of the failure of not one, but MANY administrations on both sides of the isle, from the seeds of the disaster planted in the Carter administration, to the spendthrift attitude of the Bush administration and a whole lot of screwing the pooch in between.

I'm not going to elaborate on my grand theory of how things have gotten to the point that they are in, because this reply is likely to be deleted, what I will say is that the middle class worldwide, which is the driving force of any economy, has taken a pounding at the hands of the multinational corporations and the NAFTA agreements, and that, my friends is the cause of this whole problem. Obama is merely a politician, part of the same system that has systematically failed the American public for the last fourty years.

The system is the same four hundred pound gorilla giving it to you the wrong way, except the Democrats tend to wear masks and whisper "for the children" while doing it.

Dude, the company didn't fail, they found a labor market that would keep them in business. A labor market that happens to be a part of the USA.
(There's more than just the 50 states!) Yes, it is a shame that people in Tampa lost their jobs. Is that something new in the cigar world of Tampa?
Ahhh, not by a long shot. Read some history.

Despite being a very conservative right wing kinda guy, I think your comment about the gorilla and democrats engaged in unnatural relations is in poor taste and shows your ignorance.

Sober up and then respond in a responsible way to a BOTL's post that is about cigars and not your ranting political stuff that does not belong here.

[G G]

And it prolly appears that Swisher International is soon to follow. My step son and my step daughter's husband are currently employed by Swisher in Jacksonville. With the FDA and no flavored rule that will either cause Swisher to close or move offshore as well, because according to my stepson 90% to 95% of their sales are flavored cigars, and I aint no economist but I don't blieve you can overcome that. So it appears to me instead of creating jobs the current administration and congress are destroying them.

[SeanGAR]

Originally Posted by ggainey

So it appears to me instead of creating jobs the current administration and congress are destroying them.

Don't forget too that jobs created in the last 20-30 years in the US are often service jobs and not blue collar jobs, which are the backbone of the country.

Looking at this graph, you gotta wonder what happened between 01 and 09.

[G G]

Aint gettin in no pissin contest here, I said the current administration and CONGRESS who are made up of both sides. If we continue to look backwards to go forwards we aint going too far IMHO.